The Engineering Awards recognize distinguished contributions to the Laboratory's engineering and computing objectives. The 2023 recipients were announced on September 27, 2024.
David Bergman, an electrical engineer at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), was honored for his 34-year career contributions. His work includes development, commissioning, operations, and upgrades of NSLS-II's high-power systems. "Delivering, sustaining and evolving safe, reliable and stable operations of the facility in the past decade is a direct conclusion of David’s diligent work and his engineering ingenuity." He played a key role in developing the Storage Ring Dipole Power Supply and enhancing reliability in Booster Dipole and Quadrupole power supplies.
Russell Feder from the Collider-Accelerator Department received recognition for his leadership as sPHENIX Chief Mechanical Engineer and Head of the sPHENIX Integration Office from 2019 to 2023. "Russ's leadership played a pivotal role in the on-time, on-budget completion of sPHENIX," overcoming pandemic and supply chain challenges. This success supports RHIC operation from 2023 to 2025.
John Kuczewski from the Instrumentation Division was honored for his work on the sPHENIX Time Projection Chamber (TPC) readout system. His efforts included designing custom ASICs, FELIX computer interfaces, and over six hundred custom Front End Electronic boards. "His comprehensive involvement and mastery of high-speed logic design make him instrumental in the success of the sPHENIX experiment."
Seth Nemesure from the Collider-Accelerator Department was recognized for his technical contributions over 25 years. His achievements include designing crucial controls interfaces for RHIC and AGS polarimetry. A notable accomplishment is Seth's redesign of the electronic logbook (elog) in 2013.
Joel Vasquez from the Physics Department was honored for his contributions to sPHENIX electrical infrastructure, safety system, controls, and interlocks. He upgraded power distribution systems to current standards with precision.