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MIT Excellence Awards honor seven Lincoln Laboratory employees
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MIT Excellence Awards honor seven Lincoln Laboratory employees
Seven individuals from MIT Lincoln Laboratory are among the recipients of the 2017 MIT Excellence Awards. On March 16, this year’s recipients were recognized at a ceremony in MIT’s Kresge Auditorium.
The MIT Excellence Awards acknowledge the extraordinary efforts made by members of our community toward fulfilling the goals, values, and mission of the Institute. The awards are among the highest honors awarded to staff by MIT. Professionalism, commitment to best practices, and high standards of excellence are at the heart of these awards.
The following individuals are the Laboratory’s 2017 honorees:
Raoul Ouedraogo of the Advanced Sensors and Techniques Group receives the Bringing Out the Best Award. Pictured with MIT Vice President for Human Resources Lorraine Goffe (left) and Lincoln Laboratory Director Eric Evans (right).
Raoul Oudraogo — Bringing Out the Best Award
Raoul Ouedraogo received a Bringing Out the Best Award for cultivating a supportive environment for his colleagues, helping others succeed, and striving to make every contributor feel valued. He is involved in mentoring, diversity, inclusion, K-12 outreach, recruiting, and new program development—all in addition to his work as a principal investigator and researcher. The award recognizes individuals who provide everyday leadership by communicating openly and with respect, demonstrating accountability, positively influencing others to build consensus, effectively championing change, and devoting time to coach and mentor colleagues.
Alexia Schulz of the Cyber Systems and Operations Group is awarded the Bringing Out the Best Award. Pictured with MIT Vice President for Human Resources Lorraine Goffe (left) and Lincoln Laboratory Director Eric Evans (right).
Alexia Schulz — Bringing Out the Best Award
Alexia Schulz received a Bringing Out the Best Award for leading with passion, vision, and purpose, caring deeply about her teammates. She makes every effort to find projects that will help each person thrive and grow their careers, ensuring that everyone is allowed to shine. She has helped colleagues find work-life balance, determine priorities, and take charge of their professional development.
Edison Arana of the Fabrication Engineering Group is awarded the Outstanding Contributor Award. Pictured with MIT Vice President for Human Resources Lorraine Goffe (left) and Lincoln Laboratory Director Eric Evans (right).
Edison Arana — Outstanding Contributor Award
Edison Arana received an Outstanding Contributor Award for his mastery of CNC equipment that makes it possible for the Laboratory to quickly deliver state-of-the-art technologies and help solve some of the nation’s most stubborn challenges. Edison is crucial to Lincoln Laboratory not only because of his technical genius, but also his endless dedication to learning, inventing, collaborating, questioning, and refining. As one colleague noted, “If an exceedingly difficult part comes into the machine shop, we turn to Edison. His creativity and initiative consistently result in success.”
Katherine Barlett, Senior Program Manager, Community Wellness, MIT/Lincoln Laboratory was given the Outstanding Contributor Award. Pictured with MIT Vice President for Human Resources Lorraine Goffe (left) and Lincoln Laboratory Director Eric Evans (right).Katherine Bartlett — Outstanding Contributor Award
Katherine Barlett received an Outstanding Contributor Award for her commitment to the health and well-being of her colleagues at Lincoln Laboratory, setting up programs to meet employees' broad and ever-evolving needs. Her programs help develop a better relationship between human resources services and the technical staff. She has planned a comprehensive strategic health and wellness plan based on the varied divisional needs within Lincoln Laboratory. Katherine’s colleagues applaud her amazing energy and responsiveness to their needs.
Benjamin Nahill of the Secure Resilient Systems and Technologies Group is awarded the Outstanding Contributor Award. Pictured with MIT Vice President for Human Resources Lorraine Goffe (left) and Lincoln Laboratory Director Eric Evans (right).
Benjamin Nahill — Outstanding Contributor Award
Benjamin Nahill received an Outstanding Contributor Award for dedication, inventiveness, and willingness to help colleagues, regardless of his own work load. His affable nature, persistence and dedication regardless of technical obstacles, continuously coming to the rescue with crucial technical solutions, inspire his colleagues.
Jeffrey Stewart of the Cyber System Assessments Group receives the Outstanding Contributor Award. Pictured with MIT Vice President for Human Resources Lorraine Goffe (left) and Lincoln Laboratory Director Eric Evans (right).Jeffrey Stewart — Outstanding Contributor Award
Jeffrey Stewart received an Outstanding Contributor Award for his remarkable ability and laser focus—qualities that he leverages to reverse-engineer hardware and software systems, tease apart binary images to understand how a system works, and unmask errors, omissions, and invalid assumptions that make the system vulnerable. His colleagues nominated him for this award for “all the times Jeff has worked behind the scenes, eschewing the spotlight, and forgoing professional recognition in order to put the focus on the team.”
Aida Riley — Outstanding Contributor Award
Aida Riley received an Outstanding Contributor Award for her remarkable technical skills and for who she is as a person. One colleague said of Aida, “Not only does she always know just the right tool, next step, or person to call, she also knows how to calm nerves in a crisis and help people focus on the core issues.” She is a selfless scientist who embodies MIT’s spirit of technical innovation. Aida was not able to attend the award ceremony.
The Bringing Out the Best Award recognizes individuals who provide everyday leadership by communicating openly and with respect, demonstrating accountability, positively influencing others to build consensus, effectively championing change, and devoting time to coach and mentor colleagues.
The Outstanding Contributor Award (formerly Unsung Hero Award) is for teams and individuals who consistently go above and beyond without fanfare, fill in when and wherever needed and always perform at a high level, take initiative to solve problems and improve work situations without being prompted, demonstrate reliability, perseverance, and focus on results, and help others by sharing knowledge of Institute practices and resources or job-related skills.
The Excellence Awards honor individuals who exemplify the goals of the Institute: to advance knowledge, to educate students, and "to develop in each member of the MIT community the ability and passion to work wisely, creatively, and effectively for the betterment of humankind." Since 1991, the awards have recognized employees from departments, offices, divisions, and laboratories across MIT. More information about the MIT Excellence Awards can be found at the MIT Excellence Awards website.
Posted April 2017
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