Luna Yu: 'Customer service personified'

General Article

Basic Sciences, Human Biology systems whiz brings stellar work ethic, technical ability, heart to computer support

"There has never been a problem she couldn't solve," Dr. Maxine Linial, left, said of systems administrator Luna Yu, this year's Wyckoff award winner. Photo by Todd McNaught

One evening last month, Dr. Bob Eisenman was finishing preparations for a lecture he was to deliver the next day in Berkeley, Calif. Satisfied with his slides, he began transferring them from his desktop computer to his laptop, which he would use to show the presentation. He soon realized that something was very wrong.

"To my horror, I discovered that the program I was using crashed every time I tried to open it," said Eisenman, an investigator in the Basic Sciences Division. "Just prior to considering suicide I realized I had Luna Yu's cell phone number in my file and gave her a call. She was in the midst of having dinner at a restaurant in West Seattle, but within less than 30 minutes she was in my office. Not only did she manage to open the file and identify the problem, she figured out a way to get an update for my laptop that would prevent future problems."

Recollections like these are not uncommon among PC users in the Basic Sciences and Human Biology divisions, who count their blessings that Yu, the divisions' systems administrator for non-Macintosh computers, is only a phone call away. The legendary competence, dedication and cheerful attitude Yu brings to her work each day have garnered her this year's T. Evans Wyckoff Esprit de Corps Award, which she accepted at the annual employee barbecue on Sept. 10. The honor, named for the late founding member of the board of trustees, is given to a center staff member who exhibits dedication, outstanding teamwork, enthusiasm, the ability to get the job done and a commitment to the center and its mission. Candidates are nominated by co-workers and the winner is chosen by a subgroup of the Employee Advisory Committee.

"Luna is so very, very good at what she does, and she is, without fail, cheerfully optimistic, even in the face of high stress," said Eisenman, who nominated Yu for the award. "She is truly a phenomenon and highly deserving of the recognition of a Wyckoff award."

Yu's reputation as an indispensable member of both divisions results from a combination of her stellar work ethic, superb technical ability and sensitivity to the needs of those who rely on her skill.

"When people have a problem with their computer, they need help quickly," said Yu, who has held her current position since 1996. "I need to be positive so they feel confident that we can take care of the problem. "I do it not only because this is my job, I work with my heart."

Yu's enthusiasm is fueled by the multitude of challenges she faces as well as the camaraderie she feels with faculty and staff.

"I love the environment here," she said. "With all the different labs and different approaches, it keeps my job interesting. Also, the people I work with here are not just principal investigators, they are friends who also go out of their way to help me."

For example, when Yu's father-in-law was recently diagnosed with colon cancer, several faculty members immediately offered medical information that proved helpful to Yu and her family.

Dr. Maxine Linial, an investigator in the Basic Sciences Division, said that Yu is such an indispensable part of her lab that she is always invited to Linial lab parties.

"Luna is customer service personified," she said. "I can't imagine the Hutch without her. She answers pages even at odd hours, she's always cheerful. There has never been a problem she couldn't solve."

Yu and Pat Heath — who supports Macintosh users in Basic Sciences and Human Biology — service desktop computers, wireless hand-held devices and laptops. They're also called upon to troubleshoot foul-ups that befall the computers that run scientific instruments.

Yu on PCs, Pat Heath on Macs

"Pat and I work as a team," she said. "We will support any platform necessary for the research."

To keep up with the ever-changing array of hardware, software and servers, Yu attends conferences and does research on her own. She also offers training sessions for staff when new software is likely to generate questions for many users.

"The research labs here are doing important work and use the computer as a tool," she said. "My job is to make sure the tool is friendly to them."

Yu and Heath form an unbeatable team, said Dr. Mark Groudine, Basic Sciences Division director.

"Luna's enthusiasm, her prompt response and skill are superb," he said. "When I tell colleagues at other institutions about the quality of computer support we have in the division thanks to Luna and Pat, they are envious."

As an undergraduate philosophy major in Taiwan, Yu hardly could have predicted her eventual career. After completing college, she began teaching English at a private school in Taiwan. Parents were so pleased with her teaching skills that they planned to sponsor her as manager of an English language center.

Realizing that she could enhance her language skill in the United States, she completed a master's degree in education at the University of Kansas. After meeting her future husband — now a research associate in the Public Health Sciences Division — and deciding to stay in the United States, Yu changed her career plans. She then completed a master's degree in computer information science and began working for Lake Metroparks in Cleveland as assistant manager of management-information systems. She designed and implemented the firm's first network infrastructure, and was recognized for outstanding work.

Yu joined Fred Hutchinson in 1994 as a computer specialist in the Clinical Research Division, where she maintained computer systems. In 1996 she joined the Basic Sciences Division, which at that time had no computer support staff of its own.

Yu was hired by former Basic Sciences administrator Laima Abele, now administrator for the Human Biology Division. She and Marcea Kato, Basic Sciences administrator, co-supervise Yu.

"Luna is terrific, wonderful, fantastic and absolutely outstanding," Abele said. "She does a superlative job and is an invaluable person for the Human Biology Division and the center. She is amazingly prompt, positive, capable, intelligent, reliable, hard-working and loyal. And her smile and energy are contagious! There is yet to be a puzzle or challenge that Luna has not tackled wholeheartedly and solved."

Kato described Yu as an exemplary staff member. "Anytime Luna is helping you, you're going to succeed," Kato said. "We'd be lost without her. She's worth her weight in gold and then some."

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