Presented to JAMES E. TARPINIAN at the 61st Annual Meeting of the Health Physics Society, Spokane, Washington, July 17-21, 2016
James E. Tarpinian

It is an honor and privilege to announce James E. (Jim) Tarpinian as the 2016 McAdams award winner. The award was established in 1989 and is presented annually by the ABHP and AAHP to honor a certified health physicist who has made a significant contribution toward the advancement of professionalism in health physics and to the certification process.

Jim received his undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of Connecticut and his graduate degree in Radiological Sciences and Protection from the University of Lowell (now UMass Lowell). He has over 36 y of experience in industry and is nationally recognized as a highly experienced environmental, safety and health professional with demonstrated solid leadership in occupational safety and health management, health physics, environmental remediation, and waste management.

His roles and experience have been diverse, ranging from supervising radiological waste engineering activities and managing Radiological Engineering at Three Mile Island in the 1980s to Managing Safety, Health, and Quality for Bechtel at a variety of projects in the 1990s. Since 2000, he has held a variety of prestigious positions such as Director, ESHQ, Brookhaven National Laboratory; Vice President of Corporate Environmental Safety and Health at Battelle; and Director of Environmental Safety, Health and Quality at the SLAC National Accelerator. In 2009, he founded his own consulting company where he continues to assist clients in establishing and maintaining safe and productive ES&H programs.

A member of the Health Physics Society since 1976, Jim has served in a variety of positions, such as Nominating Committee Member, Treasurer of the Power Reactor Section, Strategic Planning Committee, Director of the Decommissioning Section, Academic Education Committee, and Director from 1999 to 2002. An HPS Fellow since 2002, he has also served on other national and international committees that support our field.

He has served the Academy of Health Physics and the ABHP in several ways, including serving on and chairing the Power Reactor Certification Panel from 1989–1993, and serving as Director, Secretary, Vice Chair, and Chair of the Board from 2005–2009. He has also served as Director and President of the Academy.

Over the years, Jim has received other prestigious awards for his work, including the Elda E. Anderson award in 1991 and the Joyce P. Davis Award in 2004.

Thank you, Jim, for your support of the ABHP and the certification process and congratulations on receiving the 2016 McAdams award!

Jay P. Tarzia, Vice-Chair ABHP