05.07.2024 –
Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division (NSWCPD) engineers supported and were honored at the annual American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE) Advanced Machinery Technology Symposium (AMTS) held at the Delta Hotel Philadelphia Airport in Philadelphia on May 1-2, 2024.
The ASNE AMTS featured two keynote speakers, technical paper presentations, expert panels, and the coveted awards program.
Hosted by the ASNE president retired Rear Adm. David Lewis, the symposium began with remarks from NSWCPD Distinguished Engineer for Research and Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) Sean Brennan.
“We at NSWCPD take great value supporting this event. We are the Navy’s lead for Machinery Controls and this conference allows us to collaborate with our Government counterparts and industry and academic partners,” Brennan said. “You will find this opportunity to hear from program, technical, and thought leaders across the Enterprise. You will hear from the sharpest minds. You will learn about the innovative ways of solving today’s problems and preparing for tomorrow’s challenges.”
“We’re looking at everything from technology that enables tomorrow’s fleet and the future of warfare that aligns with the CNO’s (Chief of Naval Operations) directive to preserve the peace, respond in crisis, and win decisively in war,” he continued.
The ASNE AMTS also featured keynote speakers Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (RDT&E) Dr. Brett Seidle, SES, and Chief Engineer and Deputy Commander for Ship Design, Integration and Naval Engineering, SEA-05, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Rear Adm. Jason Lloyd.
Seidle talked about the criticality of the times and discussed how the participants of the symposium play a part in the Navy’s success story.
“We’re the finest Navy ever assembled in the history of the world. All that happens because of folks like yourself. It isn’t just the Sailors and Marines, it’s all of the technical support - the folks right here in this region working on Advanced Machinery,” Seidle said.
“Ultimately, our technical strategy needs the support of our industrial base, academic partners, and the entire Defense ecosystem. We have to lean into the relationships that we have. We need to think strategically, not reactionary,” he continued.
Seidle shared an experience of recently visiting the Korean War Memorial and reflected upon seeing the list of names of those who never came back from war.
“As a society, we have forgotten just how bad war is – we have forgotten. The one thing that I was sure of when I looked at those names is that I want all our Sailors and Marines to come back,” he said, adding, “I immediately thought about all these young servicemen and women out there in harm’s way that are risking their lives for our way of life. We need to do everything that we can to ensure that we are providing the best technology and doing everything that we can to ensure that they come home safely because I never want to see their names on a wall.”
“All of you here are doing incredible work in support of a really important mission. You have my commitment that we are going to be focused on having a coherent and cohesive technical strategy for the Navy and that we’re serving our employees well to create the kind of workplace that people want to come to and stay. We are going to have an overarching focus on making a difference in the lives of others. Our employees across this Nation – its all of you (who) are part of that,” Seidle said.
During the second keynote address, Lloyd discussed technology transition focusing on data analytics and provided evolutionary timelines of naval shipbuilding from the decline of the maritime workforce to its current state.
“We built 5,000 ships during World War II. Following the war, why didn’t our defense industrial base just collapse? All of those trades moved over to commercial shipbuilding. That was okay in the 1980’s, but we devalued the workforce in the 1990’s when commercial shipbuilding went away,” Lloyd said.
He continued, “We have a problem. We have a national problem. Our production capacity has made us number one in the world. Our production capacity helped us win World War I and our production capacity of 5,000 ships helped win World War II. It’s the production capacity that has kept us the leading nation.”
Lloyd stated that the last time the United States invoked a radical new technology was during World War II -- it was welding instead of casting – and it allowed us to build the Liberty Ships 20 times faster.
“Our challenge is how do we advance manufacturing technologies quickly without realizing failure, quickly and safely? Our vision is to operationalize additive manufacturing as an alternative to casting or forging by the end of 2025,” he said.
“Let’s change the game and focus resources. How do you make manufacturing exciting again? This is a national imperative. The world has changed around us and we have to change. We have to change our processes because we can’t build the ships we need to defend this country,” Lloyd said.
Among the technical topics covered during the symposium were: Ship Design Considerations, Energy Storage for Marine Applications, Power and Propulsion Systems Innovations, Ship Maintenance and Enhancement Techniques, Developments in Thermal Systems, Ship Systems Modeling and Simulation, Adaptive Control Techniques in Naval Systems, and Autonomous Operations and Advancements, among others.
The jam-packed panel discussions focused on the themes of “Technology that Enables Tomorrow’s Fleet” and “The Future of Warfare – Innovations Driving the Navy’s Warfighting Advantage.”
Another highlight of the symposium was the annual recognition ceremony.
ASNE celebrates excellence in the naval engineering profession by recognizing individuals who have demonstrated exceptional achievement in one or more facets of naval engineering. The prestigious ASNE Annual Awards Program honors professionals engaged in any of the many aspects of naval engineering including government employees, members of the uniformed services, and those employed in the defense industry, in academia, or elsewhere in the private sector.
Honored during the ceremony were NSWCPD Chief Technology Officer Dr. E. Michael Golda, who won the Harold E. Saunders Lifetime Achievement Award, and NSWCPD FFG 62 Auxiliary Systems Engineering Manager (SEM) Makayla Holt, who received the Rosenblatt Young Naval Engineer Award.
Presented annually since 1977, the Harold E. Saunders Award honors an individual whose reputation in naval engineering spans a long career of notable achievement and influence. Golda received the award in this category for his dedication and lifetime contributions to the U.S. Navy.
Established by the ASNE Council, the Rosenblatt Young Naval Engineer Award is presented to a single award winner who will not have reached the age of 35 years by December 31 of the year of nomination, who has demonstrated remarkable, early professional achievement in naval engineering. Holt was awarded the award in this category for building a reputation for providing outstanding technical support and leadership to the naval engineering community, our Navy fleet and the next generation of naval engineers.
ASNE is a professional engineering society for engineers, scientists, and allied professionals who conceive, design, develop, test, construct, outfit, operate, and maintain complex naval and maritime ships, submarines and aircraft and their associated systems and subsystems. ASNE also serves the educators who train the professionals, researchers who develop related technology, and students who are preparing for the profession. Society activities provide support for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Merchant Marine and U.S. Army.
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.