(presented by Chancellor Cynthia Barnhart)
The final Serving the Client award of 2015 goes to one of those master problem solvers who removes obstacles from the paths of scientists who are doing cutting-edge work. His name is Scott Wade and he is Operations/Facilities Manager for both the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences - and the Department of Chemistry.
We heard over and over that no matter how impossible the challenge, he handled it with agility and aplomb. And in the case of Scott’s job, that’s all the more impressive because of the unpredictable nature of the challenges he faces day to day—and the sheer diversity of them:
- Too much humidity in a lab? Scott immediately secured emergency dehumidifiers.
- Professor reorganizing a massive collection of rocks? Scott developed a streamlined process and arranged to have a truck haul away the discards.
- Move exceptionally delicate and valuable lab equipment to Germany? With fifteen minutes notice, Scott was on the scene, devised a plan to move the equipment to the MIT carpentry shop, arranged for the crafting of custom-made crates to be moved to the loading dock.
Many of these conundrums are not even in Scott’s job description yet he responds when there is a challenge that stymies everyone else. And he does so with his signature good humor.
Congratulations, Scott Wade!