Each year, the National Institute of Building Sciences recognizes individuals and organizations that have provided outstanding service to the Institute, the building community and the nation. This year, at its Annual Awards Reception and Dinner, the Institute honored M. Dennis Knight, PE; the WBDG Whole Building Design Guide Advisory Committee; Henry H. Chamberlain; and James “Tim” T. Ryan, CBO.

The 2017 Institute Member Award Goes to…

The Institute Member Award goes to a member of the Institute who has made a substantial contribution in support of the mission, goals and objectives of the organization. Institute Board Chairman Stephen T. Ayers, AIA, LEED AP, presented the 2017 Member Award to M. Dennis Knight, PE, for his work on developing the Institute’s building information modeling (BIM) guide geared toward building owners, the National BIM Guide for Building Owners (NBGO), released in January 2017. Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Whole Building Systems, Knight was a member of the NBGO Project Team.

In keeping with the Institute’s abiding tenets to bring all stakeholders to the project table, Knight contributed significantly to integrating the disparate skills and interests of this multidisciplinary team into a coherent product that was downloaded more than 1,300 times in the first six months of its availability. He also contributed a large share of content to the “Infrastructure and Standards” section of the NBGO and kept the concept of employing standards foremost in the team’s awareness. As an ASHRAE Fellow and Director at Large, as well as a member of ASHRAE’s Steering Committee for BIM, Knight has been instrumental in promoting the work of the Institute beyond its boundaries. Recently, he contributed significantly to ASHRAE’s efforts to promote the NBGO to an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard; ASHRAE has since filed a project initiation notice with ANSI for this effort.

“I have no loss for questions,” said Knight, upon accepting his award. “I may not have answers, but I’m going to ask a question in every meeting I go to.”

The 2017 Institute Honor Award Goes to…

The Institute Honor Award goes to individuals or groups who have made an exceptional contribution to the nation and the building community. The 2017 Honor Award went to the WBDG Whole Building Design Guide Advisory Committee. The WBDG marked its 20-year anniversary in 2017, and the WBDG Advisory Committee is largely responsible for that success.

From a handful of pages, the WBDG site was developed to incorporate knowledge across a wide range of design, construction and management topics. Today, the WBDG hosts hundreds of pages and educational courses containing valuable information applicable to all aspects of a facility from the ‘whole building approach’. The site also hosts much of the federal-sector criteria, making it one of the largest information portals in the industry for design and construction visited by thousands of people each month across the federal, private and educational sectors. Throughout the years, the WBDG Advisory Committee, which primarily consists of federal agency representatives, has continued to support the project and its development. The group’s dedication is commendable, and the reason the Institute recognized the Advisory Committee with the 2017 Honor Award.

“Thank you for the dedication, collaboration and innovation of the members of this committee,” said Sherri McMillion, PE, CEM, Specifications and Standards Criteria Manager, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, and Chair of the WBDG Advisory Committee. “We’ve had a lot of folks come and go and they’ve all brought new ideas.”

The 2017 President Award Goes to…

The Institute President's Award is given to an individual or organization in recognition of extraordinary efforts to assist in advancing the mission of the Institute. Institute President Henry L. Green, Hon. AIA, presented the 2017 President's Award to Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International President and Chief Operating Officer Henry H. Chamberlain. President Green recognized Chamberlain for his support over the years, guidance and assistance in developing the Institute’s Conference and the recent endeavor to create a building information modeling (BIM) guide geared toward building owners, the National BIM Guide for Owners.

“From the moment I arrived in our Nation’s Capital, you have provided me with insightful assistance and a listening ear,” wrote Green in his announcement letter to Chamberlain. “The relationship forged over the past 9 years between our organizations will long stand as a testament to the work of two organizations that share a common interest in improving the built environment. I will always cherish this as a hallmark of my success in Washington.”

“Look at the group we have here tonight…unbelievable leadership,” said Chamberlain, upon accepting his award. “The work you are doing here; what you’ve got here is unique. Your relationship with government is unique.”

The 2017 Mortimer M. Marshall Lifetime Achievement Award Goes to…

The Mortimer M. Marshall Lifetime Achievement Award, the Institute’s highest honor, goes to someone who has demonstrated a lifetime of dedication to the mission and goals of the Institute. Established in 2011 and named after the organization’s first member, this award is bestowed upon those who exhibit the passion upon which the Institute is founded. Chairman Ayers presented the 2017 Mortimer M. Marshall Lifetime Achievement Award to James “Tim” T. Ryan, CBO, who recently retired as Code Administrator for the City of Overland Park, Kansas.

Ryan has served on the Institute’s Board of Directors for more than a decade. Initially elected to a Board seat in 2006, Ryan served two full terms. He was then nominated by President Obama in 2012 and confirmed by the United States Senate to serve as a member of the Board as a presidential appointee. Over the years, Ryan has served as secretary, vice chair and as chairman. In addition, he served as chair of the Coordinating Council; liaison to the Multihazard Mitigation Council and the BRIK Building Research Information Knowledgebase; and as a member of the Executive Committee, Nominations Committee, Annual Report Committee, Awards Committee and the Strategic Planning Committee. Ryan served on the Institute Committee that reviewed the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) report related to the World Trade Center collapse to compile code recommendations. He served as an advisor following Hurricane Katrina on damage assessment and mitigation efforts, and performed damage assessments following tornados in Greensburg, Kansas in 2007, and Chapman, Kansas in 2008.

In December 2017, Ryan retired from being the Code Administrator for the City of Overland Park, Kansas. He worked for Overland Park for three decades, initially joining as a field inspector in 1978. He is a Certified Building Official with 15 separate certificates in various disciplines of codes administration and enforcement, and is a voting member of the International Code Council, the International Association of Electrical Inspectors and the National Fire Protection Association. Ryan served as the chair of the Steering Committee for the State of Kansas tasked with creating a program to oversee the energy code provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. He is a certified member of the Kansas Damage Assessment Team and served as president of the Kansas City Construction Users Council. Ryan’s decades of participation have demonstrated a long commitment to the goals and mission of the Institute and exemplify the meaning behind the Marshall Award.

“People ask me what my motivation is. This is my motivation,” said Ryan, pointing to his wife and daughters in the audience upon accepting his award. “I always approached every project, every building…people are going to be in there and what if it’s one of them?”

Earlier in 2017, the Institute issued a call to industry for nominations to identify potential award recipients. An Awards Committee reviewed the submissions and selected winners from the nominees based on how their work meets the mission, objectives and goals of the Institute.

The Awards Committee will solicit nominations for 2018 awards in late spring of 2018, with nominations due in July.

The Institute held the Annual Reception sponsored by BOMA and the Annual Awards Dinner on Wednesday, January 10, 2018, during Building Innovation 2018: The Institute’s Sixth Annual Conference and Expo, at the Mandarin Oriental in Washington, D.C.