U.S. Department of Commerce

This year, Secretary Pritzker had the distinct privilege of presenting the first-ever Ron Brown Excellence in Innovation Award. This award honors the extraordinary leadership, legacy, and memory of the beloved former Secretary of Commerce, Ron Brown. Secretary Brown challenged employees to innovate, be creative, and make change, thereby unleashing the full potential of the Department and transforming Commerce into a dynamic organization where people feel valued and appreciated. 

To honor his extraordinary leadership and legacy, Secretary Pritzker presented the Excellence in Innovation Award to the Department’s top Gold Medal recipients: four extraordinary individuals from NIST who overcame extensive research challenges over the past decade to enhance the medical community’s ability to diagnose and treat traumatic brain injury, cancer, and other diseases. The team created innovative magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, measurement tools to ensure quality control in comparing images within and between medical research studies. Secretary Pritzker was proud to recognize Doctors Michael Boss, Kathryn Keenan, Stephen Russek, and Karl Stupic for their resourcefulness, innovation, courage, and adherence to Secretary Brown’s vision and legacy. Show less