THE AMERICAN SOCIETY
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 RADM David P. Sargent, Jr., USN (Ret.) presents the Harold E. Saunders Award to Dr. Bernard Douda |
CITATION:
Dr. Bernard Douda's career in Naval Engineering spans half a century marked by extraordinary devotion to excellence in Research and Development at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, Crane, Indiana. He has demonstrated consistent and remarkable professional growth in a highly specialized field of critical importance to Naval Warfare. From his early days as Pyrotechnic Officer in the former Naval Ammunition Depot, he was instrumental in helping to establish a research and development capability at Crane and he has consistently advanced both his own capability and that of the organization to a point of world-class stature and recognition as a valuable national asset.
Dr. Douda has been responsible for many pioneering developments in the field of pyrotechnics and he has worked extensively with international organizations in cooperative efforts dealing with the research, development, test and evaluation of all military aspects of pyrotechnics, smokes and incendiaries. He is an acknowledged expert in Illuminating Design & Development of Flares which involves signaling, projectile, illuminating and aircraft parachute flares; colored flames and smokes; Infrared flares and decoys; and radio frequency chaff. He has authored 125 technical reports and been granted 13 patents in various aspects of pyrotechnics and he has been recognized by his peers with numerous awards.
Dr. Douda has displayed truly remarkable productivity, growth and outstanding accomplishment in engineering with world-wide recognition by his peers as a leader in the field of pyrotechnics. He has amassed a staggering knowledge base in the pyrotechnic field over the course of his stellar career. He continually works to share this impressive knowledge with other Crane personnel. His accomplishments are most worthy of the acclaim of the American Society of Naval Engineers by presentation of the prestigious Harold E. Saunders Award.