Engineers Society Recognizes Hanford Employee at National Convention

RICHLAND, Wash. – A Hanford tank farms engineer recently received two awards at the 45th National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) conference in Detroit.

Michael Benjamin, a Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) production operations engineer at the EM Office of River Protection’s (ORP) Hanford Site, received an award for Member of the Year. He serves as the president of the Tri-Cities Professionals Chapter of the NSBE, which also won Chapter of the Year.

“This was a great opportunity to bring recognition to the Tri-Cities and the important work we do at Hanford,” Benjamin said.

Benjamin has a degree in chemical engineering and has been involved with the NSBE since 2014. At WRPS, he focuses on monitoring for chemical vapors and analyzing various forms of data.

As president of the local chapter, Benjamin has encouraged other engineers to consider moving to the Tri-Cities area and working at Hanford. He attended NSBE’s regional conference last November and helped recruit students who had not previously considered Hanford Site careers.

“I think my position as president and ability to paint a picture of the authenticity of the Hanford Site and the Tri-Cities area was a game changer,” Benjamin said.

WRPS supervisor Nick Kirch praised Benjamin’s work.

“Since joining WRPS, Michael has been evaluating how tank vapor data changes during operational activities,” Kirch said. “He recently jumped into our waste chemistry evaluations for corrosion control and has become a vital member of his team.”

Benjamin said he looks forward to continuing his work at WRPS and his involvement in NSBE, and to bringing up-and-coming engineers on board to contribute to the Hanford cleanup.