ORNL Director Al Trivelpiece, left, presents the R&D 100 Award to Chuck Egert. Photo by Don Abel

Y-12 co-workers remember Egert for more than award Chuck Egert’s work with ORNL Engineering Technology’s Panos Datskos and Slo Rajic on the CalSpec (calorimetric spectrometer) won them the R&D 100 Award this year. Because Egert was not able to attend the ceremony in Chicago, ORNL Director Al Trivelpiece presented the award to him at Y-12 in late September. While the CalSpec project and its team members certainly are worthy of the nationally recognized award, the Development Division physicist will be thought of by his co-workers at Y-12 on an even more grand scale. Egert died October 17 after a battle with cancer. While some would find it difficult to continue working, Egert felt compelled to stay on the job and made arrangements to be brought to his office after he could no longer accomplish the task himself. “His dedication to his work was just a continuation of his approach to life,” said Engineering Technology Director Ted Fox. “We here in Engineering Technology all felt so fortunate to work with Chuck. In my opinion, his courage and commitment to his family, work and community are unsurpassed.”