Two landmarks merged on Dec. 10, 2015, when the most advanced laboratory building at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) campus in Boulder, Colo., was renamed after legendary NIST laboratory director Katharine Blodgett Gebbie.

This is the first time a NIST Boulder building has been named for a person. Such honors have been rare in NIST’s 114-year history across several locations. The last time a NIST building was named for a staff member was in 1962 at the institution’s original headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Gebbie, currently a NIST senior advisor, is uniquely deserving of such an honor. An astrophysicist by training, she has worked for NIST for more than 45 years. Among other positions, she directed two large NIST operating units of several hundred researchers each. Under her leadership, NIST staff won four Nobel Prizes in Physics between 1997 and 2012 as well as two MacArthur Fellowships, aka “genius grants.” 

Gebbie also played leadership roles in founding NIST’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program and the Joint Quantum Institute, and in advocating for women and minorities in science.

“This renaming is our small way of saying thank you, Katharine, for all you’ve done for this organization over such a long period of time,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Willie E. May. “This gesture will serve as a reminder for all of us for years to come who Katharine is and was and the remarkable environment that she fostered within NIST and the laboratories that she led.”

The renaming was celebrated at a ceremony where Gebbie was presented with many tributes—a standing ovation from an overflow crowd of about 200 staff and guests; a letter from Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper; and an American flag once flown over the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., provided by local Congressman Jared Polis.

For more information and to view the tribute video, please see the full press release on the NIST Web site.