Peak-performing civil servants honored

Government service is rarely glamorous or heralded. More often than not, the media highlights problems, not successes, in public sector programs. But in the sprawling federal government, there are many people whose work, performed to high standards of excellence, is essential to the health, welfare and security of American society.

The Service to America Medals program celebrates their achievements, by selecting a handful of individuals whose efforts have been especially notable. In this, the fifth year of the program, winners are chosen in eight categories, and one person, Nancy Cox of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was designated Federal Employee of the Year. They were honored on Wednesday night at a gala event in Washington.

The Service to America Medals program is supported by the three magazines of Atlantic Media Co. -- Government Executive, National Journal and The Atlantic -- and is produced in association with the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit organization dedicated to revitalizing the federal workforce.

This year's winners:

• Federal Employee of the Year
  Nancy Cox, Ph.D., a CDC virologist who has studied the influenza virus and worked to eliminate the threat of a global pandemic.
• Career Achievement
  William D. Phillips, Ph.D., whose research in using lasers to cool atoms and improve the accuracy of clocks led to a Nobel Prize.
• Call to Service
  Christina Sanford, who took a leading role in Iraq's transition from an appointed government to an elected one.
• Homeland Security
  Ambassador Nancy Powell, who led a U.S. initiative to establish a worldwide protocol for response to avian influenza.
• International Affairs
  Mark S. Ward, whose plans for allocating millions in federal aid following the Asian tsunami and the earthquake in Pakistan ensured funding got to the right places.
• Justice and Law Enforcement
  Martin Harrell, a leading expert with the EPA on environmental criminal prosecution, closed the doors on a chemical company for illegal storage and international shipping.
• National Security
  Ron McNeal, whose personnel recovery plans guide the safe return of American service members and civilians taken hostage or missing in action.
• Science and Environment
  Norden E. Huang, Ph.D., who, while correcting a mathematical error, unearthed a new way to analyze data across a multitude of scientific disciplines.
• Citizen Services
  Thomas Casadevall, Ph.D., and U.S. Geological Survey scientists, who immediately applied technology as well as boats to enable rescue efforts in New Orleans in the hours following Hurricane Katrina.