Fermilab Director Witherell One of Eight Directors to Receive Energy Secretary’s Gold Award

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Mike Witherell

Mike Witherell

Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham today (October 25) presented the Secretary’s Gold Award to eight current and former directors of Department of Energy national laboratories, including Fermilab Director Michael Witherell. The award is the Energy Department’s highest honorary award and includes a plaque with citation, a medallion and a rosette.

“I’m proud to recognize the people whose hard work and dedication contribute so much to the Department of Energy’s vital missions,” said Secretary Abraham, who presented the awards at a luncheon at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. “Our world-class laboratories are a marvelous resource and have made far-reaching contributions—not only to the Department of Energy, but to our Nation and indeed the world. The incredible work done in the laboratories is made possible by the strong, steady, and responsible leadership of these directors.”

Witherell has been director of Fermilab since July 1, 1999. The award citation lauded him “for outstanding leadership combining excellence in science with excellence in safety. Under your leadership, Fermilab has become well-positioned to make major advances in High Energy Physics and has successfully fulfilled its commitments to the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The Tevatron has reached its luminosity goals, a major achievement in itself, and MiniBooNE has begun operations. All of this has been achieved with a dramatic improvement in safety. The Department of Energy thanks you for your outstanding service.”

For a list of all eight recipients, please read the Department of Energy press release.

Fermilab is a national laboratory funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy, operated by Universities Research Association, Inc.