PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Date: January 24, 2004
NOGLSTP to Honor Diamond, Wagner, and AAAS at Inaugural Awards Ceremony in February
The National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals (NOGLSTP) is pleased to announce the first recipients of its Walt Westman Award, GLBT Award, and the Institution/Organization Award: Rochelle Diamond, Larry Wagner, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), respectively. These awards will be presented at a ceremony during the NOGLSTP Reception at the upcoming 2004 AAAS Annual Meeting in Seattle on February 15, 4-6 pm, at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel.
Named after one of NOGLSTP’s founders, the NOGLSTP Walt Westman Award is the highest national award our organization gives to a NOGLSTP member in recognition of outstanding contributions to the advancement of NOGLSTP’s growth. Ms. Rochelle Diamond has been selected to receive the 2004 NOGLSTP Walt Westman Award. Ms. Diamond, a Member of the Professional Staff at California Institute of Technology, is Manager of the Flow Cytometry/Cell Sorting Facility and the Rothenberg Group Developmental Immunology Laboratory. She has been a NOGLSTP member since 1983. After she became Chair of the organization in 1989, Ms. Diamond guided NOGLSTP through the non-profit application process and ultimate affiliation with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Throughout her relationship with NOGLSTP, Ms. Diamond has spearheaded all of NOGLSTP scientific symposia presented at the annual AAAS meetings, and most of the NOGLSTP educational pamphlets. She was responsible for NOGLSTP advising the federal government General Accounting Office on security clearance issues and demographics, and involvement with AAAS Scientific Freedom Responsibility and the Law subcommittee (advising on q-friendly convention sites). Rochelle Diamond has been a visionary NOGLSTP leader for the past 15 years, exemplifying the purpose of the Walt Westman Award, and bringing great honor to its very existence.
The NOGLSTP GLBT Award honors a lesbigaytrans engineer, scientist, or educator who has made outstanding contributions in their field, and recognizes sustained contributions in design, production, management, education, or research. Dr. Larry Wagner has been selected to receive the 2004 NOGLSTP GLBT Award. Dr. Wagner, a physical chemist, is a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff at Texas Instruments, where he is the Failure Analysis Strategy Manager in the Business Quality Department. He is author of the book, Failure Analysis of Integrated Circuits: Tools and Techniques (Kluwer Academic Press 1999), a reference work for semiconductor professionals and researchers. An expert in characterization of the surfaces of materials, Dr. Wagner has been a prodigious contributor to peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences for over 35 years, has taught graduate-level courses in Failure Analysis at the University of New Mexico, and has been a lecturer in TI’s Semiconductor Process Engineering Series. He was the first president of the Electronic Device Failure Analysis Society , a Charter Member of Sematech Product Analysis Forum, served as Program Chair for the Dallas Chapter of the IEEE Reliability Society, and Chair for the Sematech Council of Failure Analysis Leaders. During his past 27 years of employment at Texas Instruments, Dr. Wagner has made exceptional contributions to the semi-conductor industry and to the understanding of how to make reliable chips. In addition to his technical achievements and accomplishments at Texas Instruments, Dr. Wagner has been very active in the GLBT community. He is currently an officer of TI-Legend, an employee organization dedicated to incorporating glbt staff as integral, respected members of the TI work force.
The NOGLSTP Institution/Organization Award honors the institution or organization which has demonstrated outstanding support for NOGLSTP and its programs or objectives. The American Association for the Advancement of Science has been selected to receive the 2004 NOGLSTP Institution/Organization Award. AAAS has been chosen to receive this award because it has been a critical force in providing access and legitimacy to NOGLSTP. From the original organizing efforts for a nationwide association of gay and lesbian scientists at the 1980 AAAS annual meeting, to using AAAS symposia and poster-sessions as a venue to publicize scientific issues especially relevant to the glbt community, NOGLSTP has enjoyed access to and acceptance from the scientific community through AAAS. AAAS took a brave step in the otherwise conservative scientific world when, in 1994, it granted NOGLSTP affiliate status. Beyond the support to NOGLSTP, AAAS has worked consistently to promote diversity in science and engineering. Many prominent gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered individuals serve on AAAS committees, speak at conferences or are otherwise involved in this organization. The fact that AAAS is the largest scientific organization in the world means that its recognition and promotion of NOGLSTP provides a platform from which NOGLSTP can approach and is approaching a host of other professional organizations. Dr. Alan Leshner, CEO of AAAS, will accept this award on behalf of AAAS.