University honors June 2024 Employees of the Month

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas has announced Employees of the Month for June 2024. These staff members have made outstanding contributions to the KU Lawrence community.

Winners of the Employee of the Month awards receive the following:

• A surprise visit from the provost or her designee
• A certificate of award
• A biography featured in KU Today
• A $750 gross monetary award.

Nominate an employee for this award by completing and submitting the online or paper Employee of the Month nomination form and returning it to HRM by email or fax to 785-864-5790. More information is available here.

Name: Peter Bridges

Title: Plumber senior, KU Facilities Services

Peter Bridges has worked for KU Facilities Services Department as a plumber for 16 years. He is responsible for testing and servicing the water meters and backflows for the Lawrence campus along with regular plumbing duties. Bridges is said to be a hard worker and always willing to help others if he can. His nominators describe him as not just a great colleague, but also a great friend.

When there is a plumbing emergency, Bridges is normally one of the first ones there to help get it taken care of, and he is known to “…always be willing to step up to fill a role, whether it be supervisor, worker in any field or just a good leader to make sure the job gets done and done safely.” His co-worker said, “There are more times than I can count that he comes in early to test backflows so that it doesn’t affect classes and students. He is known for helping and standing up for fellow co-workers. His work is A+, and he has no problem dropping what he is doing to help others.”

Bridges is also a great resource to his team. One peer said, “He is the person I go to when I need help or knowledge on a project. He is in constant communication with supervisors and co-workers to see what needs to be done or who needs help. He works on everything that we deal with from hard to easy.” His nominators also wanted to share that Bridges loves his homeland, his family and his co-workers, and that “Westham United is his team from back home!”

Name: Mark Stockham

Title: Machinist, Department of Physics & Astronomy

Mark Stockham has worked in his current role at KU for eight years. He is the senior machinist in the Department of Physics & Astronomy’s machine shop and is responsible for making or designing devices or components based on specifications or mechanical requirements, including machining components developed by faculty to address artifacts and problems in specific areas of research. He is therefore a co-inventor on several distinct patents.

Stockham has assisted or led the design and construction of hardware for numerous endeavors. He led in designing and building a mount for a solar array, radio frequency antennas (his graduate school area of expertise) and aluminum enclosures to keep electronics protected and shielded from radio waves in the harshest polar climates, all of which were deployed to Summit Station, Greenland. Stockham assisted in designing a light enclosure system for an extremely sensitive optical table setup in the laboratory, essential for experiments funded by a Department of Energy grant. Stockham built antenna hardware to be shipped to Antarctica to be used to verify the performance of a balloon-borne experimental payload. On several occasions, PUEO (a balloon mission designed to launch from Antarctica that will detect signals from ultra-high energy neutrinos, the most sensitive survey of such cosmic neutrinos ever conducted) principal investigators from other schools have relied on Stockham’s antenna hardware rather than have it built in their local machine shops or farmed out to a commercial unit. He demonstrates exceptional initiative and enthusiasm for projects, and his meticulous attention to detail in his designs and work exemplifies not only his exceptional craftsmanship but also his invaluable contribution as an employee within the department and as an asset to KU as a whole.

Stockham’s colleagues described him as “an exceptionally skilled machinist, instrument designer and thinker,” “an incredible human…(who) treats everyone with respect and dignity and communicates difficult concepts in a simple way that is neither condescending nor arrogant” and “a pleasant person to work with…(who) takes the utmost care and pride in his work.” One professor noted that Stockham “…not only puts exceptional care into the hardware he constructs, but also has a particular talent for understanding the science goal of the constructed hardware and folding those considerations into the experimental design.” Another professor spoke of him, “I, my students and imaging core colleagues have had the pleasure and honor of benefiting from his insight, advice, kindness, passion and friendship. It is time Mark was recognized for his impact on faculty researchers and students.”