Albiston Receives CSE Service Award

Sean Albiston, longtime Education Program Specialist at the School of Physics and Astronomy, received the College of Science and Engineering Outstanding Service Award in the category of Professional and Administrative staff. School Head Jim Kakalios has described this as a “well-deserved recognition of the outstanding work Sean has done keeping the School running through pandemics, renovations to Tate, and large increases in enrollment.”
During his 26 year tenure in SPA, Albiston has been indispensable in helping the School keep up with changes to the curriculum. Albiston facilitated overhauling the PHYS 1301W/1302W lab structure in the past academic year, helping the department meet the needs of the increased CSE enrollment and improving the experience for the over 1500 students who enroll in the 130x series each semester. In response to the rapid shift to remote instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sean, Brian Andersson and colleagues developed “physics-lab-in-a-box” kits that students could purchase and conduct their weekly lab assignments at home or in their dorm room without having to come into Tate Hall. This was a monumental undertaking, carried out with logistical challenges under severe time pressure and the limitations imposed by the corona virus safety precautions.
After obtaining a B.A. in Physics and Biology from Hamline University, Sean joined the School in 1998 supporting the introductory labs as a Laboratory Technician, and has worn a whole wardrobe of hats in the intervening years– managing labs and demonstrations both technically and logistically, serving as the Departmental Safety Officer, supporting the Physics Force outreach programming, and a number of other technical support duties.
The award was presented by Dean Andrew Alleyne at a special ceremony on December 13th, 2024. Three Outstanding Service Awards have been presented annually by the College of Science and Engineering (CSE) since the award program was instituted in 2022 to recognize and reward exceptional performance and contributions by staff, faculty, and administration.