NIST's Dr. Jeffrey Sherman Receives Flemming Award for Work on Atomic Clock Ensemble

Summary

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oct. 3, 2024 - Twelve public servants from a number of federal agencies will be honored at the 75th annual Arthur S. Flemming Awards for their exceptional service across the disciplines of applied science, basic science, leadership and social science.

Among these year's awardees is Dr. Jeffrey A. Sherman, who leads the atomic clock ensemble at NIST, providing the nation’s official time with nanosecond-level accuracy. His work supports billions of daily uses, from setting clocks and computers to ensuring precise timestamps for hundreds of billions of dollars of electronic financial transactions.

Dr. Jeffrey A. Sherman–National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce (NIST) - is recognized for technical and managerial leadership of the atomic clock ensemble that serves as the nation's source of official time. The atomic clock ensemble provides timing for U.S. civilian activities with accuracies down to the level of a few nanoseconds and is one of the most visible and widely used assets of the U.S. Government. NIST time is used billions of times each day to set consumer timepieces and computers and ensure the accurate timestamping of hundreds of billions of dollars of electronic financial transactions.

The time signals realized and distributed by Dr. Sherman and his team are an invisible yet critical utility for the U.S. As new technologies continue to emerge, the need for accurate time synchronization will become increasingly important for critical infrastructure systems like the power grid, air traffic control systems, and autonomous vehicles. Dr. Sherman is leading the charge to meet these demanding synchronization requirements by providing high reliability signals with the smallest possible timing uncertainties.

2024 marks the 75th anniversary of this prominent award, named after the late Arthur Sherwood Flemming, a quintessential civil servant. Flemming served seven presidential administrations of both parties, was president of three higher-ed institutions, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and was a fierce advocate for social and racial equity, among his many other accomplishments.  
 
This awards program is celebrating 75 years of recognizing the “best of the best” of public service. Journalist Frank Sesno will emcee this year’s award ceremony on Wednesday, Nov, 13, 2024 in Washington, D.C.
 
Notable past Flemming Award recipients include Dr. Anthony Fauci, Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Paul Volcker Jr., John Chancellor, Neil Armstrong, Mary Elizabeth Hanford (now “Elizabeth Dole”), and Gene Dodaro.