PPD's Sten Hansen Receives Director's Award for Contributions to Pre-College Education
Sten Hansen (left) accepted the award from Director Mike Witherell on Thursday night.
At the annual Director's Reception for educational volunteers on Thursday evening, Sten Hansen of PPD received a Director's Award for his "outstanding contributions to pre-college education." Director Mike Witherell personally handed Hansen the award, which consisted of a plaque and $1,000. "I'm certainly taken aback, and very honored," Hansen said.
Witherell also gave certificates of appreciation to the eight other people who were nominated for the award by the Office of Education: Orlando Colon, Curt Danner, Geoff Eargle, Terry Kiper, Don Lincoln, Paul Nienaber, Arnold Pompos, and Jerry Zimmerman.
The director spoke of the relevance of science education as a national issue, and said it's important that the laboratory "do what we can do" at the local level. He also said outreach is important for the laboratory's standing with the surrounding communities.
"How lucky Fermilab is to have a large group of scientists and engineers who are willing to do this work, and education specialists like Marge [Bardeen] who make sure students get the most benefit from it," Witherell said.
In her thank-you address to volunteers, Office of Education head Marge Bardeen said, "Fermilab's educational programs have been rated world-class, most recently in the lab's peer review, and that's because of you."
The Director's Award, established this year, is supported by an anonymous donor to the Fermilab Friends for Science Education fund.
Anyone who is interested in volunteering -- which can mean anything from mentoring to spending a half hour answering visitors' questions -- should contact x3092.