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. 

Howard Fireman

Award: Gold Medal Award
Year: 2005
Recipient:
Mr. Howard Fireman
Reason:
For his significant contribution to naval engineering as set forth in the following CITATION:

Mr. Howard Fireman is a pioneering engineer and exceptional leader who has been instrumental in transforming naval ship design, acquisition and construction to a more collaborative development process. Mr. Fireman has skillfully blended the ship research, development and design capabilities of the Navy with the modern shipbuilding and business technologies of industry partners to create a continuous, collaborative process that is both more efficient and more responsive to the Navy’s current and future needs. He has created a disciplined, yet flexible top down total ship systems engineering process for developing and evaluating future ship concepts, which has greatly enhanced the ability of Navy decision makers to consider alternative warfare capabilities and force architectures.

Mr. Fireman is an exceptionally capable systems engineer and ship designer who has a unique perspective on operator requirements based on his experience as COMSEVENTHFLT Science and Technology Advisor and as Special Assistant to the CNO Executive Panel. He has effectively leveraged his knowledge and experience to revitalize the Navy’s in-house early stage ship design capability and to replenish and reinvigorate the ship design workforce; and he has instituted an ongoing commitment to continuous product and process improvement. He is an innovative and visionary leader who has fostered the development of a highly collaborative, “Knowledge-Based” design culture and he has attracted highly competent and highly motivated ship design engineers who are well suited to sustaining and enhancing that culture. He has created a collaborative effort between government and leading universities to support the training and development of entry level ship design engineers, and he has instituted a process for ongoing development and application of new design tools based on assessment of future needs.

Mr. Fireman has transformed the nation’s naval ship design capability and he has instituted processes to ensure its future strength and vitality. The nation is indeed fortunate to have a man of such talent, vision and stature serving as Chief Naval Architect of the Navy. Mr. Fireman is truly most highly deserving of the ASNE Gold Medal for 2005.