DAHLGREN, Va. – Fifty-one Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) civil servants were named as winners of the prestigious 2020 Warfare Centers Awards, the command announced June 11.
The Warfare Centers Awards – established in 2005 to recognize cross-Warfare Center collaborative efforts – comprises six categories that include collaboration, innovation, knowledge sharing, technical support services, talent management, and information security.
“Each year winners are selected by the Warfare Centers Board of Directors, based on recommendations from a panel of representatives including division commanding officers, technical directors and other personnel,” said Rear Adm. Kevin Byrne, commander of the Naval Surface and Undersea Warfare Centers, in his May 29 all hands email announcing the winners throughout the Warfare Centers. “Bravo Zulu to our 2020 winners!”
In all, 119 nominations were received this year, representing calendar year 2019 accomplishments of 843 members of the workforce from all 10 Divisions of the Naval Surface and Undersea Warfare Centers.
Among the 495 recipients honored with the awards this year – three individuals and 48 team members who received awards are from NSWCDD.
“Award certificates are being prepared for shipment to the recipients' respective divisions for presentation at a future ceremony,” said Byrne. “Each division will coordinate and announce individual presentation venues and dates, pending the relaxation of limits on public gatherings due to COVID-19. The extenuating circumstances we are presently operating under highlight now more than ever the need to celebrate your achievements in support of the Navy and our nation. We are immensely proud of the work that you do.”
The NSWCDD individual recipients are honored with the following awards.
Dr. Evan Coleman won the Innovation Award for creativity and innovation in the advancement of the science of parallel computing, specifically in the area of developing fault tolerant methods to be executed on high performance computing clusters. Coleman’s research will advance the science of solving complex problems.
Carl Hager won the Innovation Award for creativity and innovation in proposing and demonstrating a unique approach enabling warfighters in helicopters to land safely on aircraft carriers without being overexposed to radio frequency radiation.
Christopher Zuchowski won the Technical Support Services Award for providing excellent, timely, and cost-effective test support for Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense elements.
NSWC Dahlgren Division scientists and engineers are recognized as team members for the following awards.
The Advanced Carbon Dioxide Removal Unit (ACDRU) Development Team won the John C. Mickey Award for Collaboration in recognition of the team’s successful collaboration. The team collaborated with research and development and in-service engineering members of Philadelphia's ACDRU Development Team with experts from NSWC Carderock Division, Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Keyport, and NUWC Newport Division to overcome mission critical technical challenges during unit qualification. Dr. Gregory Blanche from NSWCDD was a team member.
The Risk Management Framework (RMF) Reviewer Comment and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) Team won the Information Security Award for substantially streamlining the RMF process through a data-driven analysis resulting in formal documentation as an SOP. The team’s efforts eliminated the inefficiencies of addressing non-actionable comments, realizing a cost avoidance of $5.6 to 9.3 million every three years. Laura Allen from NSWCDD was a team member.
The NSWCDD Analysis and Design Application Toolset Team won the Innovation Award for creativity and innovation in development of an analysis toolset that will help ensure that the U.S. Navy maintains a technical edge while meeting the accelerated timelines for integrated topside design in support of the fleet. NSWCDD team members included Christopher Albert, Samuel Montagna, Joseph Soley, Shawn Allen, Thomas Moore, Samuel Sullivan, Blaise Corbett, Dylan Scholten, Mark VanZandt, Robert Fowler, Samuel Schons, Cody Waters, and Landon Lewis.
The Live, Virtual, Constructive (LVC) Modeling and Simulation Team won the John C. Mickey Award for Collaboration in recognition of their successful collaboration. They collaborated on an informed technical assessment working towards a common, interconnected, and interoperable Naval Integrated LVC Environment, as a principal resource to enable the exercise and assessment of system-of-systems pertinent to emerging warfare constructs. Joseph Pack from NSWCDD was a team member.
The In-Service Engineering Agent of the Future Team won the John C. Mickey Award for Collaboration in recognition of their substantial contributions achieved through significant collaboration between the ten Divisions hosting a major campaign for the Warfare Centers, the Office of Naval Research, and more than 100 businesses and government agencies to strategize on targeted technologies for fiscal years 2020 and 2021. The team’s efforts resulted in productivity improvements to rapidly develop and demonstrate technology in response to a Joint Emergent Operational Need Statement. Kenneth Piper from NSWCDD was a team member.
The NSWCDD Aegis Combat System Safety Team won the Technical Support Services Award for unprecedented support for the first live fire event with a virtualized combat system. The team’s ability to adapt processes and quickly secure necessary approvals allowed the event to take place prior to the expiration of firing authorizations, avoiding a second event and the associated costs. NSWCDD team members included Bradley Flock, Steven Heitmeyer, and William Vance.
The NSWCDD Hierarchical Yet Dynamically Reprogrammable Architecture Team won the Technical Support Services Award for developing an electromagnetic interference (EMI) fix following the identification of a critical safety issue. The team developed, tested, and delivered a low-cost holster to mitigate the EMI issue, maintaining safety and operational effectiveness. NSWCDD team members included Nicolas Agee, Benjamin Kapp, Matthew Miller, Jason Bardine, Aaron Krause, Nhan Nguyen, Christopher Goodman, Cristopher Lake, Edward O’Brien, Amanda Hamblin, Jesse Ludwig, Joshua Outhous, Andy Huynh, and Jesse McGill.
The NSWCDD SPY-1 In-Service Team won the Technical Support Services Award for vital maintenance critical to operational capability of the Aegis platform, including multiple major reconstructions and associated lessons learned allowing the Navy to take the corrective actions necessary to help prevent future incidents. The team’s outstanding efforts have helped the Navy maintain the fighting capability of its ships and Aegis ashore sites. NSWCDD team members included Donald Barnes, David Kuckuck, Darren Patterson, Aaron Cox, Brandon Lewis, Kallie Simpson, Michael Cronin, Earl Morton, Stephen Thompson, Christopher Jahn, Mai Nguyen, Stuart Tulloss, Tyson Jahn, and Alexander Niepraschk.