May 5, 2004

UEC Community Service Award Presented to Sue Wirick

It’s the pleasure of the National Synchrotron Light Source Users’ Executive Committee (UEC) to present the 2004 UEC Community Service Award to Sue Wirick of Stony Brook University’s Physics department, a beamline scientist for the X1A insertion device beamline. This award is given for service, innovation, and dedication to users of the NSLS, and Sue is well deserving of that honor.

Members of the NSLS user community nominated Sue for this award. Here are some of the comments users have made about her wonderful contributions:

• “Since joining the X1A effort more than a decade ago, Sue Wirick has played a central role in the development of the scientific program and in supporting user access to the spectromicroscopy facilities. Quite simply put, she is the key to outside users' ability to carry out experiments.”
• “Our research team owes very much to the assistance that Sue Wirick was able to give us. She was available day and night, gave excellent advice, steered us through the experimental process with ease and provided a positive and friendly environment that made it a pleasure to work at the beamline.”
• “Sue Wirick actively participates in meetings of the user community to improve the user support at the NSLS. She contributed heavily in the past to making the annual user meeting a success by helping in the planning and chairing of sessions. Sue is known by users for helping with technical problems even for beamlines which are not her responsibility.”
• “Sue Wirick has been a godsend to the NSLS community. She is one of the rare people who will help anyone, including the most difficult personalities, when they have a problem. She will do this anytime, even on weekends and evenings. She is the person that I recommend first to outside users who want to find out more about NSLS and Brookhaven. She always provides detailed and concise advice on instrumental capabilities, and also on the more mundane aspects of how to get beam time, availability, etc.”

Tony Lanzirotti, the Chair of the UEC, presented the award to Sue at the NSLS Users’ Meeting banquet on the evening of Tuesday, May 18th. Sue received a $250 gift certificate and her name was engraved on the plaque on display in the NSLS lobby. Congratulations Sue!

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Tony Lanzirotti