University Of Mississippi News

HII announced Julie Jarrell Gresham has been named vice president and chief counsel of the company’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division. She will succeed George Simmerman Jr. who will retire March 31, 2023, after 32 years with the company.Gresham, who previously served as deputy chief counsel and director of compliance and privacy, will report directly to Chad Boudreaux, HII’s executive vice president and chief legal officer, and indirectly to Ingalls Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson.

America’s largest military shipbuilding company Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced on Thursday that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division has named Jack Norris as director of state and local government affairs.Norris will lead all state and local government relations efforts in support of the Pascagoula, Miss. shipbuilder’s strategic goals and will collaborate with community and economic development partners, HII said.“Jack has a strong government relations background that includes 20 years of experience managing public policy and supporting economic recovery and growth…

Thomas Chance founded C & C Technologies in his home in 1992. Today C & C is a global oil field surveying and mapping company with more than 550 employees in ten offices worldwide. C & C was the first company in the world to offer autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) survey services to the oil industry and remains a world leader in the field. In April of 2015, he sold C & C Technologies to Oceaneering International. Complementing the autonomous underwater vehicle business, Mr. Chance started Autonomous Surface Vehicles, Ltd., or ASV, in 2010. ASV has 140 employees, four offices across the globe and has built more than 100 state-of-the-art unmanned boats for the defense and commercial sectors.

International inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) company Harkand aims to be a $1 billion company. MR’s Tom Mulligan recently met with John Reed, the company’s CEO, to discuss his vision for the future and how Harkand aims to achieve its goal of being the leading subsea IRM and light construction contractor globally. Established in 2012 and headquartered in London with operations bases in Aberdeen, Houston, Mexico, and Ghana, global subsea IRM group Harkand has been expanding its business operations rapidly throughout North America…

The Maritime Transportation Research and Education Center, based at the University of Arkansas, has received a federal grant of $923,700, reports AP. The center, known as MarTREC, is a consortium of researchers focused on maritime and multimodal transportation research. It has received $3.7 million since 2013. The latest grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation will support research and programs through September 2018. The Fayetteville-based center is part of a consortium of researchers from Arkansas, Jackson State University, Louisiana State University and the University of New Orleans. They focus on the development of sustainable infrastructure and emergency management systems for coastal and river valley communities.

Huntington Ingalls Industries' Ingalls Shipbuilding division inform that Mike Lipski will be the company's vice president of business development, effective April 1, 2014. HII explain that Lipski will be responsible for coordinating capture team efforts for new contracts and managing all business development activities. This includes working with the company's government and customer relations teams to optimize business development activities with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard.

Internatioanl subsea inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) group Harkand announced the appointment of John Reed as its new chief executive officer as it embarks on the next stage of its ambitious growth strategy. Reed, an industry veteran with more than 30 years’ experience in the offshore engineering and construction sector, will lead the development of the company as it drives forward with its target of growing turnover to $1 billion in the next five years. Due to take over the reins in October, he replaces Nicolas Mouté who steered the group’s formation since inception and through the merger of Iremis, Integrated Subsea Services (ISS) and Andrews Survey following investment by Oaktree Capital Management and the acquisition of Veolia Marine Services.

Austal held a keel-laying ceremony for the third Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) – Jackson (LCS 6), one of five Austal-designed 127-m U.S. Navy Independence-variant LCS under contract with the U.S. Navy. Dr. Katherine Holmes Cochran, the ship’s sponsor, was present to weld her initials onto the keel plate as the Keel Authenticator. She was assisted by J.B. Craig, III, who is an “A” Class welder that has been part of the Austal team since November of 2011. Dr. Cochran is the daughter of U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and his wife Rose Clayton Cochran.

Military Sealift Command accepted delivery of its newest dry cargo/ammunition ship, USNS Medgar Evers (T-AKE 13), during a short ceremony at the General Dynamics NASSCO Ship Yard San Diego. The ship, which was christened Nov. 12, 2011 in San Diego, honors slain civil rights leader Medgar Wiley Evers, who is remembered for his efforts to end segregation at the University of Mississippi in the 1950s and for his opposition to Jim Crow laws in the 1960s. Since its launch, the ship has been undergoing a series of tests and trials in preparation for its delivery to MSC.

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.

USNS Medgar Evers, the newest ship in the U.S. Navy's Lewis and Clark-class of dry cargo/ammunition ships operated by Military Sealift Command, was christened Nov. 12 during a morning ceremony at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego. With the traditional words, "I christen you USNS Medgar Evers," Myrlie Evers-Williams, the widow of the ship's namesake, broke the traditional bottle of champagne against the bow of the ship. Evers was launched Oct. 29 and is scheduled for delivery to MSC in spring 2012.

Ray Mabus, former Mississippi governor and U.S. ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was sworn in today as the 75th Secretary of the Navy. Leading the Navy and Marine Corps, Secretary Mabus will be responsible for an annual budget in excess of $150 billion and almost 900,000 people. The Secretary of the Navy is responsible for conducting all the affairs of the Department of the Navy, including recruiting, organizing, supplying, equipping, training, and mobilizing. Additionally, he oversees the construction, outfitting, and repair of naval ships, equipment and facilities, and is responsible for the formulation and implementation of policies and programs that are consistent with the national security policies and objectives established by the president and the secretary of defense.

Rear Adm. Edward Masso relieved Rear Adm. David A. Gove as commander of Navy Personnel Command (NPC) and deputy chief of Naval Personnel (CNP) in a change of command ceremony May 17. Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Adm. John C. Harvey Jr., Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Manpower, Personnel, Training & Education) was principal speaker at the ceremony. Gove leaves NPC after nearly two years of service. Under his authority, the command faced challenges ranging from correctly prioritizing limited resources in completing the mission, technical upgrades, and personnel manning issues relating to the Navy’s contribution to the global war on terrorism. “I believe our team here at NPC did an excellent job in mission accomplishment –- to create 21st century leaders.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) has announced the Final Notice of Lease Sale 198 for offshore oil and gas in the Central Gulf of Mexico (GOM). The lease sale is scheduled for March 15, 2006, in New Orleans. The lease sale encompasses 4,040 unleased blocks of approximately 21.3 million acres in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Planning Area offshore Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. The blocks are located from three to about 210 miles offshore in water depths of four to more than 3,400 meters. MMS estimates the lease sale could result in the production of between 276 to 654 million barrels of oil and 1.59 to 3.30 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.