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NEWPORT, R.I. — Dr. Andrew Hull, a mechanical engineer in the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport’s Undersea Warfare Weapons, Vehicles, and Defensive Systems Department and a resident of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, received the prestigious Decibel Award for his research in structural acoustics during a ceremony held April 12 at NUWC Headquarters in Newport.
During the ceremony, Naval Surface and Undersea Warfare Centers Executive Director Don McCormack presented a history of the Decibel Award, which was established more than 70 years ago at the Navy Underwater Sound Laboratory in New London, Connecticut. The laboratory combined with the Naval Underwater Weapons Research and Engineering Station in 1970 to form the Naval Underwater Systems Center, Division Newport’s precursor organization.
The award is presented to a distinguished scientist, engineer or naval officer who has achieved distinction in the field of sonar or underwater acoustics. It recognizes an individual whose contributions have resulted in extraordinary gains in knowledge applicable to the needs of the U.S. Navy in underwater acoustics.
“Andy is most deserving of this award,” McCormack said.
Dr. Vittorio “Vic” Ricci, NUWC Newport’s chief technology officer, said that Hull is often consulted by the Office of Naval Research and the Office of Naval Intelligence and is requested as a reviewer for prestigious journals. In his work, Hull has secured millions of dollars in funding for NUWC Newport.
“One of Hull’s first papers described his research in the dynamics of running shoes using finite element methods,” Ricci said.
The research was sponsored by Brooks Athletic Shoes who based some of their shoe designs on Hull’s analysis.
Hull’s body of structural acoustic research completed during the past 28 years has been cited by researchers in Europe, East Asia, Russia, Australia, South America, China and Iran. He has worked on complex mathematical problems that have addressed torpedo sonar, towed arrays, structural acoustics, parameter estimation, dynamic system models, medical imaging, material measurements and active noise control for sonar systems on submarines.
Recognized as an international expert in theoretical modeling of the dynamic response of large elastic structures subjected to various types of external forces, Hull has focused his research on self-noise mitigation of various sonar systems, including hull-mounted, towed and forward-looking arrays. He became a fellow of the Acoustical Society of America in 2012 for contributions to fluid structure interaction in sonar arrays.
Hull’s expertise and capabilities are well recognized. Hull holds a prestigious position as a National Science Foundation senior member on the Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation Panel and as an associate editor for Structural Acoustics for the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. He has served on several technical and organizing committees, chaired numerous sessions at academic conferences, shared his expertise and supports many professional organizations. He also supports Forever Paws Animal Shelter, an animal rescue shelter in Fall River, Massachusetts, the Nature Conservancy and Habitat for Humanity.
Hull has consistently and enthusiastically supported and mentored university students seeking U.S. Navy research careers, from those actively pursuing bachelor’s degrees to doctoral degrees. He has mentored more than a dozen students, including four University Laboratory Initiative students and two Naval Engineering Education Consortium students.
“He has proven to be an unselfish, constant and reliable resource for these younger mentees and future scholars,” notes his citation, which was read by Division Newport Technical Director Ron Vien.
After accepting his award of a certificate and a plaque featuring “one deci-bell,” Hull quoted Nobel prize winning physicist Niels Bohr, in regards to being called an expert.
“An expert is someone who has made every possible mistake in a very narrow field,” Hull said. “I guess I’m just short of an expert.”
Hull acknowledged Chris DelMastro, Head of the Platform and Payload Integration Department, who nominated him for the award; colleague Ben Cray, who wrote the nomination; Don Cox and Danny Perez, co-workers, who have offered technical support through the years; and Annette Campbell, who has given him personal support.
Hull thanked NUWC Newport management for allowing him the freedom to pursue his research and the Navy for affording him the opportunity to live a comfortable life.
NUWC Division Newport, part of the Naval Sea System Command, is one of two divisions of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center. NUWC Division Newport’s mission is to provide research, development, test and evaluation, engineering and fleet support for submarines, autonomous underwater systems, undersea offensive and defensive weapons systems, and countermeasures. NUWC’s other division is located in Keyport, Washington.
| Date Taken: | 05.08.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 05.08.2019 13:02 |
| Story ID: | 321378 |
| Location: | NEWPORT, RI, US |
| Web Views: | 1,072 |
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