This award was established by the Department of Mechanical Engineering in honor of James F. Bell (1914–95), who was a professor and professor emeritus in the Department of Mechanical Engineering from 1979 until his death. During his 50-year career at Johns Hopkins, Professor Bell worked continuously as an experimentalist in the field of nonlinear mechanics and dynamic plasticity, authoring more than 80 research papers and two books. His avocation was music: He played in the Hopkins Symphony Orchestra for more than 20 years. The James F. Bell Award recognizes outstanding research and scholarly achievement in mechanical engineering.