Fall River, New Bedford, Exeter, Bristol, Richmond residents part of team that won national Top Scientists and Engineers of the Year Awards

A scientist from the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport’s Undersea Warfare Platforms and Payload Integration Department, along with the Surface Ship Undersea Warfare In-Service Support Team from the Sensors and Sonar Systems Department, received the Assistant Secretary of the Navy Research, Development and Acquisition 2025 Dr. Delores M. Etter Top Scientists and Engineers of the Year Awards.

Michael Warnock, of Newport News, Virginia, was honored in the Emergent Scientist category for those with less than 10 years of experience, recognized for his significant contributions to quantum computing research at Division Newport. He serves as the lead scientist in this field within the USW Platforms and Payload Integration Department. Award recipients are celebrated for their technical excellence, delivering impactful benefits to the Department of the Navy, Department of Defense, and national defense.

Warnock’s work in quantum computing holds transformative potential for U.S. Navy operations, the award notes. It could drastically reduce processing times for machine learning and autonomy applications and enhance sensing or encryption by eliminating noise clutter, creating nearly unbreakable systems. He has successfully led three internal research projects and continues to explore naval applications. The award highlights his role in fostering collaborations across industry, academia, and government, noting that his development of quantum-inspired algorithms has advanced Navy capabilities in this domain, opening doors for broader quantum computing applications.

The Sensors and Sonar Systems Department’s Surface Ship Undersea Warfare In-Service Support Team ensures the operational readiness of the fleet’s sonar systems through training, maintenance, distance fleet support, and software issue resolution. The team includes Melodie Grasso of Exeter, Rhode Island (team lead); Jesse Cobb of Chicago, Illinois; Jeffrey Kobza of New Bedford, Massachusetts; Matthew Cordes of Bristol, Rhode Island; Mason Machado of Fall River, Massachusetts; Matthew Puterio of Richmond, Rhode Island; and Steven Fastow of Mohnton, Pennsylvania, a support contractor.

The team’s dedication and expertise in 2024 earned high praise from the program office and the fleet, the award states. They traveled to Naval Surface Warfare Center Corona Division in California to participate in a collaboration event with regional maintenance centers and in-service engineering agents (ISEA). The meeting brought together fleet users, program office members, trainers, maintainers, installers, and ISEA personnel to address AN/SQQ-89 fleet issues, supportability, maintainability, training, and system upgrades. Each team member executed their role effectively, ensuring the system’s functionality through technical insertions, troubleshooting, and program office briefings.

The award recipients will be honored at a virtual awards ceremony on June 25, 2025. NUWC Newport, the nation’s oldest warfare center, was established in 1869 as the Naval Torpedo Station on Goat Island in Newport Harbor. Commanded by Capt. Chad Hennings, it operates major detachments in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Andros Island, Bahamas, with test facilities at Seneca Lake and Fisher’s Island, New York; Leesburg, Florida; and Dodge Pond, Connecticut.