Max was the "official" advisor for both of us. He didn't supervise our thesis work , he just represented us to the Department. After  Tom and I both had unsuccessful experiences with advisors in the Department, Max found us advisors outside of the Department who were offering thesis topics that really suited us.  Tom did his Ph.D. with Allen Goland at Brookhaven and I did my Ph.D. with George Stell, then in the Mechanics Department. I remember asking Max whether our unsual choices of thesis advisor would sit well with the Department and he replied (with the faintest of smiles), "I AM the Department!".  And the fact of the matter is that to us he was. He really did make a difference in our lives.