Bill Kuestner is UW Employee of the Quarter

Bill Kuestner’s commitment to self-motivation, drive and the willingness to work extra hours to complete the challenging tasks given to him are among the attributes that have earned him the University of Wyoming Staff Employee of the Second Quarter award.

The award recognizes UW staff members for their efforts toward excellence in the workplace. Kuestner is a master technician in the UW Department of Atmospheric Science at the UW Flight Center. He builds and installs scientific instruments for both UW’s aircraft, including the King Air research plane, and ground mobile research vehicles.

He is among the organization’s best-liked employees, recognized for his dedication and being an experienced technician who offers help to many groups. His support and dedication for the flight facility benefit the entire campus, one co-worker says.

“He went above and beyond his normal expectations to produce high-quality, well-thought out products under an enormous amount of pressure with critical time constraints,” a nominator says. “His work must be of a high-level in order to pass federal certification, which it did.”

Kuestner’s ability to correctly prioritize his own work and develop efficient production processes is what led to the successful integration of his mechanical systems. A nominator says his area operates as part of a large research group on campus with high national visibility.

“We worked on the development of a prototype instrument for three years that had to be installed and functional at the end of May. As with any major project, tasks built up at the end,” the nominator writes. “Bill worked 12 hours a day and 7 days a week at times in order to get his job done. This highlights what research departments at this university are capable of when people like Bill go above and beyond what's required of them.”

Kuestner has been at his current position more than 18 years, and it is the only position he’s had at UW.

“What I like best about my job at UW is that I work on new problems every day,” he says. “The projects and problems change, which keep the job interesting. Everyone in the engineering group and the aircraft mechanics are needed to make my job possible.”

Employee of the Quarter nominees can be any UW staff employee and must receive three nomination forms from three separate individuals. Nominations must be submitted to the Staff Senate office. The forms are on the Web at www.uwyo.edu/staffsenate/employee-of-the-quarter.