NEWPORT – Retired Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport employees Martin Moebus and Kimberly Cipolla have received a Meritorious Civilian Service Award from the Department of the U.S. Navy, the department announced.
The award is the third-highest honorary civilian U.S. Navy award.
Moebus, a resident of Norwich, Conn., was recognized for his accomplishments as chief strategic analyst in the Strategic Planning Office from November 2014 through his retirement in July 2020 following a 40-year career. He served as the Naval Acquisition Development Program field career manager, guiding more than 100 interns, and helped create high-velocity learning communication and training plans, according to NUWC Newport.
Credited with reinvigorating NUWC Division Newport University, Moebus established and updated 24 courses and served as the Navy’s lead instructor for Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Submarine Combat Systems Course.
Cipolla, a resident of Portsmouth, earned a Meritorious Civilian Service Award for her contributions in several roles from January 2007 through October 2020, when she retired after a 24-year career. She was chief scientist in NUWC Division Newport’s Sensors and Sonar Systems Department, a technical project manager at the Office of Naval Research and NUWC Division Newport’s deputy chief technology officer.
As a Navy expert in sonar and underwater acoustics, Cipolla focused on hydroacoustics, and her ONR research addressed fleet issues relating to towed arrays. Her development of the thin-line vector sensor towed array provided the submarine community with visible and instantaneous distinction of contact bearing without requiring a maneuver – operationally significant for submarines.
Cipolla’s efforts improved towed array performance in cluttered environments while offering an initial estimated savings of $300,000 per thin-line array; her patented contributions across towed array basic and applied research were key to research, according to NUWC. She created the Undersea Warfare Science and Technology Integrated Community and leveraged members’ knowledge to provide technical guidance for NUWC Division Newport’s science and technology investments.
Both Moebus and Cipolla were recognized during a livestream awards ceremony.
Susan Shalhoub is a PBN contributing writer.
