NIST Staff Receive High Honors From Commerce Department

Commerce Secretary William Daley has presented 10 local residents and three groups at the National Institute of Standards and Technology with Gold and Silver Medal Awards—the two highest honor awards presented by the department.

Gold Medalists

The Gold Medal is presented for "distinguished performance characterized by extraordinary, notable or prestigous contributions that impact the mission of the Department of Commerce and/or one operating unit and which reflect favorably on the Department. For 1998, it was awarded to five local residents. The following were honored:

B. Stephen Carpenter, BOYDS, Md., Director, International and Academic Affairs, Office of the Director,

"For leadership and direction of NIST’s international relationships and activities. He has played a critical role in the revitalization and promotion of the Inter-American Metrology System, an organization seeking to harmonize measurement standards and facilitate trade among the Western Hemisphere nations."

Harry Hertz, BOYDS, Md., Director, Baldrige National Quality Program,

"For leadership as the director of the Baldrige National Quality Program, which, through his vision, management expertise and total commitment to performance excellence, is in a solid position to diversify and expand the delivery of the Baldrige concepts to all segments of the economy."

Lura J. Powell, BROOKEVILLE, Md., Director, Advanced Technology Program,

"For leadership of the Advanced Technology Program during very turbulent years; responding successfully to countless Congressional, budgetary and programmatic inquiries and requests; and helping implement the recommendations of the Commerce Secretary’s study to strengthen the ATP."

Paul S. Julienne, FAIRFAX, Va., Leader, Quantum Processes Group, Physics Laboratory,

"Honored as the pioneer and world leader in the theory of ultracold collisions, including the theory of photoassociation spectroscopy. His work guided and interpreted advances in the field of laser cooling and trapping, and led to the 1995 demonstration of the Bose-Einstein condensate, a new state of matter near absolute zero."

Rosalie T. Ruegg, POOLESVILLE, Md., Director, Economic Assessment Office, Advanced Technology Program,

"For creation of an internationally recognized economic impact assessment methodology for the Advanced Technology Program, enabling ATP to demonstrate its impacts on industry and the economy quantitatively."

Silver Medalists

Five local residents and three NIST groups were honored with the Silver Medal,

given for "exceptional performance characterized by noteworthy or superlative contributions that have a direct or lasting impact within the Department." The honorees are:

Jorge R. Urrutia, GAITHERSBURG, Md., Director, Administration,

"For establishing partnerships with contractors, scientific programmatic staff, procurement officials, legal staff, neighbors and other stakeholders in the construction and modification of research facilities at NIST. His skills as an excellent negotiator have saved NIST millions of dollars in construction costs."

Dale E. Hall, ROCKVILLE, Md., Deputy Director, Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory,

"For leading the development of the Center for Theoretical and Computational Materials Science, an electronic network of measurement tools used to solve industrial problems."

Edward F. Kelley, ROCKVILLE, Md., Physicist, Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory,

"For the invention and development of new methods for characterizing video displays, and for the effective introduction of these methods to industry."

Barbara C. Levin, ROCKVILLE, Md., Biologist, Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory,

"For research leading to the development of the first Standard Reference Material to provide quality control for DNA typing used in forensic identification, medical diagnosis and mutation."

W. Gary Mallard, WASHINGTON, D.C., Leader, Chemical Reference Data and Modeling Group, Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory,

"For developing the NIST Chemistry WebBook, the world’s most comprehensive online collection of thermochemical, thermophysical and spectral reference data for commercially important chemicals."

Fire Protection Group and the Environmental Compliance Group, Administration,

"For responding quickly to a threatening fire in the NIST Chemistry Building on Sept. 22, 1997. In the face of personal danger, both groups worked tirelessly to extinguish the fire and remove hazardous chemicals, resulting in minimal damage and disruptions to the laboratory."

Janitorial Services Group, Administration,

"For forming Clean Room Teams, which resulted in a major change in practices for retaining the ultra-clean environment of NIST laboratories."

As a non-regulatory agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Technology Administration, NIST promotes economic growth by working with industry to develop and apply technology, measurements and standards through four partnerships: the Measurement and Standards Laboratories, the Advanced Technology Program, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership and the Baldrige National Quality Program.