Mary "Missy" Cummings Receives Thomas Langford Lectureship Award

Mary “Missy” Cummings, associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science, has been named as a recipient of Duke University’s Thomas Langford Lectureship Award. Since its inception in 2000, the award has been given annually to five newly hired or promoted Duke faculty members in recognition of Thomas Langford, former Divinity School faculty member, dean and University provost, who embodied the highest university values of faculty excellence and community.

Cummings, who joined Duke’s faculty early this year, is one of the world’s leading experts on drones and tackles issues through her research such as human-machine interaction systems and operator boredom during extended monotonous tasks. The award, for the 2014-2015 academic school year, comes with a $1,000 research stipend as well as an opportunity to present a 30-minute lecture about her research to an interdisciplinary audience of faculty colleagues.