October 08 Issue - Employee Monthly Magazine
2007 Distinguished Performance Award winners selected
Individual awards
Photos by LeRoy N. Sanchez
Alejandro (Alex) Enriquez
Alex Enriquez of Pu-238 Science and Technology (PMT-5) led the effort to clear waste from Room 201B of Technical Area 55's PF-4 and recover the room for programmatic operations. The waste was material from a glovebox line. It was contaminated with Pu-238 and had been accumulating in slip-lid containers in 201B for eight years.
Disposal of Room 201B's contents under previous processes potentially would have required the use of 3,200 55-gallon drums. To develop a more efficient process, Enriquez did extensive research into residue generation, disposal processes, waste-packaging configurations, and final disposition at WIPP, then discussed the problem with personnel from around the Laboratory. In the end, he initiated new but compliant processes that cleared the room and sent 278 drums to TA-54, an order of magnitude fewer drums than originally estimated. His work released 201B from potential-airborne-radioactivit controls that had been in place there.
Enriquez's innovative cleanup and de-inventory process resulted in a safer work environment for PMT-5 employees and greater efficiency in disposing of Pu-238 residue.
 Miles Baron
Miles Baron of X-2 has attained national recognition as an expert in a highly classified national security area that has international ramifications.
While serving in an ongoing capacity as an advisor to stakeholders at the highest level, he has produced seminal analyses that have reinforced the Laboratory's preeminence in an intensely specialized field with far-reaching impact.
Baron's skills, persistence, attention to detail, and ability to translate technical information for policymakers have been unique in Department of Energy laboratory contributions to the United States' national security establishment.
James Nesmith
As coordinator of the foreign nationals program, James Nesmith of the Science and Technology Base Program Office enables the Laboratory to sustain and nurture the vital contributions that foreign nationals make to Los Alamos science and missions.
Nesmith has created an environment in which foreign experts at the Laboratory can achieve maximum success and productivity within the security needs of the workplace. Nesmith has helped solve visa problems, ensure appropriate cyber access, clarify Laboratory policies affecting foreign nationals, and enable principal investigators from other countries to continue their work here, in accordance with all security and legal requirements, while awaiting permanent-resident status. He also streamlined foreign nationals' access to classes at the University of New Mexico, Los Alamos, even establishing onsite courses in English as a second language.
Nesmith's efforts allow Los Alamos to remain an active participant in the global science and technology community. That participation strengthens the Laboratory's expertise in many fields and helps attract the best U.S. talent to Los Alamos.
 Jaroslaw (Jarek) Majewski
Jarek Majewski of the Lujan Center wants to answer a big question in biomembrane physics: "How do proteins—in particular, biotoxins and pharmaceuticals—reach a cell's interior through the cell's outer membrane?" Answering that question required collecting information from the membranes' lipid layers while they were submerged in liquid—and doing so without damaging the delicate layers.
Majewski developed new techniques in neutron and X-ray reflectometry and grazing-incidence X-ray scattering to study the mechanism by which the cholera biotoxin breaches the cell membrane. His results are breathtakingly detailed profiles of both the toxin and its effects on the cell's membrane. He is now working to solve the riddle of other toxins, including the botulinum neurotoxin, which can induce botulism.
Majewski's new techniques enable researchers to study model biological membranes in realistic aqueous environments. And his work on SPEAR, the neutron reflectometer at the Lujan Center, has brought prominence to Los Alamos.
Ronald Poulson
Ronald Poulson of Weapons Test Design Drafting provided exemplary support as both lead design technician and lead assembly engineer for two hydrodynamic test assemblies—some of the first to undergo confined testing at DARHT. Both tests were for an external customer and were the focus of high-level attention. Conducting such tests efficiently for external customers forms a large part of the Laboratory's reputation in the weapons-testing arena and also in more general technology.
Poulson originally was assigned to support Experimental Device Engineering and Assembly by handling the detailed design tasks for each test assembly, but shifts in both programmatic needs and personnel availability eventually required him to substitute as lead assembly engineer as well. In his double position, he facilitated accurate and timely test assembly construction and helped meet the technical challenges presented by the tests' confinement and positioning requirements.
Poulson's work earned the customer's confidence and resulted in exceptional test results.
 Gary Wall
Gary Wall of X-4 was the leader for physics certification of the W88 warhead containing the newly manufactured pit from TA-55.
His work involved designing and integrating relevant experiments as well as planning and executing activities that supported new hydrodynamic and nuclear model baselines for the W88. He guided execution of the certification plan, employing extensive interaction with the manufacturing and engineering communities, and directed the preparations for effective peer review, both internally and with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
The positive impact of Wall's accomplishment on the Laboratory's programmatic efforts is immeasurable. By guiding the effort across many scientific, engineering, diagnostic, and managerial boundaries, he brought the process to a successful conclusion, adding significantly to the Laboratory's recognition as an institution that delivers on commitments to the stockpile.
Clay Macomber
Clay Macomber of Materials Chemistry pursues research interests involving the study of reaction mechanisms and degradation pathways of solid-state materials.
Through his work, he has been successful in using diffuse reflectance to identify a link between the optical properties of materials and their decomposition kinetics. The materials chemistry team has been able to apply his observations to the establishment of a similar correlation for a material of interest to the weapons program. Such a correlation has been elusive to researchers concerned with establishing the production variables of this material for many years.
The extension of Macomber's work to materials production will allow for an optical diagnostic of a material's quality before the material is subjected to further processing. The result is a significant savings of both time and money.
Individual Awards
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