2008 – Gold Medal for Project 25 Inter-RF Subsystem Interface Test Tool Development

Three staff members from the PSCR (Public Safety Communications Research) program received a group Gold Medal in the category of Scientific and Engineering Achievement from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Department’s highest honor, at ceremonies in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, November 18, 2008.

Kameron Behnam, Mudumbai Ranganathan, and Stephen Quirolgico received a group Gold Medal for their efforts to enhance public safety communications. The team received the award for developing the ITT (Inter-RF Subsystem Interface Test Tool) to test the P25 (Project 25) ISSI (Inter-RF Subsystem Interface) and CSSI (Console Subsystem Interface).

The ITT software tool is being used by industry to verify that communication interfaces between different emergency repomder radio systems are working and that vendor products meet communication standards for interoperability. This accomplishment supports the Commerce Department’s goal of improving public safety communications to better serve Americans and protect American security.

From left: Commerce Secretary, Carlos Guiterez; Stephen Quirolgico (Mudumbai Ranganathan is not pictured) of NIST/OLES (National Institute of Standards and Technology/Office of Law Enforcement Standards); Kameron Behnam of NTIA/ITS (National Telecommunications and Information Administration/Institute for Telecommunication Sciences); NTIA Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, Meredith Attwell Baker; Deputy Secretary of Commerce, John J. Sullivan; and Deputy Director of NIST, Patrick D. Gallagher. Click to enlarge image.

2006 – Gold Medal for Enhancement of Public Safety Communications

A team of ten staff members from the PSCR program received a group Gold Medal for Personal and Professional Excellence from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Department’s highest honor, at ceremonies in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, November 8, 2006.

DJ Atkinson, Randy Bloomfield, Jeffrey Bratcher, Dereck Orr, Eldon Haakinson (retired), Eric Nelson, Val Pietrasiewicz, Andrew Thiessen, Ken Tilley, and Bruce Ward received a group Gold Medal for their efforts to enhance public safety communications. The team received the award for assisting government-wide planning, assessment, and standardization of technologies to achieve interoperable communications among emergency responders.

The team addressed technological advancements to improve radio coverage depended upon by police, firefighters, emergency medical personnel, dispatchers, and other first responders during local and national emergencies. This accomplishment supports the Commerce Department’s goal of improving public safety communications to better serve Americans and protect American security.

The Gold Medal award specifically highlights the team’s leadership in two areas: developing a national strategy for improvement of public safety communications, and assisting the development of technical standards to enable rapid deployment of a new generation of digital land mobile radio systems. Federal, state, and local public safety agencies are widely implementing these systems today.

From left: Commerce Secretary, Carlos Guiterez; Dereck Orr of NIST/OLES (National Institute of Standards and Technology/Office of Law Enforcement Standards); Bruce Ward, Ken Tilley, Val Pietrasiewicz, Andrew Thiessen, Eric Nelson, Eldon Haakinson (retired), Jeffrey Bratcher, Randy Bloomfield, and DJ Atkinson of NTIA/ITS (National Telecommunications and Information Administration/Institute for Telecommunication Sciences); and NTIA Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, John M. R. Kneuer. Click to enlarge image.