Berkeley Lab has a long and proud tradition of fostering the next generation of scientists and engineers by establishing mentorship relationships that go beyond learning specific competencies or tasks. These relationships aim to build a climate of trust so the mentee can feel secure in seeking advice from our mentors on issues impacting their professional success.

January was National Mentoring, an annual event dedicated to raising awareness about the power and impact of mentoring. The month-long event highlights the value of mentoring relationships in supporting career development and professional growth and how mentors can positively influence the lives of others. It recognizes and honors the contributions of mentors while encouraging individuals to become mentors.

To reinforce our commitment to mentoring, the Lab annually recognizes those mentors who go the extra mile in supporting future researchers who have joined the Lab, be they full-time employees, postdoctoral students, or interns.

At the Outstanding Mentor & Volunteer Recognition Event, held on October 3, 2023, at the Lab’s main site, Lieselotte Obst-Huebl, a research scientist from the BELLA Center in the Accelerator Technology & Applied Physics Division, was awarded the Outstanding Mentor Award for 2022. The award, bestowed by the Lab’s Workforce Development & Education Office, recognized her efforts in 2022 to teach technical and professional skills to the Lab’s interns.

“I take mentoring very seriously and have benefited greatly from outstanding mentors along my career path, and I am more than happy to pay it forward,” said Obst-Huebl on receiving the award.

Also honored at the event were Asmita Patel, ATAP Deputy Division Director for Operations, and colleagues from the Mentoring@LBNL Team, who were awarded the Director’s Award for Exceptional Achievement in IDEA – Mentorship. The award recognized their efforts “For building the critical foundations of a complex mentoring ecosystem that fulfills different employee needs around mentorship while also modeling the value of team science and cross-lab collaboration over three years.”

In January, the Lab welcomed new interns who will also benefit from mentoring by world-renowned researchers and experts in their field. These interns include Francisco Wulftange, Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) intern in the BELLA Center; Gianmarco Parise, Graduate Student Intern in the BELLA Center; Sarah Vickers, SULI intern in the Accelerator Modeling Program; Carter Dickerson, SULI intern in the Berkeley Accelerator Controls and Instrumentation Program; Henry Pan, SULI Intern in the BELLA Center; and Feynman Barney, Student Assistant in the Superconducting Magnet Program.

Click here to find out about mentoring opportunities at the Lab, and click here for mentoring opportunities in the Physical Sciences Area.

For more information on ATAP News articles, contact caw@lbl.gov.