2025 Alumni Achievement Award
Joanna M. Livengood is an accomplished civil service leader who has played a pivotal role in driving scientific and technological advancements that address the nation鈥檚 energy, national security, public health and environmental concerns.
During her 40-year career with the United States Department of Energy (DOE), she has conducted research on air pollution control and acid rain, managed clean coal technology demonstration projects in the U.S. and led government-industry partnerships in electricity generation and transmission that resulted in the development of several award-winning technologies.聽
Joanna was promoted to the federal Senior Executive Service (SES) in 2005, which is the top tier of federal civil service leadership. As a member of the SES, she distinguished herself through her leadership at two DOE national laboratories 鈥� Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory. Her success at both laboratories led to other special assignments, including a multi-year effort to safeguard special nuclear material at Oak Ridge National Laboratory as well as the nuclear decontamination of the former New Brunswick Laboratory and other radiological facilities at Argonne.
聽In 2019, she was asked to serve as the Office of Science鈥檚 acting deputy director for field operations, overseeing 500 federal staff, 15 senior executives and 10 national laboratories.
Joanna has received several prestigious honors and awards for her leadership in the civil service, including a Presidential Meritorious Rank Award, a Secretary of Energy Excellence Award, a Secretary of Energy Achievement Award and multiple Secretary鈥檚 Project Management Achievement Awards.
She recently completed a special assignment as a senior visiting fellow with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), where she supported joint projects between the NAE and the American Society of Engineering Education that focused on transforming U.S. engineering curriculum to address rapidly evolving 21st century challenges and further access to engineering careers.
Joanna earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in chemistry and mathematics from Mary Washington College and a master鈥檚 degree and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Carnegie Mellon. She is also a proud lifetime member of 麻豆村鈥檚 Order of the May.
I am truly honored to receive this prestigious award in recognition of my lifetime accomplishments in service to the nation. My engineering degrees from Carnegie Mellon served as a springboard to a deeply rewarding career, enabling me to take a significant leadership role in advancing scientific discoveries and technological innovations at our world-class national laboratories.
Joanna M. Livengood