Press Release

September 1 , 2011

MIT Museum thanks Frank Conahan for 6 years of service.

On Wednesday, August 31, the MIT Museum staff held a farewell lunch for Frank Conahan, who is retiring from his position as the Curatorial Associate for the MIT Museum’s General and Hart Nautical Collection.

During the past six years Frank's name was a familiar one to many on and off campus, as he fielded hundreds if not thousands of requests for information, images, rights clearances, and historical information about MIT. The MIT 150th sesquicentennial was an especially busy time as the range of publications, exhibitions and special programs about MIT expanded quickly throughout the 150th celebration.

"He’s been my go-to person at the Museum" is a refrain we are hearing from colleagues throughout MIT, and he will be sorely missed. As noted during the luncheon, his contributions to films, books and the wider range digital media are too numerous to count. While he plans on travelling some, Frank begins a class this evening in the fine arts, and hopes to become more involved with photography and with groups promoting the nautical history of the region.

Future questions about the general collections should be e-mailed to: museum-reference@mit.edu. Questions about the Hart Nautical Collection should be sent directly to Kurt Hasselbalch, Curator, Hart Nautical Collections, kurt@mit.edu.