2021 Eugene Casson Crittenden Award

The Direct Digital Control (DDC) team is recognized for its contribution maintaining critical environmental control to laboratory spaces and high-performance computing clusters during the COVID-19 lockdown.  The possibility of labor losses presented a risk that the Gaithersburg Central Utility Plant might not provide service for NIST mission-critical facilities. The team managed equipment across the entire campus, keeping demand at a level the Central Utility Plant could provide with reduced staffing. They enabled the continuation of measurement services for national security needs, resulting in a direct impact on COVID-19 support to U.S. manufacturers of ventilator parts.  Their support of the NIST mission was truly commendable.