Reflecting on 50 Years of Academy Membership
Tom Golway first joined The New York Academy of Sciences as an undergraduate student. He remains active half a century later.
Published January 27, 2026
By Nick Fetty
Tom Golway grew up in Staten Island “at a time when much of the area was still semi-rural.” He remembers exploring the untouched forests, observing the plants, trees, and other natural patterns around him. He and his family took cross-country, summer camping trips, including to national parks, which further piqued his interest in the outdoors.
Unbeknownst to him at the time, these early nature excursions would serve as the basis for what would become a successful career and a lifelong interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The local library became his “anchor” as he read books and other materials to better understand what he was observing during his nature excursions. Then came his school trip to New York’s renowned American Museum of Natural History (which served as the Academy’s home between 1904 and 1949).
“After that visit I used the money I earned delivering newspapers to become a member of the museum and I’ve remained one ever since,” says Golway. “That early exposure to discovery, exploration, and scientific wonder has shaped my path ever since.”
Golway first learned about the Academy through “a series of remarkable mentors” he had in high school. These mentors instilled in him a genuine curiosity across all areas of STEM. They encouraged him to develop depth in a specific field while staying open to the broader scientific landscape.
A Foundation for Success
After high school, Golway attended St. John’s University in Queens, where he majored in mathematics and computer science. Several of his professors were Academy members and they encouraged him to attend events outside of his own discipline. He heeded this advice and discovered that “the Academy offered a rare space where ideas flowed freely across fields.” Golway found that at the Academy, developing a broad scientific perspective wasn’t just encouraged, it was expected.
“The support and intellectual generosity I encountered from Academy members early in my career had a profound impact on me,” says Golway, who formally joined the Academy in 1976. “It shaped how I thought about interdisciplinary work and helped me recognize the responsibility, and opportunity, to contribute to the next generation of STEM professionals.”
Part of what attracted Golway to the field of mathematics is that it allowed him to understand how systems operate at a foundational level: how things work, how they break, and how they can be improved. He says this foundation has allowed him to fluidly move between fields, to see patterns others might miss, and to approach complex problems with both rigor and creativity.
Early in his career he joined the MIT Lincoln Laboratory where he worked on data‑flow computing at a time when the ideas behind parallelism and distributed systems were still emerging. He helped to maintain the lab’s node for ARPANET, a U.S. Department of Defense project that led to the creation of what we call the commercial Internet today. Later, he had the opportunity to contribute to some of the earliest cloud‑computing architectures and to help shape the first intelligent‑city frameworks. These projects blended technology, infrastructure, and human‑centered design long before those ideas became mainstream.
“But when I think about what I’m most proud of, it isn’t a specific technology or project. It’s the people. I’ve had the privilege of mentoring many talented individuals over the years and seeing them grow, professionally and personally, has been incredibly rewarding,” Golway says.
From Mentee to Mentor
Influenced by and appreciative of the great mentors he had, Golway takes his role as a mentor seriously. He encourages aspiring STEM professionals to cultivate breadth as intentionally as they cultivate depth. Important insights can be gleaned from fields outside of STEM. Golway feels that having a framework in areas like philosophy, ethics, and sociology, for example, enables scientists to expand their imagination and strengthen their judgement.
“I also encourage students to explore ideas like Areté, the pursuit of excellence in both character and craft. And Ikigai, the alignment of what you’re good at, what you love, what the world needs, and what sustains you. These concepts help anchor a career in purpose rather than just achievement,” Golway says.
As a vociferous reader himself, he encourages aspiring professionals to read “not only for professional development but for pleasure.” Having an understanding of fiction, history, poetry, and other elements of culture enables one to stretch their minds in ways that technical work alone cannot.
Lastly, he advises mentees to approach STEM as a “community endeavor.” He feels that as one grows throughout their career, they should find ways to give back. This might include mentoring, contributing to open‑science initiatives, or supporting others in their own learning journeys.
“I’ve found that the most meaningful mentoring happens when the person I’m working with takes an active role in the process. When both sides engage fully, the experience becomes collaborative, empowering, and often transformative.”
A Combination of Community, Rigor, and Intellectual Openness
Part of why Golway has remained active with the Academy for more than 50 years now is because it has “provided a genuine intellectual community.” He appreciates that interdisciplinary exchange happens naturally at the Academy. A place where “an informal conversation can shift the direction of your work.”
While Golway has attended dozens of Academy events, a few moments stand out. He recalled the first Academy event he attended when he was about 19 years old. He remembers asking what were “probably very naïve questions,” but was taken aback by the more veteran members who appreciated his curiosity and answered his questions with respect.
“That experience made it clear that the Academy was a place where curiosity was welcomed, regardless of age or background,” he says.
He also remembers a 1977 event focused on the then-novel concept of chaos theory. He had the chance to be in the room with pioneering scholars like Edward Lorenz, David Ruelle, Robert May, and James Yorke. His takeaways from the event would influence his work in generative dynamics.
In addition to the Academy, Golway is also a member of the International Science Reserve. Established in 2021 in partnership with the Academy, the ISR is a global network “working together to accelerate research to address complex global crises.” For Golway, the ISR represents the next step in what the Academy has always stood for: “bringing diverse scientific communities together to solve problems that no single field or organization can address alone.”
“What has kept me engaged is that the Academy consistently creates spaces—both in person and through its publications—where curiosity is rewarded, boundaries between fields dissolve, and new ways of thinking emerge,” says Golway. “That combination of community, rigor, and intellectual openness is rare. It’s why I’ve stayed connected for so long.”
A Man of Many Interests
Golway retains the same appreciation he had in nature as a boy. He says that being outside grounds him and reconnects him to “the intellectual curiosity” that first pulled him to science. He’s an avid reader of everything from fantasy and science fiction to biographies and classic novels. Similarly, his musical tastes range from classical to heavy metal, “depending on the day and the task.” Golway is equally as open-minded with his approach to trying different cuisines and finds that “food is one of the most immediate ways to experience another place or perspective.” His work has enabled him to travel to five continents, exploring everything from urban centers to rural backroads, which he said has given him a more optimistic view of the world.
He’s also a lifelong sports fan. Though he no longer plays (he was a member of the tennis and golf teams as an undergraduate at St. John’s and played extracurricular soccer and ice hockey) he enjoys being a spectator. He’s a lifelong Yankees fan as well as a supporter of the national soccer teams for Ireland and England. He says following sports gives him “a different kind of rhythm and focus” while allowing him to exercise the more cerebral parts of his brain.
A longtime researcher, Golway continues to write. While he admits he only occasionally publishes his work on his blog and on Good Reads, the writing process itself gives him the chance to “think, reflect, and explore new ideas.” As he reflects on his life and career, he often thinks about a personal mantra that he has for his approach to science and the world more broadly.
“Science looks to define observable truths building on current measurable knowledge. As knowledge is expanded, we find that not all ‘truths’ are immutable. The willingness to revise them is the essence of science.”
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