NEW ORLEANS, May 6, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) and the University of New Orleans today announced that Dr. Clifford Whitcomb has accepted the Northrop Grumman Ship Systems Endowed Chair in Engineering and Shipbuilding at the University of New Orleans. Dr. Whitcomb fills the second of two UNO Endowed Chairs that the company committed $2 million to sponsor.
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Dr. Whitcomb brings a strong background in systems engineering to this position, which involves working with Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, the University of New Orleans' College of Engineering and other shipyards on various projects.
Dr. Whitcomb will participate in the continued development of courses and research in modern ship design, manufacturing and power systems. His appointment begins in the fall 2003 semester.
"Northrop Grumman Ship Systems is pleased to have such an outstanding scholar and engineer as Dr. Whitcomb join its ranks and bring valuable intellectual capital to the company," said Dr. Philip A. Dur, Northrop Grumman corporate vice president and president of the company's Ship Systems sector. "We look forward to collaborating with Dr. Whitcomb on mutually beneficial engineering and shipbuilding projects for years to come. We're proud to have him aboard as a vital member of our UNO - Northrop Grumman Ship Systems team."
Dr. Whitcomb joins the School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering faculty at UNO after working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he has been teaching courses in naval architecture and directing the MIT-United Technologies Corporation Systems Engineering Program since 2001. Dr. Whitcomb has completed research on many topics including a new product development framework for multidisciplinary systems, ship design and construction, the impact of subsystem technologies on system-level effectiveness parameters, and the applications of financial options theory to engineering decision making.
He earned a B.S.E. degree in Nuclear Engineering at the University of Washington, a Naval Engineer degree and S.M. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, and he earned his doctoral degree in Mechanical Engineering in Product Design and Development at the University of Maryland. He also has extensive U.S. Navy experience as program officer for Ship Structures and Systems Science and Technology Division and for Electrical Power Engineering Basic Research.
"The UNO College of Engineering is pleased to welcome Dr. Whitcomb to the School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering as the holder of the Northrop Grumman Ship Systems Endowed Chair in Engineering and Shipbuilding," said Dr. Russell E. Trahan, Jr., interim dean of UNO's College of Engineering. "Dr. Whitcomb brings a unique combination of academic, industry and government experience that will provide a tremendous benefit to UNO and Northrop Grumman. We are all excited to have him on board," Trahan added.
Dr. Whitcomb will work closely with Dr. Alley Butler, who became the first of two Northrop Grumman Ship Systems Endowed Chairs at UNO in 2001.
Northrop Grumman Ship Systems' primary operations are in New Orleans and Tallulah, La., and Pascagoula and Gulfport, Miss. The sector also has a network of fleet support offices in the U.S. and Japan. Ship Systems currently employs more than 18,000 shipbuilding professionals, primarily in Louisiana and Mississippi, is one of the nation's leading full service systems companies for the design, engineering, construction, and life cycle support of major surface ships for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and international navies, and for commercial vessels of all types.
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