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. 

VADM Peter M. Hekman, USN (Ret.)

Award: Harold E. Saunders Award
Year: 1990
Recipient:
VADM Peter M. Hekman, USN (Ret.)
Reason:
For his significant contribution to naval engineering as set forth in the following:

In recognition of his career-long contributions to operational engineering, technical excellence, and personal leadership in the broad field of naval engineering. VADM Hekman began his career nearly 40 years ago as a machinist’s mate in the engine room of a Navy Destroyer Escort and later attended the U.S. Naval Academy, earning a degree in Naval Engineering. He subsequently served as Engineer of five different surface combatants over an eleven year period which included ships undergoing construction and major modernization and culminated in a four-year tour as Chief Engineer of the nuclear powered USS Enterprise (CVN 65). He was later the commissioning Commanding Officer of the nuclear powered cruiser USS Mississippi (CGN 40).

A consummate instructor in the field of naval engineering, he taught at the Navy’s Nuclear Prototype in Idaho Falls, where he also directed the installation and testing of the new A2W core in the Al W reactor plant. He also served as the Senior Instructor at Senior Officer Ship Maintenance and Readiness Course. As a flag officer he conducted an in-depth analysis of the content and effectiveness of all levels of engineering schooling for officers. His recommendations remain the key guide to engineering instruction to this day. In 1985, he reported as Deputy to the Director of Research and Development, Test and Evaluation in the Office of the CNO. There he was integral to the support of over 400 development programs, a number of which contributed to our Armed Forces’ success in Operation Desert Storm.

In 1987, he reported to the Naval Sea Systems Command as Deputy Director for Surface Combatants where he Gas the driving force behind the mid-life modernization programs and established a program to maintain the balance between the public and private surface ship industrial base, as well as the shift to a condition-based maintenance and repair philosophy. In 1988, he was promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral and assumed command of the Naval Sea Systems Command. During a period of transition unparalleled in modern times, his leadership and commitment to engineering excellence and his daily participation in all key engineering issues inspired his command to match his own high standards as they worked to build, maintain and modernize the ships of the U.S. Navy.

Vice Admiral Peter M. Hekman’s life-long contributions have earned him wide recognition as a leader in the field of naval engineering and are of such prestige as to qualify him eminently as the recipient of the 1990 Harold E. Saunders Award.