AIHA^® Volunteer Group Awards

Lila Albin Award Since 1997, the AIHA Indoor Environmental Quality Committee has recognized a peer reviewed article in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health. The article must (a) provide practical information and expand the knowledge base of IEQ professionals; (b) address a critical IEQ issue; and (c) present the topic clearly and engagingly. The year’s recipients are Benjamin L. Augenbraun, Zack D. Lasner, Debayan Mitra, Sridhar Prabhu, Shivam Raval, Hiromitsu Sawaoka and John M. Doyle for Assessment and mitigation of aerosol airborne SARS-CoV-2 transmission in laboratory and office environments.

Birkner Leadership Award The AIHA Leadership and Management Committee presents this award to honor the legacy of Ruth McIntyre-Birkner and Larry Birkner. It is proudly awarded to an individual exemplifying extraordinary leadership and management. This year’s recipient, Aileen Yankowski, MPH, CIH, will present the Birkner Award Lecture, Powerful Leadership Lessons That Get Overlooked during AIHce EXP 2021 on Monday, May 24; 2:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m. CT.

Rachel Carson Award The AIHA Environmental Issues Committee awards this honor in recognition of the recipient’s environmental advocacy in the spirit of Rachel Carson. This award is bestowed upon an environmental health and safety (EH&S) professional who has attained outstanding success and distinction in his or her environmental and industrial health and safety business, profession, or life’s work. This year’s recipient is Sharon K. Beard, MS. Sharon was nominated by John Thomas Pierce, MD, PhD, FAIHA.

Chaffin Award By encouraging conference participation and recognizing excellence in the field of ergonomics, the AIHA Ergonomics Committee presents the Chaffin Award to the best ergonomic related technical session at AIHce EXP. Established in 2008, the award honors Dr. Donald B. Chaffin’s many contributions to the field of ergonomics and to AIHA.

Rochelle Crew Memorial Award This award is given by the AIHA Construction Committee to honor the memory of Rochelle Crew, a long-time construction safety PDC presenter and former member of the committee. The award is given to the best construction-related paper, technical session, or PDC presentation at the previous year’s AIHce. This year’s recipient is Donald J. Garvey, CIH, CSP, CHMM, FAIHA.

H. Kenneth Dillon Memorial Award This award is presented by the AIHA Biosafety and Environmental Microbiology Committee to honor the memory of Dr. Ken Dillon, a former AIHA Fellow and the principal instructor for several years of the popular PDC, Prevention, Determination, and Remediation of Biological Contamination in Indoor Environments. The award is given to the recipient of the best student poster on biosafety or microbiology at AIHce EXP.

Donna Doganiero Award The AIHA Safety Committee presents this award to the presenter of the best safety-related crossover technical session at AIHce EXP in 2020. The award honors a truly outstanding individual whose achievements and vision continues to move the field of industrial hygiene and safety forward, Donna Doganiero, CIH, FAIHA. This year’s recipient is Vahid Ebadat, PhD for the session entitled, How to Identify and Control Flash Fire and Explosion Hazards.

The Golden Seed Award Established in 2007 by the AIHA Students and Early Career Professional Committee, this award recognizes an individual who has mentored and/or demonstrated a commitment to promoting industrial hygiene to students and early career professionals. This year’s recipient is Evan Floyd, PhD, CIH. Evan was nominated by Richard O’Mara, CIH, CIHC, FAIHA.

Hazard Prevention and Engineering Controls Committee Best Paper This award is given by the AIHA Hazard Prevention and Engineering Controls Committee to the best paper that focuses on the use of engineering principles for the prevention and control of health hazards. The awardee is selected by a committee of peers from papers published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene (JOEH) during the calendar year that precedes AIHce EXP.

John A. Leonowich Award This award is given by the AIHA Non-Ionizing Radiation Committee for educational excellence in nonionizing radiation, honors students who are actively pursuing NIR initiatives through research or education, and recognizes the achievements made by current students in advancing both theirs and the profession’s understanding of nonionizing radiation. This year’s recipient is Sayoojya Saju.

Nano and Advanced Materials Working Group Ogle-Baron Best Paper The AIHA Nano and Advanced Materials Working Group Ogle-Baron Best Paper recognizes an article from the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene (JOEH) on peer-reviewed research on nanotechnology. The working group is proud to present this award to Sébastien Bau, Davy Rousset, Raphaël Payet, and François-Xavier Keller for Characterizing Particle Emissions from a Direct Energy Deposition Additive Manufacturing Process and Associated Occupational Exposure to Airborne Particles.

Margaret Samways Memorial Student Poster Award This award honors the memory of Margaret Samways, past chair and long-time member of the AIHA Communication and Training Methods Committee. The award will be given to the best student poster at AIHce that focuses on communication and training methods.

David L. Swift Award Memorial Award This award honors the memory of Dr. David L. Swift for his outstanding contributions to aerosol and industrial hygiene research. Aerosol research papers published during the previous year in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene are reviewed by the AIHA Aerosol Technology Committee. This year’s recipients are David Leith, ScD; Christian L’Orange, PhD, PE, PMP; John Mehaffy; and Dr. John Volckens (2020) for Design and Performance of UPAS Inlets for Respirable and Thoracic Mass Sampling.

Upton Sinclair Lecture Award The Upton Sinclair Memorial Lecture on EHS Investigative Reporting is hosted by the AIHA Social Concerns Committee. Rachel Axon, an award-winning investigative reporter for USA TODAY and Sky Chadde, Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting, will co-present How Pork Plant Execs Sacrificed Safety for Profits on Monday, May 24; 3:15 p.m.–4:15 p.m. CT.

John M. White Award The John M. White Award was established by the AIHA Respiratory Protection Committee to encourage scientific and application-oriented research in respiratory protection. This year’s award is presented to Scott Duncan, Paul Bodurtha, Cara Bourgeois, Eva Dickson, Cheryl Jensen, and Syed Naqvi, PhD, CIH, CPE (2020) for The Impact of Extreme Reuse and Extended Wear Conditions on Protection Provided by a Surgical-style N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirator.

2020 AIHA Bestseller This award is presented to the editor(s) of a new publication that sold the most copies during the year. The 2020 best seller is presented to Ling-Ling Hung, PhD, RAC; Steven M. Caulfield, PE, CIH, LEED® AP; and J. David Miller, PhD, FAIHA for the Recognition, Evaluation, and Control of Indoor Mold, 2nd edition.

2020 Critics’ Choice Award The Critic’s Choice Award honors a publication completed in 2020. The Content Portfolio Advisory Group (CPAG) evaluates all publications and selects one to recognize for its impact on the profession, originality, and quality of writing. This year’s recipients are Erica J. Stewart, CIH, FAIHA, HEM and Robert Smith, RN, CIH, MSPH, CIC, COHN-S for the Guidelines for the Selection and Use of Environmental Surface Disinfectants in Healthcare, 2nd edition.