CYtation Award Winners

ISU President Gregory Geoffroy, left, and P&S Council President Dan Woodin, right, honored eight P&S CYtation Award Winners at ceremonies recently in the President's office. Those honored were, from left, Robert Steffes, Keith Swanson, Jodi Reinhart, Joe Mesterhazy, Beth Weiser, David Nelson, Cynthia Jenks and John Lathrum.

January 20, 2006

President Geoffroy presented eight P&S staff members with "CYtation" Awards on Jan. 20, 2006. This award recognizes individuals who have performed above and beyond the call of duty, done something extraordinarily well, or acted in such a way as to make a very real difference at Iowa State University. The work must have been completed within twelve months of the nomination.

Those who were honored are:

Cynthia Jenks - Scientist, Ames Laboratory: In recognition of her crucial role in co-chairing the extremely successful 9th International Conference on Quasicrystals (ICQ9) held in Ames in May 2005. Dr. Jenks' efforts on ICQ9 went far beyond the requirements of her actual job and evenings and weekends spent fine-tuning the organization of this conference brought considerable luster and acclaim to ISU and the community.
Nominator: Patricia Thiel

John Lathrum - Industrial Hygienist, Environmental Health and Safety: In recognition of successfully managing the removal of asbestos for the demolition of Knapp and Storms Hall dormitories, the largest single asbestos abatement project ever managed by ISU. The project required extended daily hours (10 hour shifts) as well as Saturday work shifts and was completed over a six-month time frame, thus it required a significant time commitment beyond the traditional work periods.
Nominator: James L. Gunning

Joseph Mesterhazy - Systems Support Specialist, Electrical and Computer Engineering: Worked closely with the IT community to bring Redhat Enterprise Linux to the forefront. His vision to bring Redhat Enterprise Linux into the College of Engineering and the university was and still is an amazing feat. Ask almost anyone working in the university with Redhat today and Joe's name will come up. Joe works hard to improve the lives of those using his applications.
Nominator: Arun Somani

David Nelson - Systems Analyst, Environmental Health and Safety: In recognition for taking charge of changing computerized waste management system for regulated waste. This had to be completed quickly and accomplished before waste was scheduled to be brought to the new facility in October 2005. The new program, CERTS, efficiently tracks, labels, stores and manages regulated waste for the university.
Nominator: Paul Richmond

Jodi Reinhart - Administrative Specialist, Mechanical Engineering: In recognition for working with and organizing staff and faculty in less than one year to improve productivity and the office atmosphere. Her leadership, individual attention and communications skills have improved staff and faculty morale.
Nominator: Judy M. Vance

Robert Steffes - Program Manager, Center for Transportation Research and Education: In recognition for designing two mobile research labs for the Center for Transportation Research and Education. This included a concrete mobile lab and a geotechnical mobile lab. Both labs are part of an effort to bring factory-like quality control to outdoor construction and are used for state of the art pooled-fund studies.
Nominators: Steve Andrie and Tom Cackler

Keith Swanson - Systems Support Specialist, Foreign Language and Literatures: In recognition of the successful management of a difficult transition in the management, structuref and operation of the Foreign Language Learning Resource Center, which involved both staffing and remodeling changes. The center serves over 7,500 students each year and includes a lab facility as well as technology-enhanced classroom. Keith made extraordinary efforts to keep the Center and related IT endeavors operational during the transition.
Nominator: Dawn Bratsch-Prince

Beth Weiser - Program Assistant, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering: In recognition for coordinating the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering centennial celebration. Beth was a tremendous resource in making the department's celebration a memorable event that brought recognition for the department and built positive alumni relations. The event would not have happened without her dedication and diligence.
Nominator: Jay D. Harmon

This group of honorees was selected from nominations reviewed in December. The deadline for the next Cytation Awards submission is April 1.

More Information about CYtation Awards.