The people of NETL specialize in not only making an impact on better and safer ways to use our nation’s energy resources, they also are making a difference in the lives of their fellow citizens. The Federal Executive Board (FEB) in both Pittsburgh and in Oregon confirmed outstanding examples with significant recognition awards recently.
The FEB awards program recognizes outstanding federal employees for efforts that encourage innovation and excellence in government. The awards were selected by an independent committee of federal executives who were impressed with these NETL performers:
- A researcher who developed a cost-effective way to filter heavy metals like lead and rare earth elements from municipal water – McMahan Gray
- A team of energy experts that answered the call to help people recover power after devastating hurricanes – Joseph Hanna, Donald Ferguson, Ph.D., Robert Reed, Robert Gross, James Briones, Keith Dodrill, J. Clark Robinson and Walter Yamben
- An innovator who conducted field surveys to detect long forgotten abandoned gas and oil wells with drones and magnetic surveys – Garret Veloski
- A partnership team that reached out to work with the U.S. Department of Commerce to wrestle international bureaucracies and finalize a deal to sell Pennsylvania coal to Ukrainian energy company in record time to meet oncoming winter weather and provide heat for millions - Anthony Armaly and Chuck Taylor, Ph.D.
- Two Laboratory newcomers who forcefully made their marks on critical energy projects by assuming leadership of multimillion dollar research portfolios – Jonathan Lekse and Jerry Carr
- Two researchers who made key contributions in geology and geospatial analysis for safe, effective oil and gas recovery advances and helped inspire more young people to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics studies and careers – Kelly Rose, Ph.D. and Circe Verba, Ph.D.
- Two dedicated administrators who set exacting standards for effective work practices in site support that keeps NETL contracts and facilities at two NETL sites productive and efficient – James Cox in Pittsburgh and Alan Hartman in Albany, Ore.
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More details about the Pittsburgh FEB award winners are available here. Read about the Oregon awards here.
The distinctions cover a wide range of accomplishment all focused on addressing our nation’s energy challenges by discovering and developing technology solutions. But, it’s only the tip of the iceberg – just wait for 2019.
As Acting Director of NETL, Sean I. Plasynski, Ph.D., builds on an extensive background in energy as he leads NETL in its mission to enhance the nation’s energy independence and protect the environment for future generations. For more information about Sean Plasynski's experience, please click here.
