JOSEPH ROBERTS, an engineer who worked at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, has been awarded the U.S. Navy’s Meritorious Civilian Service Award. The award is the third-highest honorary civilian award bestowed by the Navy. It is awarded to civilian employees in the Department of the Navy for meritorious service or contributions resulting in high value or benefits for the Navy. Roberts, who retired from the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport Sensors and Sonar Systems Department as an electronics engineer on June 30, received the award during a ceremony held at his home in Voluntown, Conn., on June 24. He started at the Naval Underwater Systems Center in New London, Conn., and in 1996 moved to the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport, where he worked on surface ship sonar.
What are your thoughts about being awarded the Department of the Navy’s Meritorious Civilian Service Award? I am very humbled. I suspected I might get a Bow Dome Award, which I did, but not the Meritorious Civilian Service Award. I just wish my parents were here to see it. I am the first person in my family to ever go to college and my father would have been especially proud.
What inspired you to become an engineer, and how did you end up having a long tenured career at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center? Back in the 1960s there was a television show called “Thunderbirds.” This show featured incredibly cool futuristic machines and I was so impressed by them. I also loved working with stereo systems, building speakers and trying to figure out how it all worked.
How has the coronavirus impacted your life personally and professionally? Fortunately for me, almost no impact. I have no kids to worry about in school, and I was able to telework, so my income was not affected. I rarely get lonely, so being home for weeks does not bother me.
What interesting projects or designs did you work on during your time as an engineer at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center? Most of my 37 years at NUSC/NUWC [were] spent working on the surface ship hull sonar, which is why I learned so much about it. My favorite thing was traveling to ships, sometimes in exotic places, to help get a system back online. I also enjoyed working with the sailors, teaching them how to maintain their gear. Finding and fixing a problem on a ship was always a rewarding experience.
I only worked one small area of focus during most of my 37 years at NUWC; however, there are many different projects going on at NUWC. The nice thing is that you can move to other projects if the one you are on is not a good fit. For me, the opportunity to travel was a big plus. I got to see places I would never have otherwise been able to visit, and experience life on a ship in the Navy, see real-world Navy operations, things like that. I had one job offer in 1983 – I took it and stayed for 37 years. Like any profession, there will be things you have to do that aren’t the most fun, but overall, my time at NUWC was very rewarding. I miss it already.
