Proposal to enhance sub stealth wins NUWC ‘hackathon’ for innovation

NEWPORT – The Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division’s “hackathon” resulted in 47 ideas that directly addressed undersea technology challenges, and the winner went to a proposal to enhance submarine stealth dubbed “TORCH.”

It was one of two proposals that made it on Dec. 15 to the finalist stage of the “hackathon,” in which innovators, inventors and problem solvers used “hacking” as a catalyst to generate and develop innovative ideas.

“While both teams did excellent work and presented outstanding proposals, we have selected TORCH as the winner based on their novel idea that has the potential to significantly enhance submarine stealth. We look forward to seeing both projects move ahead!” Mary Wohlgemuth, technical director for NUWC Newport, said in a statement.

The hackathon began Oct. 14 and 15 when 35 NUWC scientists and engineers pitched 47 ideas in response to four undersea technology challenges: submarine stealth, platform design, payload technology and sailors’ quality of life.

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Five teams formed around the most promising ideas. Then, they developed the ideas over the two-day period into four-minute presentations.

The teams gave their presentations to the entire NUWC workforce, which selected two projects for advanced development using crowdsourcing.

The two finalist teams were assigned mentors and worked as a team to develop their solutions. In addition to TORCH, the other finalist proposal featured an improved method of removing marine growth from submarine hulls.

The finalist teams presented their findings to NUWC’s senior leadership.

Dubbed “Hacking for Undersea Technical Excellence,” NUWC Newport used the hackathon to inaugurate a new Rapid Innovation Center designed as a place to encourage innovation and creative thinking.

“The hack event has proven even more productive in the interim since the initial idea pitches in October,” George McNamara, NUWC’s chief development officer and the Hackathon co-leader, said.
McNamara said the event energized the workforce about the possibilities of rapid innovation, and also attracted a lot of outside attention. He said the chief of naval operations’ rapid innovation cell examined ideas that had not been chosen for advancement, and chose three more with potential for fleet application.

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