SuperFeds

"He touched countless generations of civil servants," Clinton said of Flemming, who served as Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, chairman of the Civil Rights Commission, director of the Office of Defense Mobilization, head of the U.S. Commission on Aging, member of the Civil Service Commission, and 1994 Medal of Freedom winner. "He instilled pride in their work and he did this all the while challenging them to be the best servants and keepers of the public trust they could be."

The awards named in Flemming's honor when he was just 43 years old are now in their 50th year, recognizing up-and-coming federal officials who exhibit the same leadership and commitment to public service excellence that Flemming embodied.

Rising stars honored early in their careers include Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1965), Elizabeth Hanford Dole (1971), and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (1979).

This year, Government Executive became a partner in the Flemming Awards program, along with The George Washington University. Washington, D.C.'s Downtown Jaycees originally ran the awards. You can learn more about the awards at www.gwu.edu/~flemming.

The 1998 Flemming Awards honor 11 stellar civil servants in three categories: Administrative, Scientific and Applied Science. Here are their stories.

ADMINISTRATIVE

Godwin M. Agbara of the General Accounting Office is a human encyclopedia on all things energy and oil. For almost 10 years, Agbara has been a leading contributor to GAO's evaluations of oil and energy markets. Based on his analyses, Congress makes policy decisions on how to manage the nation's oil supply. In one case, the government saved at least $1.5 billion by acting on his recommendation to have a government-owned oil field in California privatized and sold. His analysis of the heating fuel crisis of 1989-1990 led GAO to recommend more timely and accurate data collection on heating fuels. In his free time, Agbara tutors underprivileged elementary school kids and mentors disadvantaged youth through a church Big Brother program.

Timothy Allen Klein has been a project management Superman at NASA for the past 13 years, saving taxpayers' dollars, space missions and critical equipment with his problem-solving powers. Klein is credited with helping the Goddard Space Flight Center overcome some of its most difficult challenges. His cost-saving skills allowed NASA to start up six new space science missions. Klein also steered the Global Geospace Science project, which was threatened with cancellation, back to a successful launch and operation. His earlier work in space flight hardware transportation laid the groundwork for the first Hubble Space Telescope repair mission. He also pioneered the use of ocean-going barges to transport NASA equipment when aircraft aren't available. A father of five, Klein keeps active in his church through the children's nursery and Sunday school. He also has served as the church newsletter publisher for 10 years and is a licensed lay eucharistic minister.

Richard C. Smith may seem like a mild-mannered policy wonk, but anyone trying to move illicit drugs across U.S. borders would quickly develop a policy not to mess with him. Smith has spent six years at the U.S. Attorneys Office in Houston, Texas, and is currently on a one-year detail to the Office of the Counsel to the Director at the Executive Office for United States Attorneys. He has been recognized for his success in integrating drug enforcement strategic plans from U.S. Attorneys offices across the country into a national drug control policy. He has also developed policy on immigration matters, particularly along the Southwest border. At other times in his career, Smith has helped craft civil rights policy by participating in task forces on abortion clinics, church arson and hate crimes, and by serving on working groups dealing with such issues as racial disparity, police misconduct and international human rights. In his off-duty hours, he serves as a role model for African-American youth, is active in his church and is a member of a task force on crack-addicted mothers.

Peter C. van Dyck has used his performance measurement powers to make sure that federal assistance to families is making a difference. Van Dyck has spent nearly six years helping advance the Department of Health and Human Services' mission to improve the health of mothers and children. He created a $4 billion federal-state partnership grant program for maternal and child health, revolutionizing the collection of information on the status of mothers and children and the performance of programs to aid them. He helped clarify state block grant applications and annual report guidance by introducing performance measures, by automating reporting mechanisms, and by using Government Performance and Results Act requirements. Van Dyck has also worked with several community organizations, including the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation.

SCIENTIFIC

Francis S. Collins, a National Institutes of Health scientist, is doing nothing less than decoding the building blocks of the human body. As a widely recognized world leader in the human genome project, Collins leads a research effort to determine the location of the estimated 80,000 human genes and to read the entire sequence of genetic instructions encoded in human DNA. Under his leadership, project leaders in the United States and abroad hope to finish two years ahead of schedule. With physical maps of the human genome, scientists can locate genes associated with disease in a matter of weeks, rather than years or decades. Because of the potential societal impact of genetic research, Collins has made the project's Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications Program a high personal priority. Collins has taken a leadership role in a national effort to promote education and access to information about advances in human genetics.

Gerald Timothy Fraser can see things no other human being can see. As a research scientist in molecular physics at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Fraser is known for his research and development in microwave and infrared molecular beam spectroscopy. In particular, his innovative measurement techniques allow researchers to measure physical parameters as much as 100 times better than with conventional techniques. With such powerful tools, Fraser has discovered molecular features and properties invisible to other researchers. One such example was his early development of a measurement technique called Electronic Resonance Optothermal Spectroscopy, which is now in use around the world. Fraser has also made significant discoveries about the molecules responsible for the depletion of the ozone layer above the Arctic and Antarctic.

Bettye Carol Johnson makes the invisible visible, from the depths of the ocean floor to the top of the Himalayas. As a physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Johnson makes sure optical temperature measurements are accurate. She developed a special radiometer that scientists use to observe oceanic plant life from satellites. The system generates color-coded pictures of the ocean environment, which help scientists learn about the world's ecosystems and track global change. Johnson is also lending her technical expertise in radiometric calibration to the interagency Global Change Research Program. Her work helps ensure the accuracy of data that is used to predict the future of the Earth's land, air and water resources. Since her work is truly planetary in scale, she's organized international cooperation on projects with Japan, Germany, Russia and other countries.

Jeffrey S. Zabinski is a friction fighter. At the Air Force, that's a critical job, because the wear and tear of friction makes engines, aircraft and electromechanical systems less efficient, and adds to maintenance and repair requirements throughout every machine's life span. The effects of friction cost the service literally billions of dollars a year. Zabinski has dedicated his career to helping deal with the problem, developing coatings that make machines run more smoothly. He has discovered lubricants that work both on Earth and in space, and has developed new, more effective coatings for reusable launch vehicles, turbine engines, satellites and airplanes. His work on lubricants for the gyros that control a plane's attitude and its targeting and navigation systems will make them last longer. And despite Zabinski's daily battles with the forces of nature, he still has enough energy to help out with his local Boy Scout troop.

APPLIED SCIENCE

Capt. Jon M. Anderson, U.S. Air Force, has brought the Global Positioning System to the masses. Ever since GPS was introduced, more and more people and companies have found uses for it. But the system was thought to be incapable of handling the growing demands of the military and the burgeoning $8 billion civilian market in GPS applications. Against all odds, Anderson proved that new secure military signals and a new civilian signal could be added to the current GPS spectrum without interfering with existing signals. Anderson's work has created a flood of benefits: Civilians will now be able to get accurate position information comparable to that obtained by the military; GPS will be available for a wide variety of industrial and transportation uses; and the path is cleared for making GPS the world standard for timing and positioning.

Judith S. Dahmann, chief scientist at the Defense Modeling and Simulation Office, has created a new universe. Dahmann developed a new high-level architecture for modeling and simulation at the Defense Department. The architecture, a set of standards and rules, serves as the basic framework for any computer-based training program DoD uses. In Dahmann's new universe, software programmers create worlds for pilot training, missile defense simulations, simulated land combat and dozens of other scenarios. All the worlds created in the simulations use the same standards, so developers can save time and money by re-using components from other worlds. Russia borrowed Dahmann's architecture to train a space shuttle crew to dock with the Mir space station, and NATO has also adopted the architecture. Now Dahmann is working with Hollywood to ensure the Defense Department enjoys the same high-tech wizardry in its war games that top arcade games use. Dahmann also takes the time to work with young women interested in engineering and science at a local high school, showing them how what they learn in physics class applies to the real world.

Keith A. Rhodes has a message for computer bugs everywhere: You can run, but you can't hide. Rhodes is a digital-age exterminator for the General Accounting Office, where he developed the guide federal agencies are using to solve the year 2000 computer problem. If the government makes it through the Y2K experience with only minor glitches, officials will have Rhodes at the top of their thank-you list. He has focused his Y2K pest control efforts on the energy sector, securing nuclear power systems against the millennium bug. He's also helped agencies root out security weaknesses in their networks, and taught them how to develop construction plans for new computer systems. Rhodes also educates young people at his local schools about security issues and the Internet.