Thomas A. McMahon Mentoring Award

Thomas A. McMahon studied physics at Cornell and received his doctorate in engineering from MIT. He joined the faculty of Harvard University in 1971 and was later named Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Mechanics and Professor of Biology. Professor McMahon was a highly valued member of the HST faculty. Internationally recognized as a pioneer in biomechanics, he authored over eighty scientific papers, two scientific books, and three novels. Professor McMahon passed away suddenly in 1999. 



 

Tom was praised for his inspirational teaching and his genuine dedication to students. One student wrote: "While choosing my future advisors and mentors, I found myself comparing prospective mentors with Dr. McMahon. I have looked for the same qualities of compassion, understanding, love of science, intelligence, ethics, and enthusiasm. He is exactly the sort of professor I might want to be." His style of mentoring was based on a combination of warm friendship, keen scientific insight, active day-to-day interaction, and a gift for helping people define and realize their goals. In 1999, Professor McMahon was honored with the Harvard Graduate Student Council Excellence in Mentoring Award at Harvard and the Irving M. London Teaching Award in HST.

 

You are invited to recommend one person who served as a mentor by writing a statement of nomination explaining your relationship with your nominee and why she/he has distinguished herself/himself as a mentor for you. The pool of individuals eligible for nomination is open and may include faculty or staff. All faculty members involved in mentoring HST students are eligible for the award; a faculty member is not required to have a formal appointment in HST to qualify for the award.

Click here to fill out the nomination form.

 

If you have any questions, please contact Mehegan Murphy at 617.253.5298 or mkmurphy@mit.edu.

 

Selection of the individual will be performed by a committee representing all educational branches of HST. The individual will be selected from the list of nominees based on a review of all nomination statements.

 

Nominations for the 2013 award will be due by Friday, March 8th.

 

2012 Julie Greenberg, PhD, and Bruce Rosen, MD, PhD
2011 Sangeeta Bhatia, MD, PhD

2010 Jeffrey Karp, PhD

2009 Peter Szolovits, PhD

2008 Elfar Adalsteinsson, PhD

2007 Robert H. Rubin, MD

2006 Andrew H. Lichtman, MD, PhD and John J. Rosowski, PhD

2005 Andrew J. Oxenham, PhD

2004 Richard N. Mitchell, MD, PhD

2003 Valerie J. Pronio-Stelluto, MD

2002 M. Charles Liberman, PhD

2001 Louis Braida, PhD and Roger G. Mark, MD, PhD

2000 Elazer R. Edelman, MD, PhD