2000 Peter S. Thacher Award Recipient: Howard Sternberg III
The 2000 Peter S. Thacher Award was presented to Howard "Howie" Sternberg III.
Howie is a committed, professional who has clearly made Connecticut and the world a better place over the last twenty years in his job as GIS Analyst at the Connecticut DEP. On a personal interaction level he has spent thousands of hours talking with a great range of professionals and "just plain" citizens, to understand their problems and issues, advise them on how GIS could be of assistance, and to help them create their visions. Peter Thatcher was one of the people who consulted Howie on many, many occasions. On a professional and programming level, Howie has kept up with the technology and used it to create data and GIS of value to a great number of people. Among his many projects, he has standardized and formatted statewide data sets for internet distribution via the UCONN Map Library MAGIC system. His IMS work forms the GIS heart of the DEP website. His AML and Avenue programming has been used throughout Connecticut. His Avenue "201" scripts was the Number 1 bestseller on the ESRI website, having been downloaded by over 13,000 users as of this Oct. 2000. These useful tools include click, apply and update event scripts for controls in View, Table and Layout GUIS that add themes, label themes, identify themes, edit themes, select features, find features, print tables, and print maps. HTML documentation is also a part of this system. Most importantly, in the words of one of his colleagues at the Connecticut DEP- "In addition to his technical capability, Howie is a true gentleman. His graciousness and patience have contributed as much to our program as his GIS expertise.
He is capable of great compassion, great empathy and has a strong sense of the responsibility of public service. He downplays his own contributions while celebrating the success of others. He delights in the competence of other people."
Howie is a committed, professional who has clearly made Connecticut and the world a better place over the last twenty years in his job as GIS Analyst at the Connecticut DEP. On a personal interaction level he has spent thousands of hours talking with a great range of professionals and "just plain" citizens, to understand their problems and issues, advise them on how GIS could be of assistance, and to help them create their visions. Peter Thatcher was one of the people who consulted Howie on many, many occasions. On a professional and programming level, Howie has kept up with the technology and used it to create data and GIS of value to a great number of people. Among his many projects, he has standardized and formatted statewide data sets for internet distribution via the UCONN Map Library MAGIC system. His IMS work forms the GIS heart of the DEP website. His AML and Avenue programming has been used throughout Connecticut. His Avenue "201" scripts was the Number 1 bestseller on the ESRI website, having been downloaded by over 13,000 users as of this Oct. 2000. These useful tools include click, apply and update event scripts for controls in View, Table and Layout GUIS that add themes, label themes, identify themes, edit themes, select features, find features, print tables, and print maps. HTML documentation is also a part of this system. Most importantly, in the words of one of his colleagues at the Connecticut DEP- "In addition to his technical capability, Howie is a true gentleman. His graciousness and patience have contributed as much to our program as his GIS expertise.
He is capable of great compassion, great empathy and has a strong sense of the responsibility of public service. He downplays his own contributions while celebrating the success of others. He delights in the competence of other people."