DATE: 8-11:30 a.m. July 26, 2010.

EVENT: Remarks from federal lawmakers and a Navy official as well as student submarine races will commemorate the launch of the Naval Engineering Education Center (NEEC), a University of Michigan-led program to train the next generation of world-class naval systems engineers.

The center is geared toward rebuilding the Navy’s ship design expertise, which waned with post-Cold War “peace dividend” military spending cuts, and is further threatened by an aging ship design workforce.

The undergraduates and smaller number of graduate students who enroll in the program will receive hands-on naval engineering experience through internships and at-sea opportunities. When the NEEC is completely up and running, it will accept up to 100 fully-supported students per year.

Michigan Engineering—home to the largest full naval architecture program in the nation—leads the center, which will involve 15 top colleges and universities along with the American Society of Naval Engineers and the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers.

Beginning at 10 a.m., high school students and incoming freshmen will race Sea Perch underwater robots in a competition organized by the Office of Naval Research. The winner will be determined around 11 a.m. Watch a video that shows the type of race this will be at http://www.ndep.us/Sink-and-Swim.

Speakers include:

• David Munson, the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering (8 a.m.)
• Rear Admiral Thomas Eccles (8:10 a.m.)
• U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (8:40 a.m.)
• U.S. Rep. John Dingell (11 a.m.)

The center is established through a $3.2 million contract award from the Naval Sea Systems Command. It includes five years of optional extensions that could add up to $49.9 million?which would make it one of the largest grants in the history of Michigan Engineering.

PLACE: Remarks take place in Stamps Auditorium at the Walgreen Drama Center at 1226 Murfin Ave. in Ann Arbor on the U-M North Campus. Map and directions: http://uuis.umich.edu/cic/buildingproject/index.cfm?BuildingID=526.

The Sea Perch competition takes place in the Class of ’47E Reflecting Pool and Fred’s Fountain behind the Lurie Engineering Center at 1221 Beal Ave. on North Campus. Map and directions: http://uuis.umich.edu/cic/buildingproject/index.cfm?BuildingID=90

UM Naval Engineering Education Center