The Society of Broadcast Engineers has named its 2023 Robert W. Flanders Engineer of the Year and its James C. Wulliman Educator of the Year recipient, among other awards.
The SBE Engineer of the Year award recipient is Joseph Conlon of Inver Grove Heights, Minn. — a current member of SBE Chapter 17 Central Minnesota. According to the SBE, this award is presented to a member who has excelled in his or her career while furthering the mission of the SBE.
Conlon has been an SBE member for 17 years. The society says he has held various roles within Chapter 17 including secretary, treasurer, assistant chair and chair. He is currently the engineering manager at Town Square Television
This year’s SBE Educator of the Year recipient is Andrew Gladding, CBT, of Brooklyn, New York — a member of SBE Chapter 15 New York City. The SBE says this award recognizes outstanding service and excellence in sharing knowledge through teaching other broadcast engineers.
Gladding has been an SBE Member for eight years and is the secretary of Chapter 15. He serves as the adjunct professor for audio production at Hofstra University.
According to the SBE, Gladding “has taken numerous steps to recruit and engage new SBE members by teaching them about the broadcasting business and engineering in particular. He is solely responsible for the addition of 40 student members to Chapter 15.”
[Related: “‘Tech Thursdays’ Draw Student Interest“]
The SBE Awards Program also recognizes other achievements from SBE members, chapters and SBE sustaining member companies. This year, Nautel has won the Technology Award for the GV2: Just Add Audio. According to the SBE, GV2: Just Add Audio works to simplify the HD Radio air chain for broadcasters, synchronizes FM and HD audio streams and eliminates FM and HD main channel blend drift.
Nautel’s GV2 series transmitters can host the full digital radio air chain including all HD Radio coding and all audio processing on the GV2 transmitter platform without an external equipment. The technology also won the Radio World Best of Show Award at the recent NAB Show.
Other Awards
- Best Educational Event — Wisconsin Broadcasters Association, 2022 Wisconsin Broadcasters Clinic
- Best Chapter Communication — Chapter 15 New York City
- Best Technical Article, Book or Paper — Donald Smith, “ATSC 3.0 and Public Broadcasting, a Case for Flash Cut”
All the winners will be recognized at the SBE Awards Dinner to be held on Sept. 28 during the SBE National Meeting, which is held in conjunction with the Midwest Broadcast & Multimedia Technology Conference in Columbus, Ohio. Nominations for the 2024 awards will open in February.
