a feature of treiman's work was his ability to devise simple, unambiguous experimental tests for theoretical predictions and phenomena. in addition to his own work, treiman was widely recognized as a teacher and mentor, supervising more than two dozen graduate students over three decades. his socratic teaching style enabled his students to gain valuable insights without having been spoon fed the results. he was known for his general wisdom as well as his expertise. one of his more paradoxical sayings is known as treiman's theorem: "impossible things usually don't happen." treiman was awarded the oersted medal by the american association of physics teachers in 1995. he was a member of the american academy of arts and sciences and the american philosophical society.