ACGIH Presenting 2018 Awards at AIHce
This year's honorees include Dr. Bennet Omalu, best known for having first identified the disease he named Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in athletes who had competed in high-impact contact sports. He will receive the William Steiger Memorial Award.
ACGIH® will honor its 2018 Awards recipients during this week's American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition in Philadelphia, recognizing individuals or groups who have made significant contributions to the profession through their leadership and dedication. The list includes the Herbert E. Stokinger Award, the John J. Bloomfield Award, the Meritorious Achievement Award, and the William Steiger Memorial Award, which is notable this year because the recipient is Dr. Bennet Omalu, best known for having first identified the disease he named Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in athletes who had competed in high-impact contact sports. Omalu is a Volunteer Associate Clinical Professor at UC Davis in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine; the William Steiger Memorial Award honors individuals from the social/political sphere whose efforts have contributed to advancements in occupational health and safety.
The Stokinger Award recipient is Mark D. Hoover, Ph.D., CIH, a senior research scientist in the NIOSH Respiratory Health Division. He also is co-director of the Center for Direct Reading and Sensor Technologies and coordinator of the NIOSH Exposure Assessment Program. The 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 Bloomfield Award recipient is Carl E. Johnson, CIH, CSP, who earned his B.S. degree in environmental science and chemistry and M.S. degree in industrial hygiene from the University of Minnesota. Johnson is an Industrial Hygiene Specialist for 3M, is the past chair of the AIHA Noise Committee, and is an active member of the AIHA Exposure Assessment Committee and the AIHA Student and Early Career Professionals Committee. The Bloomfield Award is presented to a young industrial hygienist who pursues the problem of occupational health hazards primarily by doing fieldwork.
The Meritorious Achievement Award recipient is Robert F. Herrick, ScD, CIH, a senior lecturer on industrial hygiene in the Occupational Health Program at the T.H. Chan Harvard School of Public Health. Herrick has served on the ACGIH Board of Directors, including as its chair in 1992 and again in 2013; he also served the International Occupational Hygiene Association as the U.S. delegate shortly after the organization was founded in 1987, served on the IOHA Board from 1991 to 1995, and was its president in 1996. He also is a Fellow of AIHA. The Meritorious Achievement Award recognizes members of ACGIH® who have made an outstanding, long-term contribution to the progress of occupational health and environmental hygiene. First presented in 1957, it is the organization's oldest award.
The Robert T. Hughes Memorial Award recipient is Raymond B. Hunter, who is being recognized posthumously with this award. He retired from Ray Hunter and Associates, Inc. with more than 50 years of industrial ventilation experience. "Mr. Hunter has a legacy in the industrial ventilation community as a staunch supporter and promoter of the industrial ventilation guidelines and practices outlined by the ACGIH® Industrial Ventilation Manual. His clarity on applications insight and ethical practice has left an undeniable footprint in our industry. Mr. Hunter has made significant contributions to the field of industrial ventilation and ACGIH® is pleased to posthumously honor Mr. Hunter as the recipient of this year's Hughes Memorial Award," ACGIH said in its news release about this year's award recipients.