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Engineers Nominated By the US Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program Graig Decker, E.I.T. Mr. Decker is the lead mechanical engineer of the Mechanism Testing Facilities and is currently working to ensure pressure safety in a program established to study steam bubble growth and collapse in a pressure vessel during a loss of coolant accident. This program includes one of the most important and complex tests ever conducted at Bettis, supporting the qualification of thermal-hydraulic computer codes used in propulsion plant design, and his design expertise is instrumental in establishing the features needed to conduct this test safely. Damon Howard Howard’s work also includes the development of improved design concepts for boiling and pressurized water reactor applications. These systems require a fundamental knowledge of many components, including heat exchangers, piping systems, turbomachinery, and control schemes, and Howard has proved adept in his ability to apply a broad range of engineering disciplines in support of Bechtel’s program objectives. U.S. Naval Officer LT Joshua Marcum In addition, Marcum is responsible for maintaining operating pressurizers in all nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in service. He has overseen the successful completion of major alterations of the pressurizers in two Nimitz Class aircraft carriers that enhance the life cycle reliability of the pressurizers. The success of this first-of-a-kind major effort (more than $10 million) can be attributed to Marcum’s technical and program management skills. Navy LT David Walter, E.I.T. Walter’s other accomplishments include the development of computational tactical aids for a submarine approach to a stationary regeneration point, development of advanced planning models for radiation exposure reduction during nuclear work, and the creation of more than a dozen temporary operating procedures to ensure safe reactor plan operations on the ALABAMA. « BACK |
Graig Decker, E.I.T., a senior engineer at Bechtel Bettis, Inc., works at the Bettis Laboratory in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, which develops nuclear propulsion technology and provides technical support to ensure the safe and reliable operation of its components. He plays a key role as a member of a multidisciplinary team in performing engineering design and construction of new facilities and to reconfigure existing facilities in support of Laboratory technical programs.
Damon Howard, an engineer at Bechtel Bettis, Inc., in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, has represented the company for three years in the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) Project, advanced energy conversion development, and reactor plant design concepts for Navy applications. Mr. Howard has shown great diversity through his interactions with NASA and various National Laboratories to develop Brayton engine systems for the JIMO Project. A part of his JIMO work was the development of a first-of-a-kind dual, closed Brayton loop currently operating at the NASA Glenn Research Center. The knowledge gained from the JIMO Project has established Howard in a lead role for Bechtel to pursue improved efficiency Brayton systems.
U.S. Naval Officer LT Joshua Marcum, an engineer with the Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Directorate in Washington, D.C., leads the design and fabrication of state-of-the-art steam generators for the Navy’s next generation of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, the new Gerald R. Ford Class. These steam generators are designed not only to improve power density and reliability but also reduce life cycle costs. Marcum also is leading a team of scientists and engineers to advance the state of steam generator technology for future submarines to reduce acquisition cost and achieve higher performance.
Navy LT David Walter, E.I.T., is an assistant engineer with the U.S. Navy on the USS ALABAMA (SSBN-731). While serving as Chemistry and Radiological Controls Assistant during an Engineered Refueling Overhaul, he identified and implemented significant process improvements to alternate chemistry controls to support the reactor refueling. This design will save approximately $650,000 per refueling overhaul in facilities and support services and will help mitigate the risk of delays to the project schedule. These savings also will directly reduce the overall lifecycle maintenance budget and, in turn, increase mission-related funding for Submarine Force tasking vital to national security.
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National Engineers Week Foundation
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