Ken Sidorowicz, Information Technology (IT) Group Leader in the APS Engineering Support Division (AES), was named the Scientific User Facilities (SUF) 2007 Supervisor of the Year “based upon his demonstrated outstanding technical leadership, which is exemplified by his leadership, his ability to inspire and motivate his team, and his proactive approach to promoting the success of the APS … through application of new trends in information technology.”
The Supervisor of the Year award is given to the SUF supervisor who is considered by the people who work for her or him to be an outstanding manager. The nomination form requires a short description and the signature of three employees who work for the supervisor. The selection panel for the award comprises the members of the SUF Employee Advisory Committee, the group that first suggested the award and that makes final award recommendations to SUF Associate Laboratory Director Murray Gibson.
In their nominating form, members of Sidorowicz’s IT Group had this to say about him:
“Ken has been with the APS since its inception, working on controls and computing and networking infrastructure. He has contributed to the design, construction and operations phases of this project. Based upon these demonstrated qualities, Ken is more than an outstanding manager; he is a true technical leader.
“Ken encourages the IT staff to be self-sufficient, to think for themselves, and to always display the highest level of professionalism. He gives each of his group members the tools and skills necessary to be successful in their daily activities. He takes great pride in the accomplishments of the group, and is most assuredly responsible for its successes.
“Ken is an inspiration to the group. He is not only a strong leader, but leads by example and does the extra work when necessary, and though we may report to Ken on a daily basis, he gives us the impression he is working with us. Ken communicates clearly with both the staff and our stakeholders.
“He takes the time to honor his human resource commitments to his staff, to foster professional development, and promote his staff fairly. His soft-spoken suggestions and encouragement guide us and help us focus and finish the task at hand. Ken's success also lies with his open door policy and his availability to both group members and the APS staff
“Ken leads his team in stepping up to the on-going challenges of integrating new technology deemed strategic for the APS. Due to Ken's foresight, the APS became the first organization at the Laboratory to have virtually complete wireless networking connectivity. This single capability has made possible mobile scientific computing at the APS.
“In a field as diverse and dynamic as information technology, it is a challenge for the individual to maintain a competitive edge. Ken meets this challenge on a daily basis as an individual and as the leader of a technical team.”
Sidorowicz joined Argonne in 1977 as a member of the Electronics Division (ED) Computer Service Group. He officially joined the APS in 1990 as a member of the Computer Support Group. In 2004 Ken was promoted to Group Leader of the IT Group, which is responsible for managing all computers and networks at the APS.
While working in ED, Sidorowicz received a Pacesetter Award for exceptional performance as a member of the Computer Service Group. He also shared in another Pacesetter Award at APS for his work in planning and executing the transfer of all APS computers resources (servers, networks, desktops) from the 300 area to the 400 area with no loss of services. Ken has served on several Laboratory-wide committees, including the Cyber Security Technical working group, Network Managers group, the Unix standards group, and the PC standards group and is currently a member of the Information Technology Architecture Review Group.