Dr. Jaques Reifman, a U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command Senior Research Scientist, was just named as a Samuel J. Heyman Service to America finalist May 1.

The nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service announced the finalists, which are exceptional federal employees who are engaged in important work to strengthen the national defense, spur the economy, protect the environment, and advance the health, safety and welfare of Americans and others around the world.

Celebrating their fifteenth anniversary this year, the Service to America Medals have earned the reputation as the most prestigious awards to honor America's civil servants. The 2016 finalists will be honored May 3 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., as part of Public Service Recognition Week.

Reifman serves at the USAMRMC's Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, where he is the director of the Department of Defense's Biotechnology High Performance Computing Software Applications Institute for Force Health Protection. Reifman is one of the Science and Environment medal finalists. The category recognizes a federal employee for a significant contribution to the nation in activities related to science and environment (including biomedicine, economics, energy, information technology, meteorology, resource conservation and space).

Reifman and his team developed an artificial intelligence system for medics to quickly detect if severely injured patients in transit are hemorrhaging, improving survival rates by preparing trauma centers to act immediately upon the patient's arrival.

The finalists are contenders for eight Service to America Medals, including Federal Employee of the Year. Medal categories include Science and Environment; Homeland Security and Law Enforcement; National Security and International Affairs; Citizen Services; and Management Excellence. All 32 finalists will also be eligible for the Service to America Medals People's Choice Award. More than 350 nominations were submitted for consideration this year.

Medal recipients will be announced September 20 at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C.