The awards were for publications produced by Laboratory staff members in the Communication Arts and Services group and the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center. The Physics Division Activity Report 2004 won the Best of Show and Distinguished Technical Communication awards, which was sponsored by Southern Arizona chapter of the STC. Ninety-five entries from Arizona, New Mexico, California, Colorado and Oklahoma were submitted.
The STC competition rewards effective technical publications, technical art and online communication tools. Three different levels of STC awards are given: Distinguished Technical Communication (DTC), Excellence and Merit.
Los Alamos staff members received three Distinguished Technical Communication, 14 Excellence and 14 Merit awards, more than one third of all awards given by the southwest chapter.
"The competition is judged by members of the STC, so when you win one of these awards, it really is about your peers recognizing that you did an excellent job," said Judy Prono of Los Alamos' Communication Arts and Services group.
Laboratory publications and art that won DTC awards will be submitted to the international STC competition and winners will be announced in May.
Distinguished Technical Communication-awarded projects from the Lab that will be entered into the international competition are the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center User Group Meeting poster by Gail Flower of the Communication Arts and Services group, and the Physics Division Activity Report 2004 by Jean Butterworth of Los Alamos' Physics Division and Todd Heinrichs and Vicente Garcia, both of the Communication Arts and Services group.
New Mexico dominated the Southwestern region by taking home more than half of the awards. Awards for the Southwest region were given at a luncheon in January sponsored by STC's New Mexico Kachina chapter.
The Society for Technical Communications is the largest professional organization of technical communicators with a membership of more than 18,000 worldwide.
For a list of entries and winners for the Lab, go to http://im-1.lanl.gov/stc.shtml online.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and Washington Group International for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.