David Mindell has won the 2008 Eugene E. Emme Award for Astronautical Literature, granted by the American Astronautical Society, for his book Digital Apollo — Human and Machine in Spaceflight (MIT Press, 2008).
The society said the book "tells an important story about the interaction between astronaut and computer in the technologically successful Apollo program, and at the same time suggests important questions about the future of the American space program. Clearly written and exhaustively researched, Digital Apollo is a noteworthy contribution to the history of astronautics and aeronautics and, for that matter, to the general history of technology."
The award, named for NASA's first historian, is given annually to a work that contributes to the public understanding of astronautics. Mindell is the Frances and David Dibner Professor of the History of Engineering and Manufacturing, a professor of engineering systems, and director of the Program in Science, Technology, and Society.
The society said the book "tells an important story about the interaction between astronaut and computer in the technologically successful Apollo program, and at the same time suggests important questions about the future of the American space program. Clearly written and exhaustively researched, Digital Apollo is a noteworthy contribution to the history of astronautics and aeronautics and, for that matter, to the general history of technology."
The award, named for NASA's first historian, is given annually to a work that contributes to the public understanding of astronautics. Mindell is the Frances and David Dibner Professor of the History of Engineering and Manufacturing, a professor of engineering systems, and director of the Program in Science, Technology, and Society.
