NIST Smart Connected Systems Staff Recognized at the 52nd NIST Annual Awards Ceremony

On January 15, 2025, NIST held its 52^nd Annual Awards Ceremony in Gaithersburg Maryland, and Boulder, Colorado. At this celebratory event, several NIST Smart Connected Systems Division (SCSD) staff members were recognized with 2024 awards for their outstanding work.

NIST presented Department of Commerce Bronze Medals to:

• Richard Candell and Karl Montgomeryfor the advancement of transmission scheduling in wireless time-sensitive networks for industrial robotic control applications in manufacturing 
• Mehdi Dadfarnia, Serghei Drozdov, and M. Sharp for developing an open-source manufacturing simulator that enables users to plan production and compare AI-based and traditional maintenance policies
• Robert Bohn for leadership in establishing and managing an international team to develop a Beyond-5G testbed to advance global communication service and network federation.

The Bronze Medal Award recognizes outstanding work of unusual initiative or creative ability in the development and improvement of methods and procedures, including significant contributions affecting major programs and scientific accomplishments. Additional information is available online describing these NIST efforts in its 5G core networks testbed, wireless time-sensitive networks, and SimPROCESD, NIST’s open-source manufacturing simulator.

NIST also recognized SCSD staff with several NIST “named” awards at the ceremony:

• NIST B. Stephen Carpenter Award to Robert Bohn for creating and leading an international team to advance global communication service and network federation. The NIST Carpenter Award recognizes outstanding achievements in building ties between NIST and the international measurement community.
• NIST William P. Slichter Award to Richard Candell for developing internationally adopted industrial wireless guidelines and associated measurement protocols and datasets. The NIST Slichter Award recognizes outstanding achievements in building or strengthening ties between NIST and industry.
• NIST Distinguished Mentoring Award to David Wollman for his exceptional guidance, commitment to fostering career development, and dedication to the NIST community. The NIST Distinguished Mentoring Award recognizes the value of mentoring and its positive impact on the mission of NIST and fostering excellence in others via formal or informal mentoring relationships.