AIHCE Update: AIHA and ACGIH Announce Award Winners

One of the highlights of the American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exhibition (AIHCE) in Orlando this week is the announcement of the winners of the professional achievement awards bestowed by the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) and the American Conference of Government Industrial Hygienists.

The AIHA awards and winners are:

Edward J. Baier Technical Achievement Award: Established in 1984 in honor of Edward J. Baier, this award is presented by Clayton Environmental. The Edward J. Baier Technical Achievement Award is presented to the individual, company, academic institution, organization, or association that has made the most significant contribution to industrial hygiene in recent years. This year's recipient is Kenneth T. White, CIH, CSP, for his work in lead-based paint detection and risk assessment, ranging from research to standards development to national policy.

Donald E. Cummings Memorial Award: The Donald E. Cummings Memorial Award was established in 1943 as a tribute to Donald E. Cummings, AIHA's third president. It is given for outstanding contributions to the knowledge and practice of the profession of industrial hygiene. This year's Cummings Award recipient is Jeffrey S. Lee, Ph.D., CIH, (posthumously) for his contributions in academia, government, and private sectors in the US as well as overseas through his vision for and participation in creating IOHA.

AIHA Distinguished Service Award: The AIHA Distinguished Service Award was established in 1978 to recognize distinguished service in the advancement of industrial hygiene and to recognize unique technical contributions to the aims and goals of the AIHA, and the recipient must be a member of the association. The basis for selection includes accomplishments with excellence in any aspect of industrial hygiene. This year's recipient is Sandra C. Wroblewski, CIH, for her efforts in creating and implementing the lab accreditation program which has improved the precision of analytical results upon which IH professional judgement rests

Alice Hamilton Award: Established in 1993 by the AIHA Board of Directors, the Alice Hamilton Award is presented to an outstanding woman who has made a definitive, lasting achievement in the field of occupational and environmental hygiene through public and community service, social reform, technological innovation, or advancements in the scientific approach to the recognition, evaluation, and control of workplace hazards. This year's recipient is Dr. Moira Yeung for her research in identifying western red cedar exposure as cause of occupational asthma, and subsequent recognition by the Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia and across Canada that occupational asthma is a compensable disease.

Kusnetz Award: The Kusnetz Award was established in 1987 and is named for its donors, Florence Kusnetz and AIHA Past President Howard Kusnetz. This award was founded to honor a certified hygienist who has not reached his or her 40th birthday by May 1 of the year in which the award is presented, is currently employed in the private sector, and has worked to provide the highest standards of health and safety protection for the employees for which he or she is responsible by exhibiting high ethical standards and technical abilities. This year's Kusnetz Award recipient is Alan A. Fleeger, CIH, CSP, for his strong leadership in a private sector team that provided a handbook of IH best practices being implemented here and abroad, and for his current involvement in the association as chair of the Compendium Project and vice chair of the PS&G Committee.

William P. Yant Award: The William P. Yant Award was established in 1964 to commemorate the leadership and breadth of contributions to industrial hygiene of William P. Yant, Sc.D., first president of AIHA. Sponsored by the Mine Safety Appliances Co., the award is presented for outstanding contributions in industrial hygiene or allied fields to an individual residing outside the United States. This year's Yant Award winner is Dr. Richard C. Brown from the Occupational Medicine/Hygiene Laboratory in Sheffield, England. Brown is widely published in the field of filtration materials used in RPE.

The American Conference of Government Industrial Hygienists is also presenting several awards to members during AIHCE at the Annual Meeting of the Membership on Wednesday, May 24. The winners and their awards are:

The John J. Bloomfield Award: The John J. Bloomfield Award is presented to a young industrial hygienist who pursues the problem of occupational health hazards primarily by doing field work, and who demonstrates a significant contribution to the profession. This year's recipient is Seth J. Burmeister.

Meritorious Achievement Award: The Meritorious Achievement Award is given to members of ACGIH who have made an outstanding, long-term contribution to the field of occupational health and industrial hygiene. This year's Meritorious Achievement Award will be presented to William Burgess, BS, MS, CIH, emeritus associate professor of Occupational Health Engineering in the faculty of the Harvard School of Public Health.

William Steiger Memorial Award: The William Steiger Memorial Award honors individuals whose efforts have contributed to advancements in occupational safety and health. This year's Steiger Award will be presented to Phil Landrigan, MD, M.Sc., D.I.H., Ethel H. Wise Professor of Community and Preventive Medicine and chairman of the Department of Community and Preventive Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

Herbert E. Stokinger Award: The Herbert E. Stokinger Award is given each year to an individual who has made a significant contribution in the broad field of industrial and environmental toxicology. The recipient of this year's award is George M. Rusch, Ph.D., MA, BS, A.B.T., director, Department of Toxicology and Risk Assessment at Allied Signal Corp.

In addition to individual awards, there will be a number of awards given by committees or local sections. These include:

Michigan Industrial Hygiene Society Award of Authorship (AIHA): This award is given by the Michigan Industrial Hygiene Society, a local section of AIHA, to recognize the authors of exceptional papers published in the AIHA Journal and in Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene. The award will be presented at the AIHA and ACGIH business meetings.

David L. Swift Memorial Award (AIHA): This award honors the memory of Dr. David L. Swift, professor at Johns Hopkins University, for his outstanding contributions to aerosol and industrial hygiene research. The AIHA Aerosol Technology Committee sponsors this award.

Joint Hazardous Waste Committee Drum Buster Award (AIHA/ACGIH): This award for outstanding achievement recognizes practicing industrial hygienists in the field of hazardous waste operations. The award will be presented at the Joint Hazardous Waste Committee meeting.

John M. White Award (AIHA): This award, established by the AIHA Respiratory Protection Committee to honor John M. White, encourages scientific or application-oriented research in the field of respiratory protection. It recognizes work that enhances the knowledge base in an area of understanding or provides new insight that will lead to improved employee protection. The award for 1999 is "Simulated Workplace Performance of N95 Respirators" by Christopher C. Coffey, Donald L. Campbell, and Ziping Zhuang published in the AIHA Journal, Volume 60, Number 5, September/October 1999, pages 618-624. The award presentation to the authors is scheduled on Wednesday, May 24, 2000, at 1 p.m. at the Respiratory Protection Technical Session.

Noise Committee Outstanding Lecture (AIHA): This award was established in 1995 to encourage excellence in education, public speaking, and presentation quality on noise-related topics at AIHCE. The award, which consists of a cash grant, certificate of recognition, and acknowledgment at the following AIHCE, is determined by a vote of the Noise Committee and is based on attendee evaluations. All noise-related presentations are eligible.

Tichauer Award (AIHA): The Ergonomics Committee, under the suggestion of Jim McGlothlin, established the Tichauer Award in 1996 for best ergonomics platform and best ergonomics poster by a young researcher. The award was established to encourage ergonomics-related conference participation and to recognize excellence in research conducted by students and young researchers.

Sampling and Laboratory Analysis Committee Award (AIHA): This award was presented for the first time in 1999. Presentations offering outstanding contributions to the field of industrial hygiene sample analysis will be recognized.

One award will be given on behalf of the AIHCE, including:

Best Poster Award, 2000: The Best Poster Award is based on two criteria: 1) technical content - organization of the poster material, current importance of the topic, sophistication of the scientific or technological aspects of the subject, and the importance of the conclusions drawn for today's workers; and 2) visual communication - clarity of the layout, use of color, space, balance, text and graphics, and effectiveness in getting the message across. Special student poster awards will be given for best overall poster and best modeling poster. (Established by the AIHA Exposure Assessment Strategies Committee.)

By Sandy Smith