It's with great sadness that we bring you the news of the passing of Grant Imahara. The co-host of MythBusters and White Rabbit Project was also an electrical engineer, roboticist, and longtime crew member for Lucasfilm's Industrial Light and Magic and THX divisions. At just 49 years old, Imahara passed away suddenly following a brain aneurysm, as reported by THR. A representative for Discovery had the following to say in a statement on Monday:

"We are heartbroken to hear this sad news about Grant. He was an important part of our Discovery family and a really wonderful man. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family,"

The loss is a sudden and jarring one, not just for Imahara's friends, family, and co-stars throughout the industry but for folks in sci-fi fandoms and S.T.E.A.M. communities as well. In his near decade at Lucasfilm, Imahara combined his technical training with his fondness for nerd culture, working as a chief model maker with a focus on animatronics (which also helped him win a BattleBots bout or two). His work can be seen in George Lucas' Star Wars prequels, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Galaxy Quest, XXX: State of the Union, Van Helsing, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Fandom ran deep with Imahara, who also starred in the unofficial fan series Star Trek Continues.

Imahara's friends and co-stars grieved on social media once the news broke:

Imahara was one of those rare pro-science celebrities who could actually inspire and encourage viewers of all ages without talking down to them. He will be truly missed. RIP