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Video: Pioneering Technological Advances at NIST

The Partnership for Public Service — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 13:00:00 -0500

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Jacob Taylor, a young physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), has made pioneering scientific discoveries that in time could lead to significant advances in health care, communications, computing and technology.

As a fellow of the Joint Quantum Institute at NIST since 2009, the 34-year-old Taylor has conceived a number of original theories, including a way to vastly improve magnetic resonance imaging to enable probing down to the cellular and molecular levels. This approach holds the promise of providing detailed information that could lead to far better diagnoses, more targeted medical treatments for patients and rapid turnaround for drug discovery.

He is also responsible for a major breakthrough that could eventually permit the routing of greater quantities of information over the Internet than now possible, while using reduced levels of energy. In addition, Taylor has proposed a novel theory that could help advance the elusive drive toward quantum computing, permitting exponentially faster calculations than conceivable on conventional computers.

Mihkail Lukin, a Harvard University physics professor, said scientists around the world are examining how to harness quantum properties of matter to gather information with higher resolution and sensitivity and to process greater quantities of information faster and more securely.

“Jake has made fundamental contributions in all three of these areas,” said Lukin. “He is one of the most creative young scientists I have ever seen.”

2012 Call to Service Medal Recipient - Jacob Taylor from Partnership for Public Service on Vimeo .

William Phillips, a NIST fellow and a Nobel Prize winner in physics, said Taylor’s ideas are at “the cutting-edge of theoretical physics.”

Phillips said Taylor also “thinks about reality and the practical application of his complex work,” and is engaged in a wide array of experiments that could have “great technological importance” for electronics and communications systems used by consumers and industry.

No one had previously thought diamond crystals could be used for this purpose and in the way devised by Taylor. The physicist now has patents pending on the process and is conducting experiments that have shown success in the laboratory. The work raises the possibility that physicians one day will be able to use the technology to detect diseases at a far earlier stage, and that drug companies may be able to devise more effective medications because of the precise information that will flow from the advanced imaging technology.

Without Taylor’s “pioneering” contributions, said Lukin, “this field of experimentation would not exist.”

Taylor also is experimenting with another magnetic imaging process that works with increased speed and sensitivity, and could allow patients with pacemakers or individuals with shrapnel embedded in their bodies to obtain scans that now might be too risky.

Another Taylor innovation centers on the development of technology for the next generation of Internet routers that rely on light as opposed to electrons to communicate information. The information carried by the router would be immune to the environmental noise and defects encountered with currently available technology, representing an advance over today’s telecommunication applications by increasing bandwidth and reliability, and by reducing energy usage and costs. A patent is pending on this process and experiments are underway.

“It is a thrill to do something that no one has dreamed up or done before,” said Taylor. “It’s what gets me up in the morning—the feeling I can really change the world, at least in small steps.”

Read more about Taylor's work .

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Innovative Rehab Method Giving Combat Amputees an Active Life

The Partnership for Public Service — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 11:00:00 -0500

Combat amputees have come back from Iraq and Afghanistan physically and emotionally devastated. Charles Scoville has given them new hope.

At the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., Scoville developed an innovative medical, counseling and sports rehabilitation program that helps combat amputees regain their independence, restore their sense of dignity and self-worth, and allows them to lead active lives.

“It’s an interdisciplinary approach to patient care that looks at our patients as tactical athletes,” said Scoville, chief of the Amputee Patient Care Service and a former Army physical therapist. “They do things they never did before and reach more high level activities than in the past.”

Scoville oversees the staff that is currently working with about 170 amputees and has helped drive research into advances in prostheses. Some of the 1,450 injured service members who have been through the program have gone on to complete triathlons, climb Mt. Everest and compete in gymnastics, skiing, rowing and other sports.

“Our wounded warriors have been out running, on a bear hunt or scuba diving in Guantanamo Bay,” Scoville said. “It continually reinforces that everything is going to be okay.”

More than 300 have gone back into military service, and 53 have redeployed into Iraq or Afghanistan, including one individual with an above-the-knee amputation who went on to lead 350 Marines overseas.

A decade ago, the military was equipped mainly for treating a small number of active-duty amputees and older amputees who had lost limbs due to diabetes or vascular problems, not in combat. Care consisted mainly of getting patients mobile enough to be discharged or transferred to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for care.

“What we aim for is the soldiers to make the decision of what they will do with the rest of their lives, and take it away from the person who set the improvised explosive device or fired the rocket-propelled grenade or the rifle,” said Scoville.

This profile is part of a series featuring the recipients of the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals. Presented to outstanding public servants by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, and sponsored in part by Bloomberg, Booz Allen Hamilton, The Boston Consulting Group, Chevron and United Technologies Corporation, the prestigious Sammies awards are offered in nine categories. To nominate a federal employee for a 2013 medal go to servicetoamericamedals.org.

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How Mobile Tech is Helping DHS Combat Traffickers and Smugglers

The Partnership for Public Service, Partnership for Public Service — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 13:01:00 -0400

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When confronting suspicious travelers, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) agents must make decisions based on information at hand.

Nael Samha, a program manager in CPB’s Office of Technology, and Thomas Roland, Jr., a program manager in the Office of Field Operations, developed mobile technology that for the first time gives agents working outside the office the ability to instantly scan travel documents and conduct background checks on suspects at airports and border crossings. This has resulted in increased arrests of drug traffickers, weapons smugglers, illegal immigrants, currency violators and individuals with outstanding arrest warrants.

Samha led the team of engineers and developers that created the hand-held application and supervised the many technical aspects of the project, ensuring that all security requirements were met. Roland understood the needs of field CBP officers and border patrol agents, and determined how it could be used most effectively on a day-to-day basis. Both were involved in the pilot testing, the roll out and expansion of the program, the training of personnel.

CPB officials said the technology has contributed to more than 450 successful enforcement actions since first implemented in 2010. In addition, it is now being used by CBP agriculture specialists and officers at U.S. seaports to check and immediately release imported agricultural cargo that has passed inspection. Previously, agents conducted inspections and hours later, upon return to the office, entered inspection reports to remove cargo holds, often resulting in needless delays that cost businesses money and put the quality of the perishable products at risk.

“This is absolutely a game-changer for us,” said John Wagner of CBP’s Office of Field Operations. “It gives us the ability to run database queries in locations where agents are not standing in front of desktop computers. It gives us the chance to be more reactive and to conduct more law enforcement operations outside traditional areas, and to increase the number of apprehensions and seizures.”

Roland said he and Samha work closely together. “I am a law enforcement officer who wants to be a geek, and Nael is a geek who wants to be a law enforcement officer.”

Samha said the device enables CBP officers to “protect the nation by stopping people who are smuggling drugs and weapons and engaged in money laundering. “That’s what’s important to me,” he said.

Learn from experts, innovators and your peers about the impact of technology on the future of government programs and citizen outreach. Join us on December 3 in Washington DC for Nextgov Prime, the defining event in the federal technology landscape. Learn more at nextgov.com/prime

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HUD, VA Team Seeks to End Vet Homelessness by 2015

The Partnership for Public Service — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 10:00:00 -0400

More than 60,000 veterans live on America’s streets. Susan Angell, Mark Johnston and their interagency team are making major strides toward ending this national disgrace by 2015.

The goal is challenging given the high national unemployment rate and the influx of individuals returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, but the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have joined forces and made significant inroads.

The two federal departments reported a 12 percent drop in homelessness among veterans, from about 76,000 in 2010 to 67,000, as of January 2011.

As leaders of the joint endeavor, Johnston at HUD and Angell at the VA, possess significant management skills, knowledge about housing and the needs of veterans. Angell’s team includes Peter Dougherty, Lisa Pape and Vincent Kane, while Johnston’s includes Ann Oliva and Laure Rawson, among others. The collaboration has allowed both departments to devote their expertise and resources to a problem that neither could solve alone.

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said Johnston has technical knowledge, an ability to build cohesive teams internally and partnerships externally, and a willingness to make improvements based on data analysis and feedback from the field. He described Johnston as an individual with “an unwavering dedication to the mission.”

John Gingrich, the VA chief of staff, said Angell and her team have been able to eliminate the “stovepipes” that in the past prevented full cooperation between the VA and HUD, and have brought urgency to serving the needs of homeless veterans. “For them, this is not a job, it’s a calling,” said Gingrich

The two departments administer the HUD-VA Supportive Housing Program (HUD-VASH), which combines HUD vouchers that provide assistance for veterans to rent privately-owned housing, and targeted VA case management services such as health care, mental health and substance abuse treatment, vocational assistance, job development and placement. The program works with public agencies and community organizations across the country to implement many of the targeted interventions needed to assist veterans.

Through the HUD and VA partnership, there are currently more than 30,000 formerly homeless veterans and their families now receiving housing and support services. For fiscal year 2012, Congress has approved an additional 10,000 housing vouchers for homeless veterans that will allow the program to expand and come closer to reaching its goal.

This is the seventh in a series of profiles featuring the recipients of the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals. Presented to outstanding public servants by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, and sponsored in part by Bloomberg, Booz Allen Hamilton, The Boston Consulting Group, Chevron and United Technologies Corporation, the prestigious Sammies awards are offered in nine categories. To nominate a federal employee for a 2013 medal go to servicetoamericamedals.org.

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'Great Technological Importance:' NIST's Pioneering Young Scientist

The Partnership for Public Service — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 11:39:00 -0400

Scientists worldwide are working to make giant advances in medical technology, online communications and computing. As a young physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST),

Taylor, 34, devised original scientific theories that could lead to medical imaging in microscopic detail for better health care, while harnessing the quantum properties of matter so greater quantities of information with higher resolution can move faster and more securely across the Internet.

As a fellow at NIST since 2009, Taylor has conceived a number of original theories, including a way to vastly improve magnetic resonance imaging to enable probing down to the cellular and molecular levels. This approach holds the promise of providing detailed information that could lead to far better diagnoses, more targeted medical treatments for patients and rapid turnaround for drug discovery.

Mihkail Lukin, a Harvard University professor of quantum optics and atomic physics, said scientists around the world are examining how to harness quantum properties of matter to gather information with higher resolution and sensitivity, to process greater quantities of information faster and more securely, and to advance the technology of computing.

“Jake has made fundamental contributions in all three of these areas,” said Lukin, Taylor’s former professor. “He is one of the most creative young scientists I have ever seen. He thinks about problems in unusual ways and comes back with new and novel ideas.”

William Phillips, a NIST fellow and a Nobel Prize winner in physics, said Taylor’s ideas are at “the cutting-edge of theoretical physics.” But Phillips said Taylor also “thinks about reality and the practical application of his complex work,” and is engaged in a wide array of experiments that could have “great technological importance” for electronics and communications systems used by consumers and industry.

One of Taylor’s major accomplishments has been the use for the first time of diamond-tipped sensors that can perform magnetic resonance tests on individual cells or on single molecules, a sort of MRI scanner at the microscopic or nano-scale. The work raises the possibility that physicians one day will be able to use the technology to detect diseases at a far earlier stage, and that drug companies may be able to devise more effective medications because of the precise information that will flow from the advanced imaging technology.

Taylor said it is “a thrill to do something that no one has dreamed up or done before. The long term implications of some of these projects could be huge. It’s what gets me up in the morning—the feeling I can really change the world, at least in small steps.”

This is the sixth in a series of profiles featuring the recipients of the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals. Presented to outstanding public servants by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, and sponsored in part by Bloomberg, Booz Allen Hamilton, The Boston Consulting Group, Chevron and United Technologies Corporation, the prestigious Sammies awards are offered in nine categories. To nominate a federal employee for a 2013 medal go to servicetoamericamedals.org.

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'An Operational Puzzle:' Preventing Future Plane Crashes

The Partnership for Public Service — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 15:00:00 -0400

James Cash has spent nearly three decades successfully deciphering information from electronic recording devices to help determine the causes of major aviation and other transportation accidents, leading to reforms and greater safety for the traveling public. Working at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) , Cash is the government’s top expert on cockpit voice recorders—the black box devices that record the voices of pilots, co-pilots and engineers during flights, and are used to help determine the system failures and human errors that cause airplane crashes.

Over the years, Cash has played a pivotal role in the development and use of sophisticated audio, video and data recording devices used to help airlines and other transportation providers determine the causes of accidents, correct serious deficiencies and potentially save countless lives. His job has evolved from extracting information from tape recordings to the use of sophisticated electronic technology.

For his lifetime of work, Cash was a recipient of the 2012 Service to America Medal Career Achievement Award.

Watch how Cash spent his career helping put to rest the mysteries behind some of the nation's most notorious air travel incidents:

2012 Career Achievement Medal Recipient - James Cash from Partnership for Public Service on Vimeo .

Read more about Cash's work in the story we featured last month here .

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Presented to outstanding public servants by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, and sponsored in part by Bloomberg, Booz Allen Hamilton, The Boston Consulting Group, Chevron and United Technologies Corporation, the prestigious Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals awards are offered in nine categories. To nominate a federal employee for a 2013 medal go to servicetoamericamedals.org .

(Image via Jose Gil/Shutterstock.com )

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The Navy’s Savvy Negotiator

The Partnership for Public Service — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 08:00:00 -0400

Our warfighters need the right equipment to fulfill their missions and return home safely. Elliott Branch ensures they are properly equipped at the best possible value.

As the deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for acquisition and procurement, Branch keeps watch over the vast, complex, $90-billion-a-year procurement operation for the Navy and Marines, scrutinizing every major acquisition from battleships to fighter jets, negotiating with defense contractors, and finding ways to save hundreds of millions of dollars while increasing military capacity and readiness.

“Everything the Navy buys goes through his shop. He ensures goals are met across-the-board and within budget,” said Sean Stackley, the assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition. “He’s always looking to drive down the cost of doing business and to get a better deal for the department.”

Over the years, Branch has been credited with a number of highly successful negotiations and important management innovations.

In 2009, Branch led negotiations to consolidate production of a class of guided missile destroyers to a single shipyard. According to Stackley, the consolidation resulted in $1.5 billion in savings across that program, while ensuring stability in the industry as other shipyards were able to transition to new contracts.

Allie Coetzee, executive director for Navy acquisition and procurement, said while completing a major contract for Littoral Combat Ships, a family of Navy surface ships, Branch “found enough savings across the platforms to build an additional ship—a $450 million value—at no additional cost.”

Last year, Branch oversaw the contracting for a record 34 ships that included submarines and destroyers, said Shay Assad, the principal advisor to the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. “All are in multi-year relationships with steadily declining prices over the contract terms,” he said.

Branch is also credited with playing a critical role last year in protecting the Navy’s interests when Northrop Grumman divested its shipbuilding unit to stockholders through creation of a new company. Colleagues said Branch was instrumental in making sure the new shipbuilding company would remain a viable entity capable of delivering important nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, submarines and destroyers to the Navy.

Branch is currently a key member of the team in charge of buying the next generation information technology network, and figuring out strategies to ensure the best value for the Navy. He also is working on the next aircraft carrier to be delivered in 2020.

Jim Thomsen, the Navy’s principal deputy assistant secretary for research, development and acquisition, said that Branch is frequently consulted by the Office of the Secretary of Defense on major procurement matters because he is “the senior most knowledgeable guy in this business.”

“There’s a lot at stake with the large shipbuilding contracts for the department, for the companies, and on Capitol Hill in terms of local economies and jobs,’ said Thomsen. “Elliott takes everything into account.”

This is the fifth in a series of profiles featuring the recipients of the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals. Presented to outstanding public servants by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, and sponsored in part by Bloomberg, Booz Allen Hamilton, The Boston Consulting Group, Chevron and United Technologies Corporation, the prestigious Sammies awards are offered in nine categories. To nominate a federal employee for a 2013 medal go to servicetoamericamedals.org.

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Video: Federal Employee of the Year

The Partnership for Public Service — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 15:00:00 -0400

As the number of children with AIDS increased dramatically in the United States and around the world during the late 1980s, the depressing fact was that little could be done to prevent infants from getting HIV, the virus that causes the terrible disease.

Fast forward more than two decades to November 2011 when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pronounced that creating an AIDS-free generation worldwide, one in which no children are born with the HIV infection, is not only possible, but a U.S. policy priority.

Among those who played a pivotal role in curtailing the deadly epidemic among children is Dr. Lynne Mofenson, a physician at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) who helped design and conduct a seminal pediatric AIDS clinical trial, and has since dedicated her career to conducting additional research and influencing national policy in the field.

For her pioneering work, Mofenson was recognized as the 2012 Federal Employee of the Year and winner of the Career Achievement Service to America Medal . Thanks to Mofenson’s work, the rate of pediatric HIV has plummeted around the world.

Watch how Mofenson’s work transformed the fight against pediatric HIV and saved countless lives around the globe:

2012 Federal Employee of the Year - Lynne Mofenson from Partnership for Public Service on Vimeo .

Read more about Mofenson’s work in the story we featured last month here .

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The NIH Doctor Who Pioneered Life-Saving Treatments

The Partnership for Public Service — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 08:00:00 -0400

For years, patients with severe aplastic anemia died within months of developing the rare blood disease. Dr. Neal Young has increased the survival rate to 80 percent.

In his work at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Young has combined pioneering basic laboratory science, clinical research, and direct patient care to save the lives of thousands of people suffering from a blood disorder that wipes out the cells in the bone marrow, including red blood cells that carry oxygen, white blood cells that fight infection and platelets that help clot the blood.

Young conceived, designed and headed the first multicenter clinical trial in the United States for immunosuppressive therapy for aplastic anemia. The regimen he developed for this blood disease has become standard therapy for patients all over the world. This disease strikes about 600 to 900 people a year in the United States, and thousands across the globe.

“Neal has completed an amazing series of landmark clinical trials and published results that have taken what was a fatal disease in the early 1980s to one that now has a survival rate of 80 percent or more in the long-term,” said Dr. Cynthia Dunbar of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at NIH.

Because of Young’s efforts, his clinic at NIH is today considered one of the world’s major referral centers for patients with bone marrow failure syndromes.

As chief of the Hematology Branch of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Young is continually building on his significant accomplishments. He developed an understanding of how the highly contagious B19 parvovirus infects cells of the bone marrow and showed its role in disease among patients, especially those with sickle cell anemia and others with defective immune systems. He developed ways to test for and diagnose this virus, came up with a treatment and currently has a vaccine in clinical trials that, if successful, will protect vulnerable patients.

Young also has made landmark discoveries linking genetic defects—mutations or mistakes in the DNA sequence—to the break down in cells and as a cause of aplastic anemia. In addition, Young has implicated the same type of genetic mutations linked to aplastic anemia much more broadly to liver cirrhosis, lung fibrosis and leukemia. These findings may offer clues to improving treatment and patient outcomes for these common and devastating diseases.

Dr. Ching-Hon Pui, chairman of the Department of Oncology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Tennessee, said Young’s work in hematology “has totally transformed the field.”

“His impact has been truly global,” said Pui. “I cannot think of another hematologist with comparable accomplishments.”

This is the fourth in a series of profiles featuring the recipients of the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals. Presented to outstanding public servants by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, and sponsored in part by Bloomberg, Booz Allen Hamilton, The Boston Consulting Group, Chevron and United Technologies Corporation, the prestigious Sammies awards are offered in nine categories. To nominate a federal employee for a 2013 medal go to servicetoamericamedals.org.]]>

Capturing the 'Merchant of Death'

The Partnership for Public Service — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 15:00:00 -0400

Notorious Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout was considered untouchable, but Louis Milione and his Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) team defied the odds, leading a bold sting operation that put the “Merchant of Death” behind bars.

After being asked to get involved by national security officials in 2007, Milione and his DEA colleagues quickly gathered intelligence on a man wanted internationally for arming dictators, vicious warlords and human rights abusers, and then conceived and carried out a high-stakes undercover operation spanning three continents.

The investigation lured the infamous arms dealer out of his safe haven in Russia, led to his arrest in Thailand, a successful criminal prosecution in New York and a 25-year prison term in 2012 for conspiracy to sell anti-aircraft weapons and other arms to purported Colombian rebels with the aim of killing Americans.

Milione, a seasoned DEA agent, together with colleagues gathered intelligence on Bout, conceived the undercover sting, managed informants, oversaw the use of electronic surveillance and handled unexpected events as they played out around the globe.

“Lou Milione is one of the most tenacious and skilled supervisors at the DEA. It was his leadership that brought down this horrific arms trafficker,” said DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart.

Bout, the inspiration for the movie “Lord of War” starring Nicolas Cage, established an air freight empire after the break-up of the Soviet Union, and used the fleet of old Russian planes to earn billions of dollars by transporting machine guns, mortar bombs, landmines, C-4 explosives, rocket launchers and surface-to-air missiles to conflict zones around the world.

Bout had been linked to arms trafficking in Afghanistan, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Libya, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and throughout the Middle East and South America.

The United Nations passed a resolution restricting Bout’s movements, the U.S. Treasury imposed economic sanctions against his companies in 2005, Belgian authorities had an outstanding warrant for his arrest, and he was wanted by Interpol, the international police agency.

The plan hatched by Milione and his team involved enticing Bout out of Moscow with the prospect of a huge arms deal. The operation involved two undercover informants posing as representatives of the Colombian terrorist group and cocaine cartel known as FARC, who said they would use drug money to buy millions of dollars worth of weapons to fight the Colombian army and kill the U.S. military pilots working with them.

The informants cultivated a relationship with South African Andrew Smulian, who got Bout engaged in the deal. The investigation involved meetings with Smulian and the informants in Curacao, Denmark, Romania and finally Thailand, where Bout came to finalize the transaction.

During that last meeting, Bout told the fake Colombian rebels he could deliver 700 to 800 surface-to-air missiles, 5,000 AK-47 assault weapons, millions of rounds of ammunition, explosives and remotely piloted aircraft. When an agreement was reached, Thai police stormed the meeting room, accompanied by DEA agents, and Bout was put behind bars.

This is the third in a series of profiles featuring the recipients of the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals. Presented to outstanding public servants by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, and sponsored in part by Bloomberg, Booz Allen Hamilton, The Boston Consulting Group, Chevron and United Technologies Corporation, the prestigious Sammies awards are offered in nine categories. To nominate a federal employee for a 2013 medal go to servicetoamericamedals.org.

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'Black Box' Expert Uncovers Airplane Crash Mysteries

The Partnership for Public Service — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 09:00:00 -0400

At the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) James Cash has applied engineering expertise to solve some of the biggest aviation mysteries as the nation’s expert on black box devices that record the voices of cockpit crews and other sounds that can help explain the cause of airplane crashes.

As the chief technical advisor for the NTSB’s Office of Research and Engineering, Cash has continually found ways to improve the quality of retrieved data, helped uncover key information and contributed to reforms leading to greater safety for the traveling public.

“Jim has helped grow the science of cockpit recording devices. He’s been here through the history of recording devices and has led the next generation of recorders,” said NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman.

One of Cash’s innovations involved designing specifications for cutting-edge voice analysis and transcription software that performs readouts and analysis of cockpit voice recorders and other audio devices. Cash’s work also led to the development of software giving the NTSB the ability to extract and analyze recorder data from multiple accidents, which has helped the agency spot trends on safety issues.

After a 1997 jetliner crash that killed 104 people, Cash pieced tiny fragments of damaged recording tape from black box devices. “We were able to develop a means of reading individual pieces, digitizing each piece of audio track and reassembling it. It was like gluing together a shredded document,” he said.

During another investigation, Cash analyzed a quarter second of noise to help determine why a 747 exploded 12 minutes after takeoff. He also has assisted in investigations into two space shuttle accidents and a nuclear submarine collision, and helped the Drug Enforcement Administration analyze GPS data from a vehicle in which agents had been killed in Mexico

Cash said that the ultimate goal of his work is to contribute important information that will save lives and prevent future accidents. “You’ve got to figure out what happened this time before you have any chance of preventing it from happening again,” he said.

This is the second in a series of profiles featuring the recipients of the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals. Presented to outstanding public servants by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, and sponsored in part by Bloomberg, Booz Allen Hamilton, The Boston Consulting Group, Chevron and United Technologies Corporation, the prestigious Sammies awards are offered in nine categories. To nominate a federal employee for a 2013 medal go to servicetoamericamedals.org.

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The Fed Who Took a Risk and Saved Lives

Bryan Klopack and The Partnership for Public Service — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 13:29:00 -0400

Working with the Partnership for Public Service, we have the privilege of profiling the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals (a.k.a. the SAMMIES) winners over the next several weeks. We will not only tell their incredible stories of determination and, in many cases, life-changing achievements – but we’ll also be pulling out key leadership and management tips with a few lessons learned that can be modeled across agencies.

The top medal, Federal Employee of the Year, was presented to Lynne Mofenson, branch chief, Adolescent and Maternal AIDS Branch at the National Institutes of Health in Rockville, Maryland. Lynne’s is a story of incredible innovation that challenged conventional wisdom and championed controversial methods that have since saved hundreds of thousands of lives.

I believe, at the heart of it, Lynne’s achievement is a premier example of taking a calculated risk – in a federal government that is often quite averse to the notion. The anti-AIDS drug, zidovudine, or AZT, which Lynne gave to pregnant mothers as part of a carefully-designed trial to eliminate HIV transmission, was highly controversial and feared dangerous. Luckily for Lynne, NIH has created an environment that is dependent on innovation and fearless collaboration.

So, I ask you – does your organization challenge you to innovate and take risks? Do you create an environment that allows your staff, or colleagues, to push the boundaries of conventional wisdom for the benefit of achieving your mission? At Excellence in Government Live on September 6^th, Elizabeth McGrath, Deputy Chief Management Officer at the Department of Defense, said in a keynote address, “If you have the opportunity to make a difference, you have the responsibility to do so.”

Lynne took that responsibility seriously. Read her story…

Conquering Childhood AIDS

By The Partnership for Public Service

Creating an AIDS-free generation worldwide has become a national goal in no small part because of Dr. Lynn Mofenson’s seminal work that has helped virtually eliminate the transmission of HIV from mother to child in the United States.

When Mofenson came to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1989, there were over 2,000 new U.S. pediatric AIDS cases a year. Today, this number is now less than 100 per year.

Critical to halting this horrible epidemic was Mofenson’s role in designing and conducting a bold and controversial clinical study that used the only available anti-AIDS drug, zidovudine, or AZT, to prevent pregnant mothers from passing the HIV virus to their babies. At the time, no one had thought of using this drug for this purpose.

To Mofenson, launching the controversial study was “a no brainer.”

“It was a horrible disease, killing mothers and babies. We had to do something,” she said.

The clinical trial demonstrated a two-thirds reduction in the risk of HIV transmission from mother to child, down from 25 percent to 8 percent. It turned the tide on pediatric AIDS. “We were quite amazed that it worked so well,” Mofenson said.

The clinical trial was the beginning of a long-term collaboration among researchers—called the Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group—that conducted a series of successful studies to identify and optimize strategies to block mother-to-child transmission of HIV, the primary way children become infected.

“Lynne has been the preeminent scientific leader in the prevention of AIDS in children in the world,” said Dr. R.J. Simonds, a vice president at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Many people have contributed to AIDS research, but Simonds said Mofenson’s work provided clear direction and speed.

“She moved the field along uniquely because of her command of scientific issues,” he said. “Her credibility and knowledge base are unparalleled.”

Mofenson has since dedicated her career to conducting additional research and influencing national policy in the field.

She has been deeply involved in formulating recommendations on pediatric AIDS prevention, and serves as a leader in research and policy on the world stage, expanding the clinical trials network to developing countries in Africa and elsewhere. Through U.S. programming and funding to other countries, it is estimated that 200,000 infant HIV infections were prevented last year alone.

“Her mission is to wipe out pediatric AIDS,” said Dr. Sten Vermund, director of the Institute for Global Health at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “She really wants to make a difference for moms and kids, first in the U.S. and now in the developing world,” he said.

This is the first in a series of profiles featuring the recipients of the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals. Presented to outstanding public servants by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, and sponsored in part by Bloomberg, Booz Allen Hamilton, The Boston Consulting Group, Chevron and United Technologies Corporation, the prestigious Sammies awards are offered in nine categories. To nominate a federal employee for a 2013 medal go to servicetoamericamedals.org.

Want more Excellence in Government? Follow us on Twitter | Facebook | Google + | LinkedIn

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