Dr. Kenneth Henwood Award

2024 Henwood Award Submissions are Now Open

Introduction

Hydropower is a unique and essential energy resource. So too, are those who become involved in this great industry. Individuals who work for the hydropower industry spend their careers preserving and improving upon it. They are dedicated and caring individuals whose achievements make a difference for the industry as a whole. They provide leadership, courage and strength.

Dr. Kenneth Henwood, a developer and lover of the hydro resource, possessed these attributes. It seems a fitting tribute that he became the namesake of NHA’s most prestigious individual award to recognize life-time achievement grounded in a commitment and love for the resource with the courage of leadership and vision.

Created in 1990, the award honors this unique individual, and most importantly, pays tribute to those dedicated and caring individuals who have given so much of themselves to hydropower and the hydropower industry. The award is industry’s highest honor and is presented to those who show great leadership and dedication to hydropower in the spirit of its namesake, Dr. Henwood.

Nominations

The Dr. Kenneth Henwood Award is presented to an individual within the hydro industry who exhibits:

  • Dedication to hydropower as an energy technology;
  • Persistence in the face of institutional obstacles;
  • Appreciation and understanding of the relationships among project engineering, environment and economics;
  • A strong commitment for fair dealing and plain speaking; and
  • Uncommon energy, enthusiasm, and excitement as a leading force in the industry.

Past Winners of the NHA Henwood Award

2023 Henwood Recipient: Alvin Thoma

The National Hydropower Association (NHA) is pleased to announce Alvin Thoma as the recipient of the 2023 Dr. Kenneth Henwood Award at the third-annual Clean Currents. The Henwood Award is the hydropower industry’s highest honor and celebrates a lifetime of achievement to those who demonstrate great leadership in the hydropower field. In recognition of Dr. Kenneth Henwood’s dedication to the industry, Thoma was selected by a committee of his peers for this prestigious honor.

2022 Henwood Recipient: Mary Gail Sullivan

The National Hydropower Association (NHA) is pleased to announce Mary Gail Sullivan as the recipient of the 2022 Dr. Kenneth Henwood Award at the second-annual Clean Currents. The Henwood Award is the hydropower industry’s highest honor and celebrates a lifetime of achievement to those who demonstrate great leadership in the hydropower field. In recognition of Dr. Kenneth Henwood’s dedication to the industry, May Gail Sullivan was selected by a committee of her peers for this prestigious honor.

2021 Henwood Recipient: Tom Sullivan

The National Hydropower Association (NHA) is pleased to announce Tom Sullivan, PE as the recipient of the 2021 Dr. Kenneth Henwood Award at Clean Currents in Atlanta, GA. The Henwood Award is the hydropower industry’s highest honor and celebrates a lifetime of achievement to those who show great leadership. In recognition of his dedication to the industry, Sullivan was selected by a committee of his peers.

2020 Henwood Recipient: Mark Gerken

The National Hydropower Association (NHA) is pleased to announce Marc S. Gerken, PE as the recipient of the 2020 Dr. Kenneth Henwood Award at Waterpower Week in Washington. The Henwood Award is the hydropower industry’s highest honor and celebrates a lifetime of achievement to those who show great leadership. In recognition of his dedication to the industry, Gerken was selected by a committee of his peers.

2019 Henwood Recipient: Linda Church Ciocci

Linda Church Ciocci was presented with the 2019 Dr. Kenneth Henwood Award at Waterpower Week in Washington. Ciocci was selected by a committee of her peers in recognition of herlife-long dedication to the hydropower industry.

“In many ways, Linda has been the compass for our industry. She has been at the forefront of every hydro policy discussion, regulatory proposal and legislative initiative for three decades. She has worked tirelessly to promote hydro, in all of its forms, as the leading renewable source of energy,” said Herbie Johnson, Immediate Past President, National Hydropower Association.

In addition to leading NHA as President and CEO, she served as executive director of the Hydropower Foundation; served on the Business Council for Sustainable Energy’s Board of Directors; as vice chair of the Energy and Environment Study Institute’s Board of Directors; and three terms on the U.S. Department of Commerce Federal Advisory Committee on Renewable Energy.

She was also a founding member of the American Council on Renewable Energy. In 2009, she was named one of the 60 most influential people in the industry by International Water Power & Dam Construction. And in 2014, she received the Women with Hydro Vision Award by HydroVision International.

2018 Henwood Recipient: Michael Murphy

Michael Murphy was presented with the 2018 Dr. Kenneth Henwood Award at Waterpower Week in Washington. Murphy was selected by a committee of his peers in recognition of his life-long dedication to the hydropower industry.

Murphy retired in January, ending a more than 30-year career in the hydropower industry. Prior to retiring, Murphy was Vice-President and National Market Director for Hydropower with TRC, an engineering, environmental consulting and construction management firm with offices across the country.

Dr. Kenneth Henwood – A Biography

Kenneth Henwood was born in Kansas City, MO, and grew up in San Jose, CA. He received a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Civil Engineering and a doctorate in Environmental Science from the University of California at Davis. Henwood founded Henwood Energy Services Inc, a consulting firm based in Sacramento that specializes in licensing and relicensing hydropower projects. Today, the firm is led by his brother, Mark, who has remained active in hydro licensing and development.

Ken was a strong believer in hydropower as an environmentally preferable energy source. At age 45, he died of injuries suffered from a fall while working on plans for a plant in the mountains near Georgetown, Calif. He is well remembered by those individuals who met and worked with him.

Henwood spent a great deal of time working with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Ron Corso was head of the hydropower licensing division at that time and describes Henwood as “very committed to hydro development” and as a person who “went about the business of developing hydro projects with an intensity, dedication and a passion for seeing his work become a reality.” Reflecting on the career of this dedicated lover of hydro, Corso said,

“Henwood never wavered or let obstacles deter him from his passion; he became successful because he truly believed in what he was doing.”

Former NHA President Gail Greely once said Henwood’s degrees in engineering and environmental science allowed him to both design projects and to intelligently supervise environmental study work. She said of him,

“He could do it all; I have never known anybody like Ken before, and I never will again.”

Past Recipients of the NHA Henwood Award

2007: R. Michael Akridge
2006: Ronald A. Corso
2005: Dan E. Jarvis
2004: Jerry Sabattis
2003: Julie Keil
2002: John J. Devine
2001: Nathaniel Willis Washington
2000: Wayne Elkins
1999: Don Clarke
1998: Leslie Eden & Carl Vansant
1997: Larry Wimer
1996: Gordon Marker
1995: Wayne Rogers
1994: Carol H. Cunningham & Brian K. Billinson
1993: Mark Sundquist
1992: John McMahan
1991: Gail Greely