The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) yesterday presented their annual awards to NIOSH researchers and their partners who’ve made significant contributions to occupational safety and health over the past year.

“The annual awards are an opportunity for NIOSH to honor researchers for excellence in science,” according a statement. The awards presented include the Alice Hamilton Award, for scientific excellence of technical and instructional materials by NIOSH scientists and engineers; the James P. Keogh Award, for outstanding service by an individual in the occupational safety and health field; and the Bullard-Sherwood Research-to-Practice Award, for exceptional efforts by NIOSH researchers and partners in applying occupational safety and health research to the prevention of workplace fatalities, illnesses, or injuries. In addition, the Director's Intramural Awards for Extraordinary Science (DIA) is also presented.

"The changing workplace of the 21st century presents new challenges to the occupational safety and health community, in both addressing new hazards, and adapting tools and techniques to fit the new face of work in the U.S.," said NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D. "Today's award winners demonstrate the ingenuity and scientific rigor that NIOSH researchers use to engage the hazards that persist in both traditional and new hazards."

Named after Dr. Alice Hamilton, a pioneering researcher and occupational physician, the Alice Hamilton Award is given for outstanding NIOSH contributions in the areas of biological sciences, engineering and physical sciences, human studies, and educational materials. The submissions go through a rigorous review by panels of scientific experts, including peers from both outside and inside NIOSH. The awardees for 2011 have contributed to an array of sectors, highlighting the broad range of occupational safety and health. These awardees have contributed to workplace safety and health in the oil and gas, health care, nanotechnology, and manufacturing industries. The full list of the Alice Hamilton Award recipients can be found at www.cdc.gov/niosh/awards/hamilton/.

The James P. Keogh Award for Outstanding Service in Occupational Safety and Health is given to current or former NIOSH employees who have, through their work, demonstrated exceptional commitment to the field. For 2011, NIOSH honors Linda Rosenstock, M.D. During her tenure as the NIOSH Director, 1994-2000, Dr. Rosenstock established the Keogh award, as a way to encourage and recognize staff for their outstanding work in the occupational safety and health field. She has spent her career providing leadership and service in occupational and public health. While at NIOSH, she established the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) and has continued her leadership in the field of occupational safety and health. Dr. Rosenstock was recently appointed by President Obama to the National Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health Council. NIOSH is very pleased to honor Dr. Rosenstock with the 2011 James P. Keogh Award in appreciation of a lifetime of extraordinary leadership in occupational health and safety. More information is available at www.cdc.gov/niosh/awards/keogh.

The Bullard-Sherwood Research-to-Practice Award, named for the inventor of the hard hat Edward W. Bullard, and R. Jeremy Sherwood, the inventor of the personal industrial hygiene sampling pump, is given to recognize recipients for outstanding contributions in three categories: Knowledge, Intervention, and Technology. This year, the award and honorable mentions went to projects focused on improving truck cab designs through applied anthropometry, managing health and safety concerns associated with engineered nanomaterials, raising awareness of hazardous drugs in the healthcare setting, working with industry partners to improve emergency medical services work environments, and improving miner safety with the light-emitting diode cap lamp. To view the list of recipients of the 2011 Bullard-Sherwood Award visit www.cdc.gov/niosh/awards/bullard-sherwood

The Director's Intramural Awards for Extraordinary Science (DIA) recognizes outstanding collective contributions to science excellence at NIOSH by individual intramural scientists and support staff. The award in the category of Distinguished Career Scientist was presented to Kenneth Wallingford, a career NIOSH scientist who has made extraordinary contributions to the understanding of indoor environmental quality in the workplace and the assessment and control of exposures to hazardous substances, including asbestos and formaldehyde. The award in the category of Early Career Scientist was presented to Jessica Streit, who has established herself as an accomplished researcher with the Division of Applied Research and Technology, and has led projects focused on translating research to improve the health and safety of workers in the service sector. The award in the category of Scientific Support was presented to Pam Schumacher in the Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies, who provides extraordinary scientific support toward the advancement of industry and occupation coding of health and vital statistics records that are essential in ongoing occupational health studies. For more information, see www.cdc.gov/niosh/awards/DIA.