FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Pasadena, CA – February 2017
2017 NOGLSTP LGBTQ+ Recognition Awards Announced: McGill, Sigmund, Butterfield take top honors
The 2017 NOGLSTP LGBTQ+ Scientist of the Year is Matthew McGill of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Dr. McGill has been chosen to receive this award because of his outstanding achievements in the application of LIDAR technology in the study of Earth’s atmosphere to better understand climate change impacts. LIDAR is an acronym for light detection and ranging. It is a remote sensing method that uses light from a pulsed laser to measure properties of the atmosphere. McGill is both a research physicist and the Earth Science Division chief technologist at NASA Goddard. As a research physicist, his focus is on studying the atmosphere. He develops new concepts, prototypes new instruments, participates in field campaigns, analyzes data from instruments and satellites, writes proposals, and mentors younger researchers. As the Goddard Earth Science Division chief technologist, he advises management on where the agency should make strategic investments and connects scientists and engineers to make them happen. Upon receiving notification of the award, McGill said, “This is truly a unique and prestigious honor. To be recognized from amongst all science disciplines is humbling and also acknowledges the importance of the work the Earth science community is pursuing. Moreover, to be recognized as a visible member of, and advocate for, the GLBT community provides important recognition of the value of GLBT professionals. Such visibility is particularly important within government agencies, such as NASA.”
The 2017 NOGLSTP LGBTQ+ Engineer of the Year Award recipient is Wolfgang Sigmund. Dr. Sigmund is a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Florida. His research involves advances in modern materials synthesis technologies, including direct casting of ceramics, oxide ceramic nanomaterials, nucleation and growth modeling of metallic nanowires, and aqueous sol-gel processing of transition metal oxides. Sigmund was born in Germany, studied in Germany and Great Britain, and then worked in Europe, Asia, and the Americas at Max-Planck Institutes, RIKEN (Japan), Hanyang University (South Korea), and several other universities. He is editor in chief of Critical Reviews in Solid State and Materials Sciences and is on multiple editorial boards. He has published two edited books, numerous book chapters, and 200+ refereed articles and 40+ patents. He frequently organizes national and international symposia and conferences. Some of these focus on LGBTQ+ topics. He is a member of NOGLSTP and oSTEM, and a fellow in three materials societies and one academy.
The 2017 NOGLSTP LGBTQ+Educator of the Year Award recipient is Dr. Anthony Butterfield. Dr. Butterfield is an Assistant Professor (Lecturer) in Chemical Engineering at the University of Utah. He has an extensive publication record in both education and disciplinary journals, and has made a significant contribution to engineering education at the University of Utah. He has been honored twice as an outstanding instructor in his department, received an outstanding Teaching Award from the College of engineering, and has been recognized by the dean of his college as being in the top 15% of faculty in student evaluations for every class he has taught. Dr. Butterfield has developed a strong mentoring partnership with AMES High School where he conducts a two week course on chemical engineering for their Introduction to Engineering course, and has mentored eight of their students as interns. It is clear through his activities outside of the classroom that he is active in the LGBTQ+ community, and supports both LGBTQ+ students at his institution and in the wider scientific community. He has enabled significant growth for LGBTQ+ students in science or technology through teaching and outreach and through the innovative use of on-line widgets and tools that demonstrate concepts for his courses.
About NOGLSTP
NOGLSTP was established in 1980, incorporated in the State of California in 1991, and was granted IRS 501 (c) 3 non-profit status in 1992. NOGLSTP’s mission is to educate the scientific and general communities about the presence and accomplishments of LGBT individuals in STEM professions. NOGLSTP presents educational symposia and workshops nationwide. NOGLSTP fosters dialog with other professional societies, academia, and industry to facilitate diversity and inclusion in the workplace. NOGLSTP is a membership-based professional society and a non-profit educational organization under IRS section 501(c)(3). NOGLSTP is an affiliate of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a participating professional society in the MentorNet® Affiliated Partners Plus program, a sustaining member of the National Postdoctoral Association,an endorsing society of National Engineers Week, a founding member of the E-Week Diversity Council, a partner with the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium, an American Chemical Society Diversity Programs Partner, and a partnering organization of the National Research Mentoring Network.