When Goelet Professor of Medieval History Michael McCormick opened his mail on Monday to find a letter of congratulation from the president of the Mellon Foundation, he was shocked.

McCormick had received the Andrew W. Mellon Distinguished Achievement Award—a distinction he didn’t even know existed.

The award, which was created just last year, provides five humanities scholars with up to $1.5 million for research over a three-year span.

But McCormick, who has recently pioneered attempts to integrate archeology and biology into the study of history, initially thought the letter had been sent in error.

“This came as a great bolt out of the blue,” McCormick said. “When my wife and I realized that it was not a mistake, she told me that I am always having ideas and now I have the money to make them happen.”

Yesterday, McCormick, who co-teaches History 10a, “Western Societies, Politics and Cultures: From Antiquity to 1650,” said he was still surprised by the unexpected news.

At the behest of Head Teaching Fellow Jennifer Davis, he announced the honor to students at his class lecture.

According to Mellon Foundation Vice President Harriet Zuckerman, winners of the Mellon award are nominated by a colleague and then reviewed by a panel of their peers.

McCormick must now submit a research proposal outlining how he plans to spend the money.

Although he does not yet have a definite plan, McCormick said his research might focus on issues such as the effects of the bubonic plague on commerce.

“I am interested in historical archeology, of course,” McCormick said, “and carefully targeting sites that are important to the history of economics and health.”

In his most recent book, Origins of the European Economy: Communications and Commerce, A.D. 300-900, McCormick proposed an alternate view of the economic development of medieval Europe, integrating biological and archeological evidence with written sources.

Davis called McCormick’s work ground-breaking.

“Not only is his scholarship very good, but what he is doing is really just beginning,” Davis said. “Integrating molecular biology into the study of medieval Europe is definitely in the vanguard.”

The Mellon award was established to recognize “a small number of scholars in the humanities whose work has been distinguished” and underscore “the significant

role humanities play in American life,” according to the letter McCormick received.

As a result of the unexpected funding, Davis said she expects McCormick will be able to give undergraduates a larger role in his research.

Awardees are expected to work closely with their affiliated institutions in conducting their research.

“This is an award for institutions, not for individuals alone. We don’t think scholarship is carried out in a hermetically-sealed environment. So Harvard is an equal player in this,” Zuckerman said.

The selection of McCormick marks the second time in the award’s two-year history that it has been given to a Harvard professor—last year’s recipients included Cogan University Professor Stephen J. Greenblatt.