E. M. Richardson and K. K. Livieratos APL Achievement Awards and Prizes Erin M. Richardson and Kelly K. Livieratos ABSTRACT In the book celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), the author remarked, “Over the decades, APL has pushed through innumerable scientific, engineering, technical, and technological barriers. Staff members have been awarded numerous patents for their unclassified work, and more than 30 companies have spun off from APL technologies and products—six in just the past two years.” Impressive as it is, this sentiment covers only some of the remarkable achievements of APL’s talented staff members. To formally recognize the exceptional contributions of its staff, for more than 30 years APL has conducted an annual awards program celebrating inventions, innovations, publications, and other accom- plishments. This article presents the history of APL’s achievement awards and prizes, highlights the most recent esteemed winners, and lists the names of past award winners. HISTORY OF THE AWARDS PROGRAM The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab- I. Published articles by authors who had not previously oratory (APL) first presented its formal awards program published in technical journals in o 1986 t recognize work published in the preceding year. Administered by the editorial board of the Johns II. Articles published in the Johns Hopkins APL Techni- Hopkins APL Technical Digest, the program sought to cal Digest inspire and recognize scholarship through publica- III. Articles published in unclassified refereed journals tionn i the professional literature. Walter Berl, who or proceedings was Digest editor-in-chief at the time and for whom a publication award was later named, was well aware of IV. Articles published in classified publications with the difficulty in crafting an exceptional piece of writ- limited distribution ing: s “[It] i hard work. Few authors approach it with happy anticipation because it requires much discipline V. Contributions in the form of books and articles to transform refractory data into believable results, to written for general, but technically sophisticated, convert shadowy concepts into robust theories, and to audiences extract from a welter of fractious ‘facts’ the few nuggets A sixth category, “an award for producing an unusual of valuable discoveries.”1 t A its launch, the program assemblage of distinguished publications during a profes- included five categories: sional career at APL,”1 was soon added. 306 Johns Hopkins APL Technical Digest, Volume 34, Number 2 (2018), www.jhuapl.edu/techdigest APL Achievement Awards and Prizes The nomination process entailed the heads of the APL Assistant Director for Research and Exploratory Lab’s technical departments nominating works pub- Development Robert W. Hart, the R. W. Hart Prizes lished the previous year; they could put forward up to for Excellence in Independent Research and Develop- two n works i each category. The Digest editorial board, ment (IRAD) recognize important advances in science which could nominate additional publications, scored and technology, with prizes awarded in two categories: the submissions and selected winners, basing their best research project and best development project. By choicesn o both significance and clarity, with greater awarding these prizes, APL management sought “both weight placed on the importance of the work in advanc- to signify the importance of the IRAD program to ing the particular field or the Lab’s mission. These nomi- the long-term future of the Laboratory and to reward nation and selection processes continue today. achievements in high-quality innovative projects.” 4 Soon after the program’s inception, the editorial The nomination and selection process persists today: board introduced what is now known as the Lifetime nominations are solicited from each technical depart- Achievement Award “to honor career staff members ment, and a panel judges the projects on their quality who have achieved distinguished publication records.”2 and significance to APL. Walter Berl described additional changes to the 1988 In 1990, the publication awards program expanded program: “The large category that includes articles pub- once again to include a category for articles submitted lishedn i unclassified refereed technical journals or pro- to the APL Technical Review , the classified companion ceedings was divided into two sections, one dealing with journalo t the Digest, which made its debut in 1987. research topics, the other with developmental topics The awards program continued unchanged until 1993, in engineering and applied research; and awards were when the number of publication categories reverted to giveno t organizers of technical conferences who were six, with the categories for articles in the Digest and the also responsible for editing the published proceedings.”3 Technical Review combined and the separate category for Berl did not mention another important change that classified papers eliminated. had occurred the previous year: the award for best paper An exciting addition to the program came in 2000 in the Digest was renamed the Walter G. Berl Award in with the first presentation of the Invention of the Year his honor. Award, which celebrates the top technology from the Recognizing that some staff members were making previous year. To select the winning inventions, mem- critical contributions that might not have immedi- bersf o a comprehensive panel comprising technical and ate paths to publication, APL management intro- business consultants, technology transfer professionals, duced a new set of prizes in 1989. Named for former and intellectual property attorneys judge invention dis- 1986 2013 Publication Awards Ignition Grant Prize for Innovation rst presented rst presented 1987 1993 2007 2011 2015 Award for best Digest Publication Awards Master Inventor Government Enterprise article renamed categories reduced Award rst presented Purpose Accom- in Walter Berl’s honor Innovation plishment Award Award rst 1988 2000 rst presented presented Publication Awards Invention of the Year categories expanded Award rst presented 1989 1990 2001 2014 R. W. Hart New Publication Award Alvin R. Eaton Award Outstanding Mission Prizes rst category established rst presented (not Accomplishment Awards presented for APL Technical Review papers publicly) rst presented 2016 Alvin R. Eaton Award rst presented publicly 2017 Combustion Grant Prize and Director’s Award for Special Achievements rst presented Figure 1. Evolution of APL’s achievement awards program. As the Lab and its work have evolved, the program has continually expanded to recognize the changing contributions and accomplishments of APL’s staff members. Johns Hopkins APL Technical Digest, Volume 34, Number 2 (2018), www.jhuapl.edu/techdigest 307 E. M. Richardson and K. K. Livieratos closures for their creativity, novelty, improvement over Eaton Award. “Named in honor of the late aerodynam- existing technology, commercial benefit, and antici- ics pioneer whose designs formed the basis for modern pated benefit to society. guided missile weapon systems, this award recognizes To recognize those inventors who have been awarded Laboratory staff members who have made transformative at 0 least 1 U.S. patents for their APL work, Lab manage- innovations to national security in areas and programs ment first presented the Master Inventor Award in 2007. in which the U.S. government has placed exceptionally To date, only 27 people have qualified for this award in restrictive security measures.” 6 the history of the Laboratory. The first Government Purpose Innovation Award, in recognition of an inven- tion that meets a critical sponsor need, was presented WINNERS in 2011. APL’s awards program continues to evolve to recognize In recent years, to position the Lab to respond to the variety of contributions APL staff members make, increasingly intricate national challenges and to capital- and the awards ceremony continues to be an anticipated izen o rapid technological advances, APL’s leaders have event. According to the press release describing the 2017 introduced several initiatives to encourage innovation program, “442 APL staff members were named in 106 at the Lab. As it has done throughout its history, the nominated entries for the 18 awards, and 99 staff mem- awards program expanded to reward excellence as part bers were recognized for winning entries. Those entries of these initiatives. New in 2013 was the Ignition Grant represented a small portion of the critical contributions Prize for Innovation. This award “provide[s] APL staff APL made for the nation in 2016, and highlighted a few with a way to explore innovative ideas outside of their outstanding examples of the Lab’s focus on collabora- traditional work assignments. Open to all APL staff, tion, world-class expertise, and game-changing impact.”7 challenges are posted during several cycles held through- The names and photos of these winners are displayed on out the year and ideas are submitted for solutions. The the following pages, accompanied by short descriptions winning ideas from each cycle are determined by pop- of their inventions, projects, accomplishments, and pub- ular vote, and the finalists receive funding to develop lications. Following the list of the most recent winners is their ideas. The Management Forum narrows the field of a list of past winners. awarded grants to a top few nominees, and staff vote for the top award on the basis