Joel A. Tarr (dad; University Professor & the Richard S. Caliguiri University Professor of History and Policy, Carnegie Mellon University) is the 2008 recipient of the Leonardo da Vinci Medal from the Society for the History of Technology.

It is the highest recognition from the Society for the History of Technology, presented to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the history of technology, through research, teaching, publications, and other activities. Andras Beck (formerly of the Hungarian Academy of Arts) designed the medal, the face of which shows Leonardo's head modeled after the artist's self-portrait. The reverse design shows (in the words of the sculptor) "the basic sources of energy: water, wind, and fire." The prize consists of a medal and a certificate.