April
10, 2009
Professor
Joseph M. Sussman received the 2008
Joseph A. Martore (1975) Excellence
in Teaching Award at the recent Charles
L. Miller Lecture. This honor is given
to a full-time member of the ESD faculty
or teaching staff in recognition of
outstanding contributions to an ESD
academic program in the areas of education
and program development. Sussman received
a certificate of appreciation and
a monetary award.
 Sussman
is the JR East Professor (endowed
by the East Japan Railway Company)
in the Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering and the Engineering Systems
Division at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology (MIT), where he has
served as a faculty member for 40
years. He initiated the transportation
systems focus area for the MIT
Portugal Program, a major five-year
program of education and research
that was launched in 2006.
The
award citation for Prof. Sussman identified
him as “a stalwart of the graduate
program in ESD, going beyond the call
of duty,” and acknowledged his
important role in developing and implementing
the ESD Ph.D. program. Some excerpts
from Sussman’s many nominations
included:
“He
has been consistently and tirelessly
active in working toward a formulation
of a vision of the best of the doctoral
program, and has devoted great efforts
to implementing this.”
“The
dedication of Joe Sussman to substantially
improve the ESD doctoral program
is unmatched over the past few years.
His chairing of the ad-hoc or Sussman
committee was a foundational contribution
and his dedication and energy to
the [general exam] process is unmatched.”
"Prof.
Sussman has been a tremendous force
in furthering the educational goals
of the department, most recently
chairing the committee for the new
doctoral requirements, teaching
ESD.83, and (as always) being a
very active and available member
of the department's faculty.”
"Joe
Sussman is one of those rare, inspiring
professors who becomes the ally
of any graduate student who shares
his passions. I have been astounded
by his ability to develop students
and research across the entire breadth
of ESD disciplines. I've enjoyed
the many conversations I've had
with him…and I've thought
about his insights and questions
long after each time we've talked.”
“It
is rare to see someone so committed
to education and students and this
award is a fitting acknowledgement
of the important and selfless contributions
he has made,” stated those who
wrote the nomination letter. “It
is clear that he does it because he
really cares about the quality of
our program and the education of our
students."
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