Arthur C. Smith Award
The Arthur C. Smith Award was established in 1996 on the occasion of Dean Smith’s retirement from the position of Dean for Undergraduate Education and Student Affairs. The award honors his service and is presented to a member of the MIT faculty for meaningful contributions and devotion to undergraduate student life and learning at MIT.
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Arthur C. Smith, an expert in the field of solid-state physics, began his career at MIT in 1959 as an electrical engineering faculty member. He spent the next 50 years at MIT as an innovative educator, trusted advisor, thoughtful leader, and advocate for students. He was dean for undergraduate and student affairs from 1991 to 1994 and chair of the faculty from 1983 to 1985. Born in Oklahoma in 1929, Professor Smith earned a B.S. in physics at the University of Kansas in 1951, and went on to Harvard, where he earned an A.M. and a Ph.D. in physics in 1954 and 1958, respectively. Art was known for being a transformative force in shaping MIT’s approach to student life and learning.
Past Award Recipients
2023
- Not Awarded
2022
- Amy Glasmeier, Urban Studies and Planning
2021
- Professor Raul Radovitzky, Aeronautics and Astronautics
2020
- Professor John Essigmann, Biological Engineering
2019
- Professor Emily Richmond Pollock, Music and Theater Arts
2018
- Professor Will Broadhead, History
2017
- Professor Daniel Jackson, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
2016
- Professor Shankar Raman ‘86, Literature
2015
- Professor Rebecca Saxe, Brain and Cognitive Sciences
2014
- Professor Anne E.C. McCants, History
2013
- Professor Samuel Allen, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
2012
- Professor John Winston Belcher, Department of Physics
2011
- Professor J. Kim Vandiver, Department of Mechanical Engineering