Florida State University News

Marcus Jadotte has joined Crowley as senior vice president of government relations, leading the company’s advocacy activities across all its businesses.Jadotte will spearhead the company’s continuing advocacy for laws and regulations that support the domestic maritime industry, while expanding awareness of Crowley’s growing defense and civilian government services among federal, state and local officials. He will be based in Washington, D.C.Jadotte comes to Crowley after his tenure as vice president of federal government relations at Raytheon Technologies.

April 20, 2020, marks the tenth anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion, the offshore oil industry's biggest environmental disaster.Eleven people died, 17 others were injured, Transocean's drilling rig sank, and an incident caused more than four million barrels of oil to spill into the U.S. Gulf of Mexico from the BP-operated Macondo well which spewed oil into the ocean for 87 days before it was finally capped.In a review paper published in the journal Nature Reviews Earth & Environment…

Diverse and conveniently located, St. Johns Ship Building has quickly developed into a reliable partner for its many repeat customers. Today, and as a direct result, a lot more people know exactly where Palatka, Florida is located.On the St Johns River, just 60 miles south of Jacksonville, lies the sleepy town of Palatka, Florida. Founded as a trading post in 1821, its location on the highly navigable river made the area attractive to orange growers and timber men alike.In its heyday between 1875 and 1900…

Hepburn and Sons LLC, premier advisors to the American maritime industry, recently visited TEFELEN America in Frederick, Md. to discuss their new partnership.Hepburn and Sons LLC’s President/CEO retired U.S. Navy Captain, Rick Hepburn met with TEFELEN America’s President/CEO, Philip Brown on Thursday, June 21, 2018, to discuss conjoined marketing and sales efforts between the two companies. Also in attendance was Hepburn and Sons LLC’s Principal, Customer Relations Officer, Samantha Hepburn Hertel.In December 2017…

Silver Ships, Inc. announced the hiring of Shawn Lobree, a recently retired U.S. Navy captain, as Federal Contracts Manager. Lobree has more than 25 years of military experience in maritime operations, human resources, information technology, shipbuilding and repair. His skillset will help give Silver Ships military customers a seamless contract and build process experience. In addition to his service in the Navy, Lobree’s career has included working as a maritime and defense consultant and assistant to a shipbuilding supervisor.

The National Shipbuilding Research Program’s (NSRP) Executive Control Board has selected a new round of research and development (R&D) projects aiming to spur technology advancements in order to reduce costs associated with shipbuilding and ship repair in the U.S. The seven projects – valued at over $13.3 million, including cost share – were selected from those proposed in response to research announcement issued in July 2017, and are outlined below. Objective: The primary goal…

As part of ongoing research nearly four years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) will team up with a group of high school students in Florida to collect remnants of oil from Gulf Coast beaches this week. Marine chemist Chris Reddy studies how the many compounds that compose petroleum hydrocarbon, or oil, behave and change over time after an oil spill. He and his researchers have collected and analyzed about 1,000 oil samples from the Gulf Coast since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners has selected Michael Gold as Director of Communications & Community Relations for the Port of Long Beach, beginning in mid-July. The Board voted Gold to the post at their July 1 meeting, following a six-month search to replace Heather Morris, who retired after heading the department for more than eight years. Gold has been working in the public affairs and legislative fields for more than 16 years. Prior to joining the Port of Long Beach…

Geo Shipyard Inc, New Iberia, La, delivered the R/V Apalachee, a 64x21x9’, aluminum catamaran for Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory, St Teresa, Florida. Designed by Fyffe Yachts with NC lofting by Eli Ring, VP of Advance Fabricating, both of Kemah, Texas, the 48 passenger T-boat will support a verity of research missions in the Gulf of Mexico. DeJong and Lebet, Inc., Jacksonville, Florida provided construction oversight and plan review. Power for the new boat is supplied by a pair of John Deere 6135 SFM engines rated at 500 hp at 1…

Police departments & sheriff’s offices around the country are adding underwater metal detectors (UMD) to their crime-fighting armory. An essential tool for locating evidence disposed of in a waterway, metal detectors routinely assist police divers in finding weapons, shell casings, stolen objects, and explosive devices, inform JW Fishers. One group having great success with the underwater metal detector is Houston County Rescue in Webb, Alabama. Team members are highly trained public safety divers that provide assistance to law enforcement…

Braemar Adjusting continues its development and expansion, with the recruitment of experienced loss adjusters and new young talent across the globe. New staff have boosted the adjusting teams in the firm’s London, Singapore and Calgary offices as the company continues to enhance its onshore and offshore expertise. Grant Smith, Braemar Adjusting Group Managing Director, said: “These latest four appointments further emphasise our focus on providing excellent client service through the expertise of our personnel.

University of Georgia marine scientist Samantha Joye, who is the Athletic Association Professor in Arts and Sciences, and UGA colleagues Patricia Medeiros and Christof Meile have received a $1.3 million grant from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative that will enable UGA researchers and scientists from 13 other institutions to understand more thoroughly the ecosystem impacts of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The three-year grant, awarded through a competitive merit-review process by a board comprised of researchers from academic institutions, will allow scientists and emergency responders to better predict and respond to future spills, should they occur.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) announced that a team of scientists led by BOEMRE geophysicist Bill Shedd will embark tomorrow morning on a research cruise that will examine deep sea coral and chemosynthetic community sites in the Gulf of Mexico. Findings from this research will help scientists discover the possible effects of the large volumes of oil released in the deepwater following the Deepwater Horizon blowout and spill. The cruise, funded by BP through the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA), will depart from Freeport, Texas on October 29, 2010, for the ten day cruise. Biologists and geoscientists from BOEMRE…

Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) celebrated the kick off of the Naval Engineering Education Center (NEEC), launching a three-day conference at the University of Michigan, July 26-28. NEEC is a new partnership between NAVSEA and a consortium of 15 top colleges and universities as well as 2 engineering professional societies focused on developing the Navy's future science, engineering and acquisition workforce. “Sailors depend upon you to give them a ship with a technological edge. The NEEC will provide the best minds and training to give the Sailors the technological edge they rely on," said Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.), the keynote speaker at the Kick-Off event.

The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) announced that a program dedicated to the training of future naval systems engineers will soon be realized. A $3.2m contract awarded May 6 from the Naval Sea Systems Command, which includes five additional years of optional extensions that could add up to $49.9m, will establish a Naval Engineering Education Center (NEEC) Consortium in partnership with fifteen leading US colleges and universities, SNAME and the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE). For over a century SNAME has been the international society for practitioners of the maritime arts and sciences. The Society has long supported educational opportunities to advance the state-of-the-art in naval architecture…

The U.S. Navy's Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) signed a contract agreement May 6 to establish a Naval Engineering Education Center (NEEC). The purpose of the NEEC will be to educate and develop world-class naval systems engineers for the Navy's civilian acquisition, engineering and science workforce. Led by the University of Michigan, the NEEC Consortium will initially be comprised of 15 colleges and universities, along with the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE) and the Society of Naval Architects and Engineering (SNAME). Other colleges and universities included in the NEEC Consortium include Virginia Polytechnic Institute…

Northrop Grumman Corporation announces the following three executive appointments in its Newport News sector: Becky Stewart, currently vice president, Surface Ship and Submarine Fleet Maintenance Program has been named head of the Submarine Program; Irwin F. Edenzon, currently vice president, Business and Technology Development, has been named vice president, Technology Development and Fleet Support; and John J. promoted to vice president, Business Development. All appointments are effective Feb. 1, 2004. Grumman corporate vice president and president of the Newport News sector. As vice president, Submarine Program, Becky Stewart will be responsible for all new submarine construction projects.

The development of high-temperature superconductor (HTS) motors for the United States Navy's future all-electric ships has completed a significant milestone: the Navy's initial tests of its 5-MW, 230 rpm concept demonstrator have been satisfactorily completed. The motor, developed by American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC) under a contract with the Office of Naval Research(ONR), validates the potential of HTS technology to reduce the size and weight of marine propulsion motors as well as improve their efficiency in both military and commercial marine propulsion applications. AMSC manufactured the HTS rotor system integrated with a cryogenic refrigeration system.

Melbourne resident Wade Morefield has been hired as the Port’s first Director of Planning, a position created to transition departmental-level planning efforts into a comprehensive organizational-wide function. The former Director of Planning for the city of Anniston, Alabama, Morefield most recently worked as a planner for the city of Melbourne. His planning experience includes neighborhood revitalization, redevelopment, transportation and enhancement projects, zoning and building code enforcement. As the Port’s Director of Planning, he will oversee the Port’s master plan; attend regional and local meetings involving transportation, growth and planning; as well as work with staff to develop strategies to move projects forward and to make sure they are done correctly.

The ex-Oriskany, a decommissioned aircraft carrier, was sunk 24 miles off the coast of Pensacola, Fla., on May 17 to form an artificial reef. The 888-foot ship took about 37 minutes to sink below the surface. After 25 years of service to the Navy in operations in Korea, Vietnam and the Mediterranean, ex-Oriskany will now benefit marine life, sport fishing and recreation diving off the coast of the Florida panhandle. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Jeffrey P. The ex-Oriskany, a decommissioned aircraft carrier, became the largest ship intentionally sunk as an artificial reef May 17 when it was sunk approximately 24 miles off the coast of Pensacola, Fla.

The oldest remains of seafaring ships in the world have been found in caves at the edge of the Egyptian desert along with cargo boxes that suggest ancient Egyptians sailed nearly 1,000 miles on rough waters to get treasures from a place they called God's Land, or Punt. Florida State University anthropology professor Cheryl Ward has determined that wooden planks found in the manmade caves are about 4,000 years old - making them the world's most ancient ship timbers. Shipworms that had tunneled into the planks indicated the ships had weathered a long voyage of a few months, likely to the fabled southern Red Sea trading center of Punt, a place referenced in hieroglyphics on empty cargo boxes found in the caves.

Captain William S. Cheever recently assumed command of the U.S. Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, Md. He becomes the 36th Commanding Officer in the 102-year history of the Yard, the only shipbuilding and ship repair facility of the U.S. Coast Guard. Captain Cheever took command of the Yard from Captain Alan S. Gracewski who had served as the shipyard's Commanding Officer since June, 1998. Captain Gracewki retired from the Coast Guard with 30 years service. In addition to being commanding officer of the Coast Guard's , maritime industrial facility, Captain Cheever holds the title of distinction as the U.S. Coast Guard's Gold Ancient Mariner. The honor is bestowed on the Commissioned Officer of the USCG who has the earliest date of service time at sea.