David T. Wilson, a structural engineer at Carderock Division headquarters, is the Naval Sea Systems Command Engineer of the Year. This honor provides visible recognition of his many accomplishments over the years in understanding and control of weapons effects for the Navy, thereby improving ship designs to withstand damage. Wilson is the Navy's leading expert in this area. His international reputation in survivability stems from his years of success developing solutions for the U.S. and foreign naval vessels. His expertise enables development of ship design methods, validation of advanced modeling and simulation, plus improvements in survivability of ship and ship systems under combat threat conditions.
When terrorists in Aden attacked USS COLE, Wilson was among the handful of experts senior Navy leaders contacted, adding to his reputation. The Navy engineering community greatly appreciates his profound knowledge, dedication and plain hard work over the years. He is an advisor to the Federal Aviation Administration as well.