(presented by Maria Zuber, Vice President for Research)
Our next Unsung Hero is Richard Gervin, Jr. a logistics administrator for the Homeland Protection Systems group at Lincoln Laboratory. His nomination supporters say that the impact Rick has made in the short year he has been at the Laboratory is impressive, admirable, and enormously inspiring.
Here are just a couple of anecdotes that Rick’s colleagues have shared:
“Walking down the hallways of MIT can be both inspiring and intimidating. Office doors are labeled with the names of world renowned inventors, Nobel laureates, National Academy of Sciences award winners, and much more. Few people give much notice to the name Richard Gervin though as they pass by a secluded office nestled on the bottom floor of Lincoln Laboratory. Unbeknownst to them, they’ve just passed by the office of a truly remarkable hero.”
Another nominator said, “One of the first times I met Rick was when he was showing a group of people video footage he had taken during his deployment in Afghanistan. A team at Lincoln Laboratory was working on ways to better protect soldiers from explosive devices. Rick worked with the team to help them better understand and address the problem, and all were grateful for his insight. “
“Rick’s commitment, devotion, and sacrifice are evident every day that I work with him. He always accepts difficult assignments, then wants to know what else he can do to help. His work deploying surveillance sensors and conducting field experiments often requires long days and grueling physical labor in harsh environments, but Rick never complains.”
“When our team was struggling to meet deadlines and needed help designing an enclosure for a sensor, Rick stepped up to provide assistance. Although he has no formal engineering training, in a very short period of time, he taught himself how to do solid modeling in AutoCAD and created a solution.”
One of his colleagues said, “Rick Gervin is smart, unselfish, and humble. His contributions are significant, yet his name often goes unnoticed.”
Until now – congratulations, Rick Gervin!