Melanie Straight receives 2023 Infinite Mile Award

Haystack’s Senior Fiscal Officer Melanie Straight was a recipient of this year’s MIT Infinite Mile Award at a ceremony in Cambridge earlier this year. The Infinite Mile Award recognizes employees whose contributions are deemed “extraordinary” toward the Institute’s mission. Nominations are made by colleagues and reflect a pattern of consistently high service.

Straight, also highlighted in an MIT Research Administration newsletter in 2020 for exceptional contributions toward Haystack’s financial workflow, has worked at MIT since 2001 and at Haystack since 2007. Her colleagues were unanimous in praising her initiative and innovation as Senior Fiscal Officer and supporting her nomination as most deserving of the MIT Infinite Mile Award.

The 2023 MIT Infinite Mile Award recipients; Melanie Straight, back row, second from right

In addition to recognizing and appreciating Straight’s “amazingly efficient work style and dedicated work ethic,” colleagues noted that her work is crucial to Haystack’s high success rate for successful proposals. One scientist said, “Because she covers all aspects of project finance, I don’t have to spend time on that and thus I have been able to focus only on the science of the proposal” and noted that not all institutions have the benefit of the intricate and detailed compliance checks that she provides for proposal submissions. Another colleague added that Straight “does magic during proposal writing” as well as award tracking. “It is no exaggeration that my ability to generate, oversee, and simultaneously manage all these awards would have been seriously hampered, if not outright unfeasible, had I not relied on her financial expertise and guidance,” the nomination letter concluded. Another letter of support stated, “In short, Melanie is an invaluable and vital asset to Haystack, and I believe she deserves recognition for her exceptional hard work and dedication.”

Straight has also successfully led Haystack’s fiscal team through demanding finance audits, and also manages and trains new financial staff members. In the letters supporting her nomination, it was universally clear that she “possesses a treasure trove of detailed in-depth knowledge, and is a major asset to the operations of the Observatory.”

Congratulations to Melanie Straight on receiving this highly deserved prestigious award!