The Physical Sciences and Engineering (PSE) Employees of the Month program recognizes two individuals each month — one programmatic and one operations — based on the excellence of their work and demonstration of Argonne’s Core Values: Impact, Safety, Respect, Integrity and Teamwork.
September 2020 PSE Employee of the Month – Programmatic category
- John Pearson, a Principal Materials Engineer in Argonne’s Materials Science (MSD) division, is recognized for advancing programmatic goals by assisting scientists with drafting and reviewing Work Control Documents, and leading the relocation of multiple labs from Buildings 223 to 242 as part of the Materials Design Laboratory move project. His clear and positive communication with scientists and postdocs guaranteed that everyone understood the scope of the work and safety measures in place; enhanced collaborations with the Physics and High Energy Physics divisions; and directly contributed to the advancement of multiple fieldwork proposals in MSD. His patience and competence throughout the move reflect Argonne’s Core Values of Teamwork and Impact..
September 2020 PSE Employee of the Month – Operations category
- As the ESH Coordinator for Building 242, Heather Stepan-Paar (Worker Safety and Health) demonstrated Argonne’s Core Values of Teamwork and Safety by helping scientists safely resume their experiments as they returned from Minimum Safe Operations. She demonstrated initiative and foresight by proactively reaching out to organize meetings and coordinate interactions between subject-matter experts and investigators during the return. Her knowledge of safety and Argonne processes greatly expedited the process of renewing Work Control Documents.
Each month, the PSE Associate Laboratory Director and Division Directors review PSE Employees of the Month nominations and select recipients. All Argonne employees are eligible for nomination, including people within PSE and those who work with PSE. All PSE staff, postdocs and students are welcome to submit nominations. The call for nominations opens on the first of each month.
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.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://energy.gov/science.