News Release

NOGLSTP to honor GLBT Scientist, Engineer, Educator of Year

During '06 AAAS Annual Meeting

Grant and Award Announcement

NOGLSTP

The National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals (NOGLSTP) is pleased to announce this year's recipients of its GLBT Scientist, Engineer and Educator of the Year Awards: Dr.Kerry Sieh, Dr. Peter Ventzek and Dr. Denise Denton. These awards will be presented at a ceremony during the NOGLSTP Reception at the upcoming 2006 AAAS Annual Meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, on February 19, from 4-6 p.m., in the Westmoreland Room at the Renaissance Grand Hotel. All interested people are welcome to attend this reception and awards ceremony; registration for the AAAS Annual Meeting is not required.

Dr. Kerry Sieh, of West Hollywood, Calif., has been selected as the recipient of the 2006 NOGLSTP GLBT Scientist Award. This award is made to the GLBT Scientist who has made outstanding contributions in their field, recognizing sustained contributions in research and education, as well as the societal significance of these contributions and achievements. Dr. Sieh has been chosen because of his outstanding achievements in earth science, as well as his leadership in the GLBT community. His research in earthquake geology (i.e., neotectonics and paleoseismology) documenting ancient earthquakes and slip rates along California, Sumatra, and Taiwan faults has set the standard for quantitative estimates of the probability of future destructive earthquakes. Throughout his career, Dr. Sieh has been openly gay and has provided clear leadership within the GLBT community through his service as a faculty adviser to Caltech's Student Pride Association. Dr. Sieh has been a Professor of Geological and Planetary Sciences at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., since 1986. He is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, Geological Society of America, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Peter Ventzek of Austin, Tex., is the recipient of the 2006 NOGLSTP GLBT Engineer Award. This award recognizes a GLBT Engineer who has made outstanding contributions in their field, and recognizes sustained contributions in design, production, management or research. Dr. Ventzek has been chosen to receive this award because of his outstanding technical achievements and his leadership in the GLBT community. This award honors his major contributions to improvements in the semiconductor industry, with specific emphasis on modeling and simulations to enhance etching processes while reducing costs and time to market, as well as his support of GLBT employees at Freescale and participation in the Freescale EQUAL employee group. Dr. Ventzek has a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the University of Michigan. He is currently the manager of Advanced Products Research and Development Laboratory at Freescale, and the chair of the Plasma Science and Technology Division of the American Vacuum Society.

Dr. Denice Denton is the recipient of the 2006 NOGLSTP Educator Award. This award is made to the GLBTA Educator who has enabled significant growth for GLBT students in science or technology -- through teaching, counseling, advocacy, role modeling or other educational roles. Dr. Denton has been chosen to receive this award because of her outstanding achievements in engineering and education in addition to her leadership in the GLBT community. In May 2004, she was among nine scholars honored by the White House with a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring, recognizing her role as a major leader in enhancing diversity in science and engineering. At the same time, she has been an outstanding role model to the GLBT community by showing that being out at work, including a life-partner in a public manner, and obtaining career success, are not mutually exclusive. Dr. Denton is currently Chancellor of the University of California, Santa Cruz. She also holds a UCSC appointment as Professor of Electrical Engineering.

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NOGLSTP is a national organization of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people (and their advocates) employed or interested in scientific or high technology fields. NOGLSTP is a non-profit educational organization, and is an affiliate of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.


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