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Thomas A. McMahon

Affiliations: 
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States 
Area:
Biomechanics, locomotion
Website:
https://www.nature.com/articles/19205
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"Thomas McMahon"
Bio:

(1943 - 1999)
Thomas McMahon, accomplished scientist and novelist.

Memorial services for Thomas A. McMahon, the Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Mechanics and professor of biology, will take place on Friday, Feb. 19, at 2 p.m. in the Storey Chapel of Mount Auburn Cemetery.

The 55-year-old scientist and author died suddenly on Feb. 14, 1999, while recovering from surgery.

Throughout his life, McMahon successfully united science and literature, using the imaginative resources of one world to enrich his work in the other.

As a scientist, McMahon used principles of engineering and physics to unlock the secrets of animal locomotion. He and his students explored, for example, how springlike properties of muscles, tendons, and reflexes govern important mechanical features of running and walking. With Toby Hayes and Steve Robinovitch, McMahon co-invented a hip-padding system for preventing osteoporotic fractures in the elderly.

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Parents

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Ascher Shapiro grad student 1966-1970 MIT

Children

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Rodger Kram grad student CU Boulder
Claire T. Farley grad student 1987-1991 Harvard (Neurotree)
X. Edward Guo grad student 1994 Harvard (Chemistry Tree)
Hugh Herr grad student 1993-1998 Harvard
Elizabeth L. Brainerd post-doc Harvard
Jiping He post-doc Harvard

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Publications

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Smeesters C, Hayes WC, McMahon TA. (2007) Determining fall direction and impact location for various disturbances and gait speeds using the articulated total body model. Journal of Biomechanical Engineering. 129: 393-9
Herr HM, Huang GT, McMahon TA. (2002) A model of scale effects in mammalian quadrupedal running. The Journal of Experimental Biology. 205: 959-67
Kerdok AE, Biewener AA, McMahon TA, et al. (2002) Energetics and mechanics of human running on surfaces of different stiffnesses. Journal of Applied Physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985). 92: 469-78
Federle W, Brainerd EL, McMahon TA, et al. (2001) Biomechanics of the movable pretarsal adhesive organ in ants and bees. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 98: 6215-20
Smeesters C, Hayes WC, McMahon TA. (2001) The threshold trip duration for which recovery is no longer possible is associated with strength and reaction time. Journal of Biomechanics. 34: 589-95
Smeesters C, Hayes WC, McMahon TA. (2001) Disturbance type and gait speed affect fall direction and impact location. Journal of Biomechanics. 34: 309-17
Herr HM, McMahon TA. (2001) Galloping horse model International Journal of Robotics Research. 20: 26-37
Herr HM, McMahon TA. (2000) A Trotting Horse Model The International Journal of Robotics Research. 19: 566-581
Bowman SM, Gibson LJ, Hayes WC, et al. (1999) Results from demineralized bone creep tests suggest that collagen is responsible for the creep behavior of bone. Journal of Biomechanical Engineering. 121: 253-8
Bowman SM, Guo XE, Cheng DW, et al. (1998) Creep contributes to the fatigue behavior of bovine trabecular bone. Journal of Biomechanical Engineering. 120: 647-54
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