NSWCDD Scientist Honored as a Top Young Professional

Photo By Stacia Courtney | The International Test and Evaluation Association has selected Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division scientist Andrew "AJ" Rasure as winner of the Dr. Wilson N. Felder II Early Career Achievement Award, which recognizes a young professional who has made significant accomplishments in their first five years of service in the Test and Evaluation field.  

DAHLGREN, VA, UNITED STATES

09.12.2022

Courtesy Story

Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division

A diverse background of experiences has propelled Andrew “AJ” Rasure into becoming a top young professional at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD).

Rasure served in the United States Marine Corps from 2006-15 as a trumpet musician with both the 1st Marine Division and the Quantico Marine Corps Band.

He also served as the public affairs chief, fiscal chief and administrative chief for those ensembles, and now supports a local band through music and drill education.

Rasure, who also owns and operates a cidery, said management skills gleaned from his other endeavors are helpful in his role as a scientist in the Strategic and Computing Systems Department at NSWCDD.

The International Test and Evaluation Association has selected Rasure as winner of the Dr. Wilson N. Felder II Early Career Achievement Award, which recognizes a young professional who has made significant accomplishments in their first five years of service in the Test and Evaluation field.

Rasure works as an analyst with Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile Systems.

“One of the things we were always telling the marching band students is, ‘We only have nine minutes to showcase all the effort that has gone into our show. No one person can raise our performance alone and we will succeed or fail based on how much effort we place into rehearsal and improvement,’” Rasure said.

“I take a similar approach to my work here. I wanted to see if there was a way I could spend effort up front so that the end product was quality and repeatable with less effort than before. In short, I wanted to make my rehearsals count.”

Rasure has done just that.

After double majoring in mathematics and physics and graduating from the University of Mary Washington in 2020, he was hired at NSWCDD.

He immediately began to immerse himself in the world of targeting, software and testing and analysis tools.

He quickly began briefing sponsors and upper management in great technical detail and by 2021 he took on coaching newer members of the Strategic Targeting and Communications Branch.

Rasure took the initiative to compile a team of analysts and developers to expand a Tableau-based analysis tool and database to improve the efficiency of the branch’s analysis and testing. He later tailored the tool for needs across multiple branches.

Rasure’s award justification states that he enhanced the community approach to testing and analysis through the development of the rapid and innovative Tableau-based tool. He cultivated the tool and identified opportunities to expand it across different projects, which resulted in efficiencies in cost and scheduling. Rasure’s work helped provide a faster and easier way to perform research and data analysis.

Rasure said he’s appreciative that his contributions have been recognized.

“I am just grateful that my department head saw the value in allowing me to postpone the immediate payoff of completed analysis and allowed me to create the tools and process that reduced the effort required for future projects,” Rasure said. “I intend to continue producing the best results that I can, and I am thankful others have seen merit in my efforts.”

• Date Taken: 09.12.2022
• Date Posted: 11.23.2022 07:37
• Story ID: 433868
• Location: DAHLGREN, VA, US