DOE recognizes 'outstanding' Lab mentors

Last week, nine Lawrence Livermore Laboratory scientists received the Department of Energy's (DOE) Outstanding Mentor Award for the summer of 2008. The awards were presented by LLNL Director George Miller.

The 2008 DOE Outstanding Mentor Award recipients are: Joshua Kuntz, Nerine Cherepy, Ross Williams, Michael Stadermann and Stephan Letts, all of the Physical and Life Sciences Directorate (PLS); Brent Segelke of the Biosciences Division; Sergei Kucheyev of the Material Science and Technology Division; Matthew Myrick of the Information and Technical Protection Division, and Richard Johnson of the Defense Technologies Engineering Division.

Miller said it was a great pleasure to present the awards, adding that the event is "one of the delights of my summer."

"Earlier, I had a chance to talk to the students. I am so proud when I hear what they have to say about you," he told the mentors. "It's what you give to the students that  is a true gift. Thank you for your time and effort."

The DOE Outstanding Mentor Award program, coordinated through the Office of Science Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists, began in 2002 as an effort to establish a culture that values mentorship within the DOE national laboratories.

According to the DOE, outstanding mentors possess a number of attributes. They provide well-defined research projects that match the student's research interests. They support involvement in enrichment activities outside the student's research project. They provide background material to the student prior the student's arrival at the Lab. They support the development of the student's research deliverables. They demonstrate practices that go above and beyond the normal responsibilities to students in the mentoring relationship. They include the student as part of the research team.

The mentor awards are unique because the recipients are nominated by the students from the previous summer. Following are comments by the nominating students about their mentors:

"He explained the science behind his answers and improved my understanding of the problem at hand. If he ever decides to teach during his career, he would a make a wonderful professor."  (Zach Seelery about his mentor Josh Kuntz)

"Months before my first day, she had sent me a dozen papers to help me get acquainted with the subject, and we had set up a day for me to meet everyone during my spring break. By the time I started my internship, I was much more at ease, and prepared to do some exciting work in a cutting edge field." (Thomas Hurst about his mentor Nerine Cherepy)

"He involved me in many activities, including Lab roller hockey games. He encouraged me to go to weekly lectures offered in our building as well as the summer lecture series for students. He also suggested that I attend tours of the facility that I have yet to explore, such as the NIF. We also donated blood together during the LLNL blood drive." (Jennifer Bilka about her mentor Brent Segelke)

"He has been a great mentor for my first summer here at LLNL. Before I arrived, I had been in contact with him for about two months. He helped me get familiar with the area before I arrived so that I wouldn't be so overwhelmed once I got here. He went above and beyond in helping me get acquainted with the area." (John Wherry about his mentor Matt Myrick)

"He had gatherings outside of the Lab with scientists who worked in the same area. He also took us to visit other research groups. This gave us an opportunity to network with other scientists in our field." (Andrea Alsobrook about her mentor Ross Williams)

"He encouraged me to ask questions about the research. He also encouraged me to grow professionally. He often offered professional advice to me that was outside the scope of the research. For example, he once told me that I should think about how and when to approach certain types of work in order to be highly efficient at completing my project goals. He gave me an instance from his own professional approach. He said that he reserves writing publications for the morning rather than the afternoon because he is better able to focus on that type of work at that time. In the afternoon, he may complete experiments, attend meetings or organize research data." (Kristina Lord about her mentor Sergei Kucheyev)

"When I would have a design issue he would have me explain what I was trying to do, and why. He would then give me other ideas that might work or may not work, but would help me think outside of the box." (Lisa Fisher about her mentor Richard Johnson)

"I was asked to give a PowerPoint presentation to a few researchers in the Target Fabrication group. I let him know that I didn't have much experience giving technical presentations, so right from the beginning he sent me a few of his own talks to look through, then scheduled a time to lay down slides and look them through, then two different practice run-throughs. The amount of attention devoted to this presentation was really remarkable. What really stood out to me was how generous this was." (Ken Colewell about his mentor Michael Stadermann)

"He treated me like a colleague. Everyone was very friendly; my questions and ideas were listened to and respected, and I felt that I left the Lab with more than just networking contacts, but friends. I can't emphasize enough how much it meant to have highly-accomplished researchers treat me as a peer. I hope they realize that it made a huge difference."  (Ken Colewell about his mentor Russell Wallace)

For more information about the DOE Outstanding Mentor Awards, contact Barry Goldman at (925) 422-5177, or by goldman1 [at] llnl.gov (e-mail).