NEWPORT, R.I. –
Five Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport personnel recently were among the winners of the 2024 Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Excellence Awards. Winners are selected based on their significant contributions to the NAVSEA enterprise.
The awards, which recognize outstanding efforts made in various occupational specialties in support of the NAVSEA mission, were presented during a ceremony held April 30 at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C.
The Submarine Multi-Mission Team Trainer Development Team won the Excellence in Engineering Award, which was a collaborative effort between the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Carderock Division and NUWC Division Newport. Division Newport team members from the Undersea Warfare (USW) Combat Systems Department include Matthew Cote of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, USW trainers chief engineer; Christopher Ekholm of Bristol, Rhode Island, USW trainers lead systems engineer; and Shelley McInnis of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, USW trainers acquisition technical project manager and customer advocate.
The team was recognized for outstanding technical leadership, dedication to innovation, and demonstrated exceptional collaboration. They fielded a successful and cost-effective approach that leveraged new commercial graphics processing unit cluster technology to increase high-fidelity acoustic targets from 30 to 90 in support of operational plan training scenarios at a cost $150,000 per trainer. For less than $700,000 in combined development funding from USW Systems Training and Submarine Acoustic Programming, they developed a solution that will save more than $40 million to the program.
“The team’s achievements have had a direct, positive, and measurable impact on Submarine Force readiness,” the award states.
The Program Executive Office Attack Submarines Unmanned Systems (PEO SSN UxS) Team, which includes NUWC Division Newport and NSWC Carderock Division personnel, won the Excellence in Program Management Award. Division Newport team members from the USW Platforms and Payload Integration Department include ocean engineer Michelle Estaphan Owen of Jamestown, Rhode Island, and software engineer Will Snyder of Newport, Rhode Island.
The PEO SSN UxS Team is being recognized for outstanding innovation and leadership in subsea warfare for revolutionizing unmanned systems employment, addressing critical operational deficiencies for combatant commanders.
“By assembling elite talent and streamlining processes, they have expedited the deployment of vital unmanned undersea vehicles, alongside advanced payloads, enhancing both kinetic and non-kinetic capabilities from surface to seabed,” the award states.
Their strategic foresight has resulted in a unified system entry point, significantly improving operational effectiveness for classified missions, both within and outside the continental U.S., thus setting new standards in naval warfare through persistent surveillance, precision, and artificial intelligence-enhanced decision-making.
“Their work marks a pivotal evolution in military strategy,” the award states.
Division Newport personnel are among 24 award winners (individuals and teams) in 22 categories across the NAVSEA enterprise. A story on all the winners is posted here.
NUWC Newport is the oldest warfare center in the country, tracing its heritage to the Naval Torpedo Station established on Goat Island in Newport Harbor in 1869. Commanded by Capt. Chad Hennings, NUWC Newport maintains major detachments in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Andros Island in the Bahamas, as well as test facilities at Seneca Lake and Fisher's Island, New York, Leesburg, Florida, and Dodge Pond, Connecticut.