Federal Players
Profiles of little known federal workers who have left a big impact.
November 9, 2009
Federal Player of the Week: Katharine Gebbie
NAME
Katharine Gebbie
POSITION
Director, Physics Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
AGE
79
RESIDENCE
Bethesda, Md.
EDUCATION
PhD in Physics from University College London, B.A. in Physics from Bryn Mawr College, B.S. in Astronomy from the University College, London
AWARDS
Winner, Service to America Medal for Career Achievement, 2002; U.S. Department of Commerce Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement, 1990, 2002; Women in Science and Engineering Lifetime Achievement Award, 1994; Washington Academy of Sciences Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Physical Sciences; American Physical Society, Division of Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics, 2001; Accenture, Women's Leadership Award, Government Visionary, 2006
HOBBIES
Piloting small airplanes, mountaineering and the opera
NIST's Katharine Gebbie: Creating a Climate for Cutting-Edge Research
Katharine Gebbie has built a world-class physics laboratory, fostering creativity and risk-taking that has led to cutting-edge scientific discoveries.
A major force within the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gebbie presides over a team that includes three Nobel Prize winners, among other scientists recognized worldwide.
"The key thing is that she creates an environment in which this kind of work can thrive. If you are a member of the physics lab, one of the things that is expected from you is that you are going to be a creative innovator," William Phillips, a physicist and 1997 Nobel Prize winner, said.
Gebbie, an astrophysicist, joined NIST in 1968. By 1991, she was asked to establish NIST's Physics Laboratory, the facility she manages today. Read more »
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