Denos and Thorsland selected for 2021 Gary Kelly Staff Award

Two Illinois Physics staff members were presented with the Gary Kelly Staff Excellence Award during the department’s Fall Reception, on Tuesday, October 26, 2021. Sharlene Denos and Eric Thorsland were each honored for their contributions to the department with a commemorative plaque and a $2,000 award.

Illinois Physics Department Head and Professor Matthias Grosse Perdekamp comments, “The Gary Kelly awards express the gratitude our faculty and students hold for the dedicated, hard-working staff in the Department of Physics. Despite the significant challenges from COVID-19, the tireless work of Illinois Physics staff members enables our faculty, researchers, and students to succeed in their educational and research mission."

Sharlene Denos

Sharlene Denos is the associate director of education and inclusivity at the Center for the Physics of the Living Cells (CPLC). She was nominated by Illinois Physics Professor Paul Selvin.

The citation reads, “For her tireless work involving outreach programs with CPLC K-12 programs and improving the educational experiences and career outcomes of students and researchers. She has also been an integral member of the department Diversity Committee.  She is always willing to “go the extra mile” and is a pleasure to work with.”

Denos has worked diligently to improve CPLC educational programs through close management and evaluation. She put into effect measures to ensure a positive experience for all students, and particularly for groups historically underrepresented in physics, including women.

Denos has co-organized an annual CPLC “boot camp” for international graduate students and postdocs. She has been responsible for managing budgets, progress reports, supplemental proposals, external advisory board meetings, and site visits for the CPLC. She also oversaw office and research support staff.

Beyond the CPLC, Denos managed a new doctoral bridge program in partnership with Fisk University, after running a foundational  undergraduate research program between Fisk and Illinois. She has served on the Illinois Physics Diversity Committee, where she helped to develop mentoring programs for students from historically underrepresented groups, as well as culturally responsive mentor training    for the faculty who work with them.

Denos has further been a member of the Grainger Institute for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access since its inception, serving on its Anti-Racism Task Force  and leading the Cena y Ciencias project funded by the institute.

Selvin says, “I cannot think of a single person who does not think the world of Sharlene. She is a real go-getter who has done so much to enhance the image of the department.”

Denos comments, “I am honored to have received this award, especially given all the stellar staff we have at Illinois Physics.”

Eric Thorsland

Eric Thorsland is a Research Engineer at Illinois Physics. He was nominated by Illinois Physics Professor Anne Sickles.

The citation reads, “For his instrumental work and organization during the pandemic on behalf of the sPHENIX project, his efforts in improving the production and recovery of helium, and more recently his invaluable role in the MRL Machine Shop operation. His work ethic, initiative, and drive has made all of these endeavors successful.”

Thorsland was instrumental in coordinating large-scale precision manufacturing of components for the electromagnetic calorimeter of Brookhaven National Lab’s-sPHENIX experiment. About 5,000 calorimeter blocks were individually tooled and hand assembled at the Nuclear Physics Laboratory in Urbana. In managing this project, undertaken by Sickles’ research group with expertise from Research Professor Caroline Riedl, Thorsland made sure restrictions and supply-chain issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic did not interfere with timely delivery to BNL, while maintaining a safe workplace for the large student and technician workforce he managed.

Sickles notes, “This is the first large-scale tungsten-powder calorimeter ever constructed, and Eric took the lead in developing a production process that could meet the schedule set by Brookhaven.  He has worked with faculty, scientists, and students to make sure the blocks satisfied the scientific goals of the project. 

“One notable achievement was the development of a method for measuring the dimensions of the blocks.  While they look approximately rectangular, only two of the six faces are parallel to each other.”  

Thorsland has also been an initiator and key player in the Physics Department’s stewardship of helium, a non-renewable natural resource in short supply across the U.S. Thorsland worked with the Helium Liquefier staff in Loomis Lab and with faculty members and campus facilities and services to improve the production, recovery, and leakage monitoring of liquid helium used in scientific experiments in several facilities across campus.  These efforts have resulted in a cost savings for UIUC experiments that rely on liquid helium and represent an important best-practice model for how to steward this precious resource.

Thorsland comments, “I am as surprised as I am honored to get the Gary Kelly Award and can only think of how fortunate I am to work with so many great people on so many projects. The sPHENX crew is as hard working and talented as they could be, all of them, and they have accomplished a monumental task. And the small but mighty Helium Liquifer team deserves full credit for the work they do to preserve this precious resource. I can only express my many thanks to all the people I have been lucky enough to work with.”