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By Margaret Kenyon
Showcasing its critical work was a primary goal of the first Technical Meet & Greet hosted by the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division (NSWCPD) Machinery Research & Silencing Division on June 7, 2023.
Command workforce members primarily from the Machinery Research & Silencing Division in the Machinery Research, Logistics & Ship Integrity Department along with several Contracting Officer’s Representatives (CORs) and staff members attended the event, which has plans to expand future Technical Meet & Greets to other NSWCPD technical departments, as well as to support code personnel working in contracting, comptroller and corporate operations.
“During COVID a lot of new people came onboard so this is a way to help build better relationships,” Machinery Research & Silencing Division Head Kristen Bradshaw said in explaining another key objective of the initiative.
“Today I saw great teaming, heard insightful questions and discussions, and was able to put names to faces of our new folks in our Division and our Department Staff. It was so nice to see everyone!” Bradshaw added.
Hands-on demonstrations and poster sessions took place in test sites, labs, workspaces, conference rooms and even corridors across two NSWCPD buildings. In all, participants had the opportunity to visit nearly 20 different locations.
Among the variety of engineering topics covered were Acoustics, Submarine Life Support, Thermal Management, Advanced Gas Turbine Power Generation Development. Cyberphysical Security, and NSWCPD and Office of Naval Research (ONR) Engagement, among others.
“It’s important for our Organization to hold collaborative events, such as the Technical Meet & Greet out of Code 32 [Machinery Research & Silencing], as we strive to develop a resilient workforce at all levels through cross-organizational training to support the Warfighter,” Machinery Research, Logistics and Ship Integrity Department Head Allison Hollish said.
“These efforts allow us to build technical excellence amongst our people by fostering an environment of collaboration and innovation so we can continue to deliver capability to the Fleet,” she added. “It was great to see our Research and Development group exchange information between the very diverse backgrounds within, not only the rest of the Division, but the Department as a whole. We are looking forward to expanding the event to include the rest of the Command!”
NSWCPD employs approximately 2,800 civilian engineers, scientists, technicians, and support personnel. The NSWCPD team does the research and development, test and evaluation, acquisition support, and in-service and logistics engineering for the non-nuclear machinery, ship machinery systems, and related equipment and material for Navy surface ships and submarines. NSWCPD is also the lead organization providing cybersecurity for all ship systems.