Harvard Honorees

Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS)
Cambridge, Massachusetts

The Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) serves as the connector and integrator of Harvard University’s teaching and research efforts in engineering, applied sciences and technology. Its earliest progenitor, the Lawrence Scientific School was founded at the University in 1847. The Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, then within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, completed its transition and was renamed as a “School” in 2007.

The SEAS community at Harvard embraces flexibility, adaptability and a “never say no” attitude. It has little hierarchy and a high level of autonomy; no formal departments but countless informal groups linked by similar interests. Interdisciplinary collaborations are commonplace.

SEAS is designed to be nimble and multidisciplinary, connected to the professional schools, and directed toward discovery, innovation and impact on society. As noted, it therefore functions as a connector and integrator within the broader University – building bridges between disciplines, departments and schools, and spurring novel partnerships between engineering and the schools of medicine, public health, business, law and government.

SEAS core tenets – educating broad-minded students; interdisciplinary research; integration across disciplines; and balancing theory, experimentation, and practice – create a fertile and supportive environment for exploration and learning.

Founded in 1636, Harvard is the oldest university in the Western Hemisphere. The University offers a curriculum with 3,500 courses and over 40 areas of concentration; the largest university library system in the world; a renowned faculty; nearly 300 student organizations and 41 intercollegiate athletic teams; a House system that combines the intimacy of a small college with the rich and stimulating environment of a university; state-of-the-art research centers, laboratories, and museums; the resources of 10 graduate and professional schools; and the varied cultural, educational, and recreational offerings of Cambridge and Boston, Massachusetts.

Website: http://www.seas.harvard.edu

CONTACT: Assistant Director of Resource Development, Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), 214 Pierce Hall, Harvard University, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138; Voice: (617) 495-9467, FAX: (617) 495-0521

There are many reasons to learn more about our honorees. You may benefit from knowing more about these outstanding individuals and perhaps become a better mentor or advisor yourself. You may wish to add your own congratulations! You may want to renew a former acquaintance.

A sincere effort is maintained to keep this information up to date. However, the individual’s or institutions’ own web sites and directory listings should also prove helpful.

Titles and affiliations are listed as at the time of each award.

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Award Program Institutions

The program is endowed to operate through six supporting institutions.

An international recognition is part of the annual society-level award programs of ASME. U. S. national honorees are recognized through the engineering honor society, Tau Beta Pi. Other outstanding mentors are selected annually through similarly-endowed institutional programs at Duke University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology – universities where sponsor Capers McDonald has been privileged to have been engaged as a learner, either as a student or faculty member.

Aside from simply learning more about each of these organizations, there are many reasons to contact our award program institutions! You may want to learn more and become a better mentor or advisor. You may wish to know the procedure for nominating an excellent mentor for one of the awards. Or, you may have some interest in contributing to the celebration by volunteering some of your time or funds to enhance the recognitions. All are welcomed!

A sincere effort is maintained to keep this information, including contacts, up to date. However, the institutions’ own web sites and directory listings should also prove helpful.

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Connections Among the Six Institutions

In addition to their individual dedication to excellence in engineering and the applied sciences; to innovation, creativity and leadership; and to a broad social perspective on the role of engineers, these six institutions are prominent among those Capers McDonald has enjoyed working and learning in throughout his life – either as a student, faculty member or volunteer.

In the School of Engineering at Duke University, Capers earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) degree with majors in Biomedical Engineering and Zoology in 1974. He completed a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (MSME) degree at MIT in 1976, conducting his thesis work with fellow engineers at MIT and orthopedic surgeons at Children’s Hospital Boston. Following five years of employment, Capers concluded his formal education – to date – with a Master in Business Administration (MBA) degree from Harvard Business School in 1983.

Immediately following 12 years as President and CEO of BioReliance Corporation in 2004, Capers became an Executive in Residence and faculty member with Johns Hopkins University, teaching in graduate programs that in 2007 became parts of the newly-chartered Carey Business School.

Capers was inducted into Tau Beta Pi, the national engineering honorary, following his third undergraduate year at Duke and served as the student Chapter President during 1973-74. He is a Life Member of ASME, which for many years was known as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

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Near Top of Page: Harvard SEAS official crest, as a doormat in Maxwell-Dworkin Hall.