BREMERTON, Wash. –
In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing, a team of innovators from Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility learned ultraviolet-C light could potentially be used to disinfect surfaces. At the time, commercial UVC surface sanitizing devices generally used mercury bulbs, which cannot be taken into all areas of a naval vessel.
The team decided to design and build an LED-based device UVC sanitizer to combat COVID-19 on surfaces throughout naval vessels. The device the team eventually ended up creating was granted Patent No. US 12,337,070 B1 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, June 24, 2025.
The patent lists the three PSNS & IMF employees who led the effort to design, build and test the device. Those three are mechanical and design lead Chris Doyle, then with Code 2310, Reactor Engineering; electrical lead Wilson Davenport, then with Code 290, Combat Systems Engineering; Branden Doyle, then-nuclear innovation program manager with Code 2301, Nuclear Project Engineering, who led the UV product development team.
Davenport, now an electrical engineer with Code 293C, Combat Systems Electrical Carrier Group, said he is proud of the team’s work and is happy with the support the command provided to the overall effort.
“It feels awesome that our device will potentially save lives,” Davenport said. “During that time there was phenomenal support in ordering materials and custom-printed circuit board. There was great support from our machine shops for milling metal components and the Innovations Lab provided the ability to 3D print our own plastic parts.”
“The process was not fast,” he said. “It took a lot of time and effort, but knowing that someday this device could potentially save lives it was all worth it.”
The PSNS & IMF innovation team partnered with other technical organizations and joined the Naval Coronavirus Rapid Response Team, referred to as NCR2T, to pursue possible solutions to killing COVID-19.
Others from Nuclear Engineering, Radiological Controls and Technology Insertion groups. Support organizations such as Code 109, Information Technology; Code 106, Environmental Safety and Health; and Code 400, Contracting, also contributed team members, who proved to be pivotal in meeting scheduled dates and maintaining some agility in the development process, Doyle said at the time, in a previous Salute article.
PSNS & IMF workers and their managers who have innovative ideas might not always have the time, expertise or resources to bring an idea to fruition as the LED-based sanitizer team did. Luckily for them and the command, Code 100TO.3, the Innovation and Technology Integration Division, can help bring their ideas to life by collaboratively integrating new technologies and creating prototypes to benefit the command and deck plate employees.
“Frontline workers often have the best insights into potential solutions,” said Lisa Roth, acting Command Transformation Office director, Code 100TO. “We're ready to meet with your teams and collaborate on solutions, including exploring new technologies, tooling, and prototyping. We aim to eliminate dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks. By leveraging the innovative potential of our shipyard workforce, we can work together to find effective solutions for command challenges.”
The complicated and sometimes bureaucratic process of taking an idea all the way through to create an approved device, tool or other innovative solution isn’t always easy.
“Employees often have excellent ideas but encounter roadblocks or lack the time to pursue them,” said Roth. “We encourage everyone to share their problem statements with us. We'll document them and explore how we can assist, even if the solution isn’t immediate. Like every shop or code at PSNS & IMF, we have priorities and limited capacity, so not every idea or solution will be feasible to pursue. Also, some ideas may not offer the best return on investment.”
Despite the challenges and the possibility an idea might not always turn out to be the best solution to a challenge or problem at PSNS & IMF, Roth suggested employees reach out to Code 100TO.3 with their ideas.
“Some people may have been discouraged by past experiences, while others remain highly motivated,” she said. “Code 100TO helps navigate obstacles and bureaucracy, with the goal of modernizing our command for the 21st century. We embrace technological advancements in our personal lives—phones, cars, vacuums, computers— why not at work?”
Employees with ideas to solve problems or to improve how work is completed within their organization should first discuss their ideas with their supervisor. If their supervisor agrees, they should reach out to Code 100TO.3. They can start by visiting the Code 100TO.3 portal on SharePoint.