NEWS
GESTAR Scientists Receive Outstanding Performance Awards
NOVEMBER 28, 2011
Contact: Amy Houghton
410-740-6227
Columbia, MD, November 28, 2011 - Of the nine scientists recognized for their achievements at the Earth Sciences - Atmospheres awards ceremony at GSFC, four were affiliated with GESTAR. Each of these scientists received an Outstanding Performance Award at the ceremony, which was held on November 28, 2011.
In response to an annual call, candidates were nominated by colleagues; these nominations were then endorsed by the Laboratory Heads and forwarded to William Lau and his support staff (Code 610), with Dr. Lau making the final selections. Justifications are based on specific accomplishments during the past year. Plaques containing a citation summarizing each researcher's accomplishments were presented at the ceremony, with each awardee being photographed with Dr. Lau and a representative from their respective employers. The four GESTAR scientists received letters of commendation as well as individual monetary awards from GESTAR. Additionally, all ceremony attendees received a coffee mug that displays the now-retired Laboratory for Atmospheres logo.
The eight Award Categories are Best Senior Author Publication; Outstanding Performance in Science, Engineering, Technical Support, Instrumentation, IT Security, and Software Development; Administrative Support. The 2011 GESTAR awardees won in three categories:
For Outstanding Performance in Science:
- Jiun-Dar Chern: "For outstanding research in coupling the Goddard fvGCM, GCE and LIS models to study the multi-scale precipitation processes." (GESTAR/MSU)
- Kyu-Myong Kim: "For outstanding contributions in aerosol-precipitation-climate dynamics research using satellite observations and high-resolution atmospheric models." (GESTAR/MSU)
For Outstanding Performance in Engineering:
- Nader Abuhassan: "For key engineering in the development and construction of the GSFC Pandora spectrometer system for column and profile measurements of atmospheric trace gases and for successful deployment of an array of Pandora systems in the 2011 DISCOVER-AQ field mission." (GESTAR/MSU)
For Outstanding Performance in Instrumentation:
- Charles Gatebe: "For elevating the visibility of the CAR instrument with several first-author papers, on ship wakes, on simultaneous CAR+AERONET surface-atmosphere retrievals, and on smoke plume properties in ARCTAS, and for leading the design of the new BACAR aircraft instrument with much broader spectral range than CAR, polarization channels, and improved performance." (GESTAR/USRA)
ABOUT NASA GODDARAD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, in Greenbelt, Maryland, has been in operation for 50 years -- chartered on May 1, 1959. The Goddard Space Flight Center is a major U.S. laboratory for developing and operating unmanned scientific spacecraft. During the past 50-years, Goddard has been at the forefront in exploration, in technological achievement, in space science, and in studying the Earth as a system.
ABOUT GESTAR
GESTAR conducts research collaboratively, mainly within NASA GSFC's Earth Sciences Division, but also with Solar Systems Exploration Division, Office of Education, and Office of Public Affairs. Scientists and staff at GESTAR, in collaboration with NASA and other investigators, conceive and develop new, space-based missions; provide mission requirements; conduct research that explains the behavior of Earth and other planetary systems; and create engaging media that tell NASA's story of exploration and discovery on Earth and beyond.
