Argonne employees honored for outstanding service

ARGONNE, Ill. (June 16, 2005) — Four employees of the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have received the 2005 University of Chicago Board of Governors for Argonne Outstanding Service Award, the highest honor the university gives to Argonne employees in support positions.

The award was established in 1983 by the University's Board of Governors for Argonne and recognizes those who have furthered the goals and missions of the laboratory through exceptional contributions. The University of Chicago operates the laboratory for the Department of Energy. The awards were presented at a recent ceremony held at Argonne.

• Vernon Stipp was honored in recognition of his exceptional service to the Intense Pulsed Neutron Source (IPNS) and before that, to the ZGS (Zero Gradient Synchrotron). Now linac group leader, Stipp joined the ZGS linac group as an electronics technician in 1961, just prior to first beam. He has spent his career ensuring that the linac exceeded the high standards demanded of it, initially as the injector to the ZGS, and since the late 1970's, as the injector for the IPNS rapid-cycling synchrotron. He was instrumental in the upgrade of the linac to the 30 pulse-per-second operation demanded for IPNS. Since the early days of IPNS, the linac has operated at an availability level approaching 99 percent, far in excess of that achieved at other accelerator facilities.

• Security Administration Manager Edward J. Mickulas has consistently and significantly contributed to the varied and continued success of Argonne 's Safeguards and Security Program. Mickulas has had a number of critical roles in his 33-year career, ranging from a lead supervisor-special response team leader for the protection of Category I special nuclear materials to the lead contact for local and federal law enforcement during President Bush's visit in 2002. His diverse and extraordinary depth of knowledge of both the laboratory and Safeguards and Security has been a critical component of the long-standing success achieved by Safeguards and Security.

• Staff Assistant Catherine A. Carbaugh was recognized as an example of exceptional sustained professional service during her more than 30 years at Argonne. Carbaugh has had a long-term impact on the smooth operation of the Chemistry Division's administration. She has been asked to serve in several capacities, each time learning new skill sets, often under difficult circumstances. After beginning her career in a secretarial position, she became an administrator in the division's computing group, and later moved into the division's financial office. Recently, Carbaugh was asked to add the role of human resource coordinator to her existing workload; her performance has been outstanding. She also organizes the division's activities for the Argonne Open House, student tours, celebration coffees and assists in the organization of program reviews.

• Mechanical Engineer Clyde B. Dennis has been with Argonne for most of his professional life and with the Environmental Research Division's Applied Geosciences and Environmental Management section since its inception. He has consistently exemplified complete dedication to the section's work, which takes a multidisciplinary approach to the investigation of soil and groundwater contamination at former grain storage facilities.

Dennis' innovative approaches to data management, and his diligent preparation of documentation, presentations and reviews, have proven invaluable to the program. He has contributed expert assistance in developing computational strategies for environmental assessments and taken leadership in quality control of field sampling and resulting analytical data.

Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America 's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.

For more information, please contact Steve McGregor (630/252-5580 or media@anl.gov) at Argonne.