AAGFO Distinguished Member Award

The American Academy of Gold Foil Operators has chosen Tim Carlson as its 2016 Distinguished Member. The selection committee has made an outstanding decision to a well deserving recipient.

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Tim was born in Staten Island, but moved to the Midwest when he was 4. He grew up mostly in small towns, Stromsburg, Nebraska pop 1200 through elementary, and Essex Iowa, pop 850 through Junior in HS. Tim's dad was a pastor, so they moved every 5-8 years. He went to his senior year of HS in South Bend, Indiana, pop 100,000, so that was a big jump and quite exciting for a teenager. From there he attended North Park University in Chicago where he met a cute nursing student and they were married after her graduation. Tim attended Indiana University School of Dentistry for both his DDS and MSD in Operative Dentistry degrees. The family lived very frugally in a mobile home during dental school, so Ann was able to support both of them and pay for Tim's education while working as a nurse.

After graduating in 1978, with High Distinction from the Indiana University School of Dentistry, including nearly a clean sweep of the student awards, Tim and Ann left for a two year mission to Haiti.

Upon their return, Mel Lund and Mike Cochran offered him a teaching position in 1980. During the subsequent years, Mike and Tim would share an office together. As typical of dental students, they would frequent their offices with questions and concerns. As a team, they developed the habit of completing each other's sentences. Many times the students didn't know who they were talking to, but Mike says he was always the better looking responder.

Tim is now a full tenured professor at IUSD with joint appointments in the Department of Comprehensive Care and General Dentistry and the Department of Cariology. In his 36 years of teaching, he has had significant influence on over 4000 dental students. He is an active clinician and has practiced one day per week for 33 years.

The missions to Haiti continue and Tim serves as the director of the IUSD International Dental Service Learning Program. Under his supervision the dental students also provide care in Ecuador, Mexico, Guatemala, Kenya and the Lakota Indian Tribe in South Dakota.

He also serves as the managing editor of the journal, Operative Dentistry. He has held this position for 17 years.

Tim was inducted into our academy in 1983. He was the second to receive the Outstanding Clinician Award in 1990. He served as our president in 2000. Of all the academies that he is involved in, the one he greatly enjoys is our own AAGFO. He states, “we share great friends and work alongside the best technical clinicians in the world”.

He is a member of the ADA, Indiana Dental Association and the Indianapolis District Dental Society. In addition, according to Mel Lund, Tim holds membership in a number of the other usual and unusual dental organizations both nationally and internationally. He is fluent in Creole and enjoys being a “funster and punster”, handyman and computer “guru”.

The AAGFO DM Award will be added to the many others that Tim has received, including the Indiana Dental Association Outstanding Faculty Member Award, the IUSD Trustees Teaching Award and the ADA Certificate of Recognition for Meritorious Service for Volunteer International Service.

Of all the decisions he's made including following Christ, he said his best one was asking Ann to marry him. She has been his lifetime partner for 41 years. Being a nurse, I'm sure, has been quite helpful on all those mission trips.

I know that you're all thinking that Tim goes quietly through life serving Christ, dentistry and others in his soft spoken, mild mannered way. But I must tell you that Tim has another (darker) side. All you have to do is put him behind the wheel of a go kart or the stick of a jet fighter simulator and the “animal” comes out. But to no surprise, he excels and distinguishes himself in these areas, too.

On weekends, Tim enjoys riding motorcycles with friends and driving with Ann in their Mazda Miata convertible. They put the top down, turn up the heat or AC and disregard the weather. They even drive in the rain staying above 30 mph and avoiding stop signs. They love to travel both in and out of the US. But lately their travels take them to Minneapolis to see the grandkids.

I would be remiss without mentioning one other mentor and dear friend, Ron Harris. Mike, Mel, Ron and Tim have had many adventures in teaching and continue to enjoy a long lasting friendship. He now joins them as our 2016 American Academy of Gold Foil Operators Distinguished Member.

Congratulations Tim or as they say in Creole, Konpliman and byen fe (well done).

Rick Nash