U.S. Department of Energy Honors Exceptional Mentorship with Inaugural Distinguished Mentor Awards

US Department of Energy Office of Science sent this bulletin at 03/10/2026 01:15 PM EDT

U.S. Department of Energy Honors Exceptional Mentorship with Inaugural Distinguished Mentor Awards

DOE recognizes the essential role that mentors play in building a strong workforce for DOE and STEM as a whole.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science is proud to announce the first-ever recipients of the DOE Distinguished Mentor Award for Workforce Development. This newly established award program recognizes outstanding mentorship, promotes best mentoring practices, and helps sustain a vibrant mentor pool for workforce development at DOE National Laboratories to advance the DOE mission and strengthen the U.S. workforce of tomorrow.

“The establishment of the DOE Distinguished Mentor Award for Workforce Development directly aligns with our strategic objectives to not only recognize exceptional mentorship but also to actively cultivate best practices across our National Laboratories,” said DOE Under Secretary for Science Darío Gil. “By illuminating these exemplary efforts, we reinforce a vibrant mentoring ecosystem crucial for advancing the DOE's mission and strengthening the U.S. workforce. We look forward to celebrating our inaugural awardees and hearing their insights and experiences.”

The inaugural 2025 awardees are:

Science and Technology Mentor Category

Awardee	Title/Division	Organization
Broussard, Leah Jacklyn	Research Scientist, Physics Division	Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Jensen, Michael	Group Leader, Environmental Science and Technologies Department	Brookhaven National Laboratory
Miller, Quin	Research Scientist, Energy & Critical Materials	Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Technical Mentor Category

Awardee	Title/Division	Organization
McKenzie, Penny	Cyber Security Engineer, National Security Directorate	Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Established in 2025 by the Office of Science’s Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS), this annual honor recognizes the vital role scientific and technical mentors play in cultivating the next generation of the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce. Each recipient will receive a $10,000 award to be used for research and mentoring-related development.

For over 60 years, DOE has provided training opportunities for future scientists, engineers, and technical professionals to support DOE’s mission to advance energy, economic, and national security of the United States.

DOE’s 17 National Laboratories provide a unique opportunity for STEM workforce development, offering access to world-leading expertise, scientific User Facilities and instrumentation, and multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary research teams and programs generally not available in universities or industry. This award formally recognizes dedicated professionals for outstanding contributions to workforce development across the 17 National Laboratories. Selected through a rigorous merit review process, this year’s awardees exemplify excellence in guiding future scientists, engineers, and technical professionals through the unique, multidisciplinary research environments only found within the DOE National Laboratory complex.

A virtual DOE Award Ceremony is planned in the near future to celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of the awardees. The virtual event will feature a panel of Distinguished Mentors and their mentees sharing experiences and thoughts on mentoring and best practices. For more information, visit the Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS) homepage.