NEWPORT – Tiverton resident Rebecca Chhim has been appointed the head of the Undersea Warfare Combat Systems Department, the largest department at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport with about 625 employees.
Chhim, a NUWC employee for more than two decades, will lead the effort to shape the next generation of undersea warfare systems, providing technical leadership and managing personnel in the department.
Most recently, Chhim had served as director of Cybersecurity Undersea Warfare Combat System Integration for Submarines and Undersea Warfare Systems. Before that, she had been deputy department head for cybersecurity at NUWC Division Newport.
In May 2021, Chhim garnered a PBN Business Women Award in the Industry Leader Technical Service category.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in object-oriented mathematics from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and a master’s degree in cybersecurity from Norwich University.
Chhim started as NUWC Division Newport in 1998 as an acquisition intern in the Unmammed Undersea Vehicle Department. She went on to serve myriad roles, all related to cybersecurity.
In announcing her promotion, the Navy said Chhim has proved to be a superior innovator, problem solver and trusted adviser in the cybersecurity and technology communities.
As a senior scientist and technical manager, Chhim’s focus is on ensuring long-term naval fleet cyber readiness. She sees cybersecurity as a team effort in achieving that goal, she told PBN last year.
