Fun Facts Friday: Thomas McMahon

Thomas McMahon (21 April, 1943 – 14 February, 1999) was an author and educator from Ohio. Mr. McMahon was also a pioneer in biomechanics and an inventor.

Image from http://www.thomasmcmahon.net/

Books by Thomas McMahon*

Facts about Thomas McMahon:

1. Thomas Arthur McMahon was born in Dayton, OH but he grew up in Lexington, MA.
2. The author studied physics at Cornell University, M.I.T., and Harvard as a postdoctoral research fellow.
3. Mr. McMahon helped develop devices for cardiac assistance, as well as orthopedic biomechanics.
4. Muscles, Reflexes and Locomotion, published in 1984, is still considered a classic textbook to this day.
5. “Tuned track”, a spring running surface which is credited with improving running times and dramatically cutting injuries was invented by Thomas McMahon.
6. His writing careers spans four novels which were very well received. His 1988 novel, Loving Little Egypt, won the Rosenthal Award.
7. Thomas McMahon loved interacting with his students at Harvard, as well as finding out how nature works.
8. His whimsical novels feature scientists, inventors, as well as engineers as protagonists.
9. Together with James W. Glasheen, Mr. McMahon explained how basilisk lizards can run on the surface of water.
10. Thomas McMahon blended science and literature and it is often asked if he was a scientists who wrote novels, or a novelist who worked in science.

Zohar – Man of la Book
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account, the money is usually spent on books

Sources:

Thomas A. McMahon | Wikipedia

Thomas A. McMahon (1943-99) | Nature

Thomas McMahon, 55, Scientist-Author, Dies | The New York Times (nytimes.com)