Intelligent Ships Symposium VI 1-2 June 2005 Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania

This is an era of unprecedented excitement and challenge for the naval engineering community. We are in the process of transformation. Development of DD(X), LCS, CG(X), CVN21 and other assets will form new families of ships with advanced distributed capabilities, and a reduced ship's compliment. Seabasing and homeland defense concepts will require transformational capabilities to enable Naval Forces and the Coast Guard to respond to new threats and situations here at home and around the globe. Unmanned vehicles, the ultimate intelligent ship, will continue to take on more roles to keep sailors out of harms way. Engineering breakthroughs such as electric drive propulsion, integrated power systems, automated damage control systems, and advanced computer networks are changing the ways we look at ship design and operations. At the heart of it all, however, one thing has not changed. The men and women who operate and maintain our ships and systems are the single greatest asset in our navy. People make it happen.

It is in the spirit of providing the best technology to our warfighters that the American Society of Naval Engineers proudly hosts the Intelligent Ships Symposium VI. It is the aim of this symposium to provide a forum for the military, government, academia, and industry to come together to focus on technology initiatives to provide solutions to the current and future needs of our most valuable naval asset - the men and women who defend our great nation from the sea.

This year's symposium will showcase over 50 papers, from industry, academia and government personnel. The papers will cover a broad spectrum of topics, such as: control and navigation systems for unmanned vehicles, fuel cell based energy storage, integrated antenna systems, integrated bulkhead concepts, seabase logistic systems, wireless condition-based maintenance initiatives and many more. There will be an exhibit hall displaying some of the latest technologies and concepts being created by industry, academia and government personnel.

We will hear from some top leaders, who have helped create, formulate and nurture the vision for the U.S. Navy. Our keynote speakers are: ADM William Fallon, Commander, U.S. Pacific Command; VADM (ret) Arthur Cebrowski, most recently the Director of the DoD Office of Force Transformation; RDML Gerard Mauer, Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff, Joint Experimentation, Exercises and Assessment; VADM (ret) James Amerault, final assignment, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Fleet Readiness and Logistics); and Congressman Curt Weldon (R-PA), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee and Science Committee. Our plenary panel members and moderators of the technical tracks will include personnel from the Office of Naval Research, PEO SHIPS, PEO CARRIERS and the Fleet.

Efforts are being made to reach out to the local Navy community. Villanova was selected as host of this event because of significant synergies with naval engineering including their active naval research programs, ROTC program, and intern programs. We are partnering with the U.S. Navy League, Philadelphia Council, in hosting a reception the evening before the symposium. There will be a port of Philadelphia visit by the USS Gettysburg (CG 64), with tours of the ship.