JASON GOMEZ, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport’s chief technology officer, is the recipient of the 2020 National Defense Industrial Association Bronze Medal. The annual award recognizes outstanding individual achievements in science or engineering in the field of undersea warfare. Gomez began his 28-year career at Division Newport in 1992 as a mechanical engineer. He managed the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Underwater Express program and helped develop the world’s fastest electric underwater vehicle and the first controlled super-cavitating vehicle in the U.S. This success led to the Blue Wolf program, where his work enabled significant improvements in long-range torpedo and other unmanned underwater vehicle capabilities.
What was your reaction to being selected as the 2020 National Defense Industrial Association Bronze Medal recipient? Ron Vien, our technical director, announced the award at the end of our weekly leadership board meeting, and it was a great surprise. In going to NDIA through the years, I would see the award winners as leaders in our community. Being recognized as one of them now is an honor and truly humbling. All of the efforts I’ve been able to accomplish here at NUWC were only possible through teamwork. I have been extremely lucky to work with great people and hope I have been able to affect them as positively as they have affected me.
What inspired you to work in your field of technology? I went to Bishop Stang High School, and one year we had a retired [U.S.] Navy pilot, Mr. Robert Prehn, as our physics teacher. We would talk about the old Volkswagen bus I drove and how my father and I had to continually fix it. Mr. Prehn asked me to bring in a bunch of old VW engine parts and explain to the class how an internal combustion engine works. This experience showed me the deeper level of understanding needed to really explain things to others in a way that makes sense and set me on a path towards engineering and physics.
How has the coronavirus impacted your life personally and professionally? Through these strange and uncertain times, my family and I have been very fortunate. For me, professionally, the reduction in travel just after starting as the chief technology officer has delayed the growth of personal relationships and collaboration with our sponsors and other Warfare Center peers. However, the dedicated time has allowed me to concentrate on reconnecting the CTO office to the S&T [science and technology] community at NUWC and grow some initiatives to help foster innovation and technology transition.
What do you hope to have accomplished and leave as your legacy at NUWC? For my entire career, and specifically now as CTO, I strive to develop technology solutions to increase our warfighting capability and get them to the fleet. I hope my dedication and hard work to that end will set an example for those to come, and I leave a culture in place that values innovation and creativity.
