Clinton Sumner Burns (1871–1924) was a prominent civil engineer and business executive who, with Robert E McDonnell, a classmate at Stanford University formed an engineering company under the firm name of Burns and McDonnell. His work involved practically every state in the country, designing water and sewer systems in over five hundred cities as well as being an honorary member of the Sigma Xi. In 2010, Burns and McDonnell were inducted into the Greater Kansas City Business Hall of Fame.