06.30.2022 –
David Fayocavitz of Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division, received the 2022 Hilleman Award during MegaRust 2022, the American Society of Naval Engineers’ annual corrosion conference, in San Diego, Calif., on June 3, 2022.
This prestigous “Hall of Fame” award was named to honor Don Hilleman, the founder of MegaRust, for his many contributions to fleet corrosion control.
Fayocavitz was selected as this year’s winner by Department of the Navy Corrosion Executive, Fleet Forces Command Maintenance Officer, Pacific Fleet, Fleet Maintenance Officer, Naval Sea Systems Command Materials Office and Commander, Navy Regional Maintenance Center.
“I want to thank my small team who do most of the work now and I want to thank my wife and family for putting up with all the times away and missing some of the things that you shouldn’t miss,” he said, thanking the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE), who presented the award.
Fayocavitz has been supporting the Navy for 33 years as an In-Service Engineering Agent (ISEA) for cathodic protection. In this role, Fayocavitz provides value to the Navy fleet through his technical excellence and passionate leadership of a small team of engineers who provide engineering support for cathodic protection systems.
According to his nomination package, providing protection to nearly every ship and submarine in the Navy, cathodic protection systems are complex, requiring significant effort to maintain throughout their lifecycle. This effort includes, but is not limited to: maintaining a laboratory of all fleet cathodic protection systems; extensive logistics efforts to ensure that spare parts are available and obsolescence issues are promptly remedied; maintaining all cathodic protection related Standard Items, handbooks, manuals and drawings; cyber risk management; field troubleshooting and repair of all fielded systems; monthly system log analysis for every ship with a cathodic protection system; providing end-user input for cathodic protection R&D efforts; and, training and mentoring of new hires.
Also according to his nomination package, Fayocavitz tirelessly supports all of these efforts and instills a sense of ownership of cathodic protection systems in his engineering team through his leadership, which keeps the team grounded and always in search of solutions to reduce the impact of maintenance on Ships’ Force. Additionally, Fayocavitz has been instrumental in developing novel solutions to cathodic protection problems throughout his carrier. Of note have been efforts to eliminate trowel-applied dielectric shields, which significantly reduced installation and removal costs while improving shield performance, and the development of a portable cathodic protection system to provide temporary corrosion prevention during periods when the system is de-energized. Finally, Fayocavitz has been instrumental in the development and demonstration of advanced technologies including the Advance Active Shaft Grounding Systems, Shaft Current Systems and the Ionic Current Monitoring System.
MegaRust is conducted annually to provide a consolidated focus on Navy corrosion issues. Corrosion is a major factor in the readiness and total ownership cost of naval systems and this conference is intended to provide updated information on programs, policies, standards, and Fleet experience related to corrosion, as well as to promote discussion and sharing of information on technologies and strategies for controlling corrosion. The conference covers all segments of the naval services including sea, air, Marine Corps, vehicles, and facilities.
This annual conference provides an impartial forum for dialogue between government and commercial organizations, and providers of coatings and corrosion control products, processes, technologies, and solutions. Participants include representatives from military, industry, and government organizations involved with research and development, design, engineering, construction, maintenance, modernization, and operation of naval systems that are potentially affected by corrosion.
NSWCPD employs approximately 2,800 civilian engineers, scientists, technicians, and support personnel. The NSWCPD team does the research and development, test and evaluation, acquisition support, and in-service and logistics engineering for the non-nuclear machinery, ship machinery systems, and related equipment and material for Navy surface ships and submarines. NSWCPD is also the lead organization providing cybersecurity for all ship systems.