<< Back2010 David W. McLaughlin, Ph.D.
Creighton University
Creighton College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Merit Award
David W. McLaughlin, Ph.D., BSPhy’66
April 8, 2010
Dr. David W. McLaughlin is an outstanding scholar. In fact, many would say that in academia, Dr. McLaughlin, Professor of Mathematics and Neural Science and Provost of New York University, is among the “best of the best.”
Dr. McLaughlin is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is also affiliated with the American Mathematical Society, the National Academy of Sciences, the New York Academy of Sciences and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematicians.
Originally from Woodbine, Iowa, David McLaughlin came to Creighton University in 1962 and graduated summa cum laude in 1966 with a bachelor in science from the physics program – one of the first three students to complete that rigorous course of study.
He received his master’s and doctoral degrees in physics from Indiana University and over the years, held academic appointments at the University of Arizona, where he also served as co-director of the Arizona Air Force Office of Scientific Research; Iowa State University; Princeton University and New York University.
Dr. McLaughlin’s specialized interests and research in mathematical neuroscience, applied mathematics and nonlinear waves put him in a very small circle of distinguished and nationally acclaimed scholars. His recent work in visual neural science has focused upon computational models of the primary visual cortex. Nevertheless, Dr. McLaughlin is modest about his achievements, often describing his work as “collaborative,” the result of an applied mathematician working among scientists to achieve the benefits of multi-disciplinary study.
As a Creighton University student, David McLaughlin’s interests extended well beyond the classroom, to include music, athletics and leadership roles in student organizations. Even now, his demands as a chief academic officer and renowned mathematician at the forefront of neural science do not preclude his being a devoted husband and father.
It is with great pride that Creighton University bestows upon Dr. David McLaughlin the 2010 Alumni Award of Merit for the College of Arts and Sciences.