Applause for Bob Rhynalds

“Bob has been an absolutely outstanding Foreman of the Physics and Astronomy/Chemistry Machine Shop for the last 10 years. Under his guidance, the shop's capabilities have expanded significantly, and the "customers" (the research groups in the Departments of Physics and Astronomy and Chemistry) always receive a high quality job on time and for a reasonable cost. Bob's particular strength is his ability to mentor and "train-up" the new hires that we have brought in to replace retired machinists. Bob has a strong work ethic that he instills in these new workers, and he teaches them many skills that raise their level of proficiency from that of a "tractor repair" machinist to that of a true instrument maker. In the occasional case where we have personnel problems, Bob has handled them with tact and skill, and has always achieved optimal outcomes at the end. Bob is a great colleague and we are very lucky to have him on our staff. I enthusiastically nominate him for a CAS Applause Award!”

• • •

“I am nominating Robert Rhynalds, Manager, Physics and Astronomy Instrument shop for this award for his dedication, hard work, exceptional abilities and being able to deliver on critical and complex orders in a timely fashion while keeping costs as low as possible. I have known Bob for more than a decade and have frequently interacted with him on many projects that were used to design and fabricate parts used in the Extreme Light Laboratory. Bob is very creative and has always been very responsive to my requests. Since he became the manager of the instrument shop, my interaction with him as gone up significantly because most of my projects are of sufficient complexity, and they require his expertise and skill. Bob has over the past few years executed a number of large projects for us including one recently that was required to be done under ITAR restrictions. He is always willing to come over to the laboratory and discuss in detail with us the projects we are planning and ensure the best design that will meet our requirements. On a few occasions he has come up with improvements to parts that were already made and retrofitted them for better performance. The university should not only applaud his exceptional work ethic and remarkable skill set but provide him new challenges because Bob has the potential to add a lot more to his already significant list of accomplishments.!”

• • •

“Bob is a solid, go to person, who deserves to be commended for his University dedication. No matter how little or trivial my problem seems Bob always takes the time to make sure the project is completed with 100% satisfaction. He is kind, meticulous and just a really nice guy. The College needs to honor someone like him for their hard work and dedication. It is my privilege to nominate Bob for the Applause Award!”