Greg Piefer, PhD, founder and CEO of SHINE Medical Technologies, has been awarded the Early-Career Achievement Award by the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering.

The award is given to young alumni who find success early in their career, and Piefer holds multiple degrees from the school, including bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering and physics, and a PhD in nuclear engineering.

Rebecca Blank, University of Wisconsin-Madison chancellor, praised both Piefer’s achievements and his positive impact on the state of Wisconsin.

“Greg’s work exemplifies the Wisconsin Idea—that life-changing discoveries and innovations developed at the University of Wisconsin should be shared with the people of Wisconsin, the nation and the world,” Blank said in a statement. “Greg has used what he learned in graduate school to solve a global problem. But it’s not only cancer and heart disease patients around the world who will benefit: this innovation will also have a profoundly positive impact on the Janesville community where the SHINE manufacturing facility will be built.”

The facility Blank references in her statement is SHINE’s new medical isotope production facility, which the company plans to build in Janesville, Wis., once it receives final approval. Previous coverage of the facility can be found here.

Before founding SHINE in 2010, Piefer founded Phoenix Nuclear Labs, a designer and manufacturer of commercial neutron generators,  in 2005. He remains on that company’s board of directors to this day.