1423 Powhatan St., Suite 1
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
Phone (703) 836-6727
Fax (703) 836-7491
Email: asnehq@navalengineers.org

 

ASNE is the leading professional engineering society for engineers, scientists and allied professionals who conceive, design, develop, test, construct, outfit, operate and maintain complex naval and maritime ships, submarines and aircraft and their associated systems and subsystems.  ASNE also serves the educators who train the professionals, researchers who develop related technology, and students who are preparing for the profession.  Society activities provide support for the U.S. Navy; U.S. Coast Guard; U.S. Marine Corps; U.S. Merchant Marine and U.S. Army.

ASNE is the seventh oldest technical society in the United States.  It was founded in 1888 by a group of naval engineering pioneers, most of them officers of the U.S. Navy's Engineering Corps, who sought a unified approach to their profession in order to make the most of new advances in technology. The purposes of ASNE are:           

  • to advance the knowledge and practice of naval engineering in public and private applications and operations,
  • to enhance the professionalism and well-being of members, and
  • to promote naval engineering as a career field.

For 125 years, the Society’s objectives have been strengthened and preserved to meet the changing needs of a time-honored profession. Today ASNE conducts a variety of technical meetings and symposia, publishes the highly regarded Naval Engineers Journal and a number of other technical proceedings and publications, and fosters professional development and technical information exchange through technical committees, local section activities and cooperative efforts with government organizations and other professional societies.

The Society's annual meeting, ASNE Day, is typically held in February of each year in the Washington, DC, area. The meeting features major addresses by high level industry and government leaders and panel discussions by leading members of the profession.  It also includes presentation and discussion of technical papers on a variety of timely naval engineering topics, presentation of the Society's prestigious annual awards and a large exposition with government and industry exhibits covering the full spectrum of naval engineering technology. ASNE Day is highlighted by the Society’s annual Honors Gala, attended by hundreds of executives and senior managers from both government and industry.

Our website is designed to not only serve our members, but also to support scholars, students and others interested in the varied field of naval engineering.  We welcome your suggestions on ways we can improve your experience. 

LCDR John H. "Huntley" Boyd, Jr., USN (Ret.)

Award: Gold Medal Award
Year: 1966
Recipient:
LCDR John H. "Huntley" Boyd, Jr., USN (Ret.)
Reason:
For his significant contribution to naval engineering as set forth in the following CITATION:

For exceptionally outstanding contributions to the field of naval engineering in connection with the improvement of U.S. Navy ship salvage capabilities. Over the past five years LCDR John Boyd has directed the salvage of twenty-five ships or craft aggregating more than ninety-nine thousand displacement tons.

From 11 November to 13 December 1962, following typhoon Karen the largest salvage operation since World War II was completed in Apra Harbor, Guam, under the direction of LCDR Boyd. In May 1964 as the Seventh Fleet Salvage Officer LCDR Boyd directed the successful salvage and removal of USNS CARD after it had been left in a flooded and sinking condition by Viet Cong terrorists at its berth in Saigon.

From 19 July to 24 August 1965 LCDR Boyd participated in the salvage of USS FRANK KNOX (DDR 142) which had grounded on Pratas Reef in the South China Sea. In the face of a tropical storm which began the second day of the operation, he successfully directed the efforts which prevented the ship from beaching. As a result of the structural damage sustained, bottom compartments for half the ship’s length were holed and flooded. Faced with one of the greatest salvage challenges he directed the first large scale Navy use of underwater cast in place foam flotation material and thereby de-watered a sufficient number of flooded compartments to float the destroyer.

In other salvage operations LCDR Boyd proved the advantage of using heavy lift craft which resulted in the Navy’s lease and purchase of a number of such craft. By successfully combining a naval engineering/naval architecture background with the practical aspects of stability, seamanship, diving and rigging, LCDR Boyd through his technical ingenuity and leadership has made an outstanding contribution to ship salvage and the field of naval engineering.