1423 Powhatan St., Suite 1
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
Phone (703) 836-6727
Fax (703) 836-7491
Email: asnehq@navalengineers.org

 

ASNE is the leading 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.

ASNE is the seventh oldest technical society in the United States.  It was founded in 1888 by a group of naval engineering pioneers, most of them officers of the U.S. Navy's Engineering Corps, who sought a unified approach to their profession in order to make the most of new advances in technology. The purposes of ASNE are:           

  • to advance the knowledge and practice of naval engineering in public and private applications and operations,
  • to enhance the professionalism and well-being of members, and
  • to promote naval engineering as a career field.

For 125 years, the Society’s objectives have been strengthened and preserved to meet the changing needs of a time-honored profession. Today ASNE conducts a variety of technical meetings and symposia, publishes the highly regarded Naval Engineers Journal and a number of other technical proceedings and publications, and fosters professional development and technical information exchange through technical committees, local section activities and cooperative efforts with government organizations and other professional societies.

The Society's annual meeting, ASNE Day, is typically held in February of each year in the Washington, DC, area. The meeting features major addresses by high level industry and government leaders and panel discussions by leading members of the profession.  It also includes presentation and discussion of technical papers on a variety of timely naval engineering topics, presentation of the Society's prestigious annual awards and a large exposition with government and industry exhibits covering the full spectrum of naval engineering technology. ASNE Day is highlighted by the Society’s annual Honors Gala, attended by hundreds of executives and senior managers from both government and industry.

Our website is designed to not only serve our members, but also to support scholars, students and others interested in the varied field of naval engineering.  We welcome your suggestions on ways we can improve your experience. 

Dr. Nita Lewis Miller and Robert Firehammer

Award: "Jimmie" Hamilton Award 

 2007 

Dr. Nita Lewis Miller and Robert Firehammer

 

For the best original paper published in the Naval Engineers Journal during the year 2007 as set forth in the following: 

The paper “Avoiding a Second Hollow Force: The Case for Including Crew Endurance Factors in the Afloat Staffing Policies of the U.S. Navy” was published in the Naval Engineers Journal, Winter 2007, Volume 119, Number 1 edition. The authors provide an excellent discussion of the relationship between fatigue and human performance, and describe how those considerations can affect the Navy’s ability to fulfill the requirement for prompt and sustained combat operations at sea.

The authors present data on the workload for sailors at sea in comparison with the Navy’s productive workweek policies, and they discuss relationships that impact human performance. Their evaluation derives from the operational requirements for conditions I, II, and III and they discuss the sailor’s ability to perform tasks under each underway status.

The paper provides information to correlate workload and sleep conditions with the ability to successfully accomplish operational tasks and the authors recommend watch rotations that consider the ability of sailors to better deliver sustained combat capability. This study and the basic explanations are useful to both policy makers and ship designers in determining the impacts of manning levels for combatant ships, focusing on human performance as a critical component of total system performance. The authors recommend changes in the way the Navy determines manpower requirement for naval combatants, especially considering the trend toward reduced ship manning and the need to perform multiple missions simultaneously.

The author’s explanation of the fundamental attributes involved in human performance for combatant ships is both clearly written and well-presented in graphical form. They clearly have a superior knowledge of the subject matter and have explained it so that a wide audience can benefit from the results of the study. This work by Dr. Miller and Captain Firehammer is in keeping with the highest traditions of the Naval Engineers Journal and is highly deserving of the Society’s 2007 “Jimmie” Hamilton Award.