ASNE will formally present the award to Cooper during the organization’s ASNE Multi-Agency Craft Conference on June 27-28.

“I’m extremely proud to recognize Ms. Cooper for her award for lifetime achievement,” said Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Lorin Selby. “During her career at the Office of Naval Research, she has been instrumental in creating and implementing programs of consequence around ship design — as demonstrated by her research portfolio that has had a positive impact on universities, companies and governments around the world.”

In Cooper’s award citation, ASNE stated:

“The course of naval ship design in the United States … has been steered by Ms. Cooper through the contacts she has fostered, the research she has sponsored, the work she has accomplished, the students she has funded and the many professionals she has mentored. Her expertise and vision have guided and enriched the community and will continue to inspire the next generation for many years to come as we enjoy the fruits of her educational and enrichment efforts.”

For her part, Cooper is reminded of a quote she saw at a Florida exhibit honoring tennis champion Althea Gibson (the first African American to win a Grand Slam title): “No matter what accomplishments you achieve, somebody helped you.”  

“On this occasion, I would love to acknowledge, in full measure and vivid detail, all the people who helped me over my career, but I cannot,” said Cooper. “My list would be too long, their individual contributions too numerous. I can only say, in the spirit of the inimitable Ms. Gibson, that they all must share this prestigious award because they chose to help me, often, when I needed it the most.”

The Harold E. Saunders Award, presented annually since 1977, honors individuals whose reputation in naval engineering spans a long career of notable accomplishments and influence.

Nominees must have demonstrated productivity, growth and outstanding achievements in engineering over the years. They also must have earned wide recognition from their peers — and the broader naval engineering community — as leaders in their fields.

“Ms. Cooper’s selection as the Captain Harold E. Saunders Award recipient embodies the standard of professionalism and dedication set by the namesake of the award,” said Dale Lumme, ASNE executive director and a retired Navy captain. “This lifetime achievement award is the most prestigious recognition ASNE provides, because it represents the ultimate wide recognition by peers as a leader in the field, and acknowledgment of a long, successful and impactful career.”

Since joining ONR in 2004, Cooper has been consistently innovative in overseeing programs focusing on ship design concepts, tool development, automation, visualization and decision making, survivability, computational capability and more.

“ONR is a wonderful place to work,” she said, “and being a program officer is the best job in the building. The task of managing a portfolio of basic research is rewarding and the position is largely what you make of it — you’re limited only by your imagination and ambition. Also, the status of ONR within the research community opened many doors for me in academia, industry and other Navy and Tri-Service organizations.”

Cooper began her career with the Department of Defense in 1996, when she joined the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division. She would become the inaugural executive director of the Center for Innovation in Ship Design, a national collaboration of government, academia and industry with the mission of ensuring the future capability of the nation to develop innovative ship designs to effectively meet defense needs.

One of the most satisfying aspects of Cooper’s career has been her efforts to create programs to improve the quality of STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education, especially in naval and marine sciences, in order to engage more students at K-12 schools and at the undergraduate and graduate student levels. These programs include the “RoboSeries” competitions — RoboBoat, RoboSub and RobotX — in which students design and build unmanned vehicles.

“I’m extremely gratified when I meet someone working for a Navy lab, who tells me they participated in one of these competitions,” said Cooper. “It’s my way of helping to ensure the Department of the Navy has an adequate supply of researchers, scientists and engineers — and support ONR’s mission of providing superior science and technology in naval research.”

Learn more about ASNE and the Harold E. Saunders Award for Lifetime Achievement at https://www.navalengineers.org/Awards/Annual-Awards/Harold-E-Saunders-Award-Lifetime-Achievement.

Warren Duffie Jr. is a contractor for ONR Corporate Strategic Communications.