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. 

James G. Renfro

Award: Harold E. Saunders Award
Year: 1998
Recipient:
Mr. James G. Renfro
Reason:
For his significant contribution to naval engineering as set forth in the following:

During his thirty-one years of service to the U. S. Navy, Mr. Renfro has consistently demonstrated the highest possible caliber of dedication, perseverance, leadership, engineering, and managerial skills. He has far exceeded even the most ambitious of his command objectives, while continuously performing his highly visible and increasingly responsible duties in a superb manner since his entry into the Senior Executive Service. He has consistently demonstrated superior competency, technical insight, and political acumen in support of both the Command and the Navy. From the very first system, POLARIS, to the most recent system, TRIDENT II, he has applied his personal devotion and extraordinary capability to the building and support of six generations of Navy submarine launched ballistic missile strategic weapons systems, as well as the creation and maintenance of the U.K.’s independent strategic deterrent system. He established the complex technical planning and performance requirements that were necessary for successful development, production, and deployment of the TRIDENT I (C-4) and TRIDENT II (D-5) missile subsystems. Since 1990, the TRIDENT II system has been deployed on 70 percent of the total U.S. Trident II submarines and the first two U.K. TRIDENT II submarines. The actual accuracy and reliability achieved in operational tests of these submarines have spectacularly surpassed original goals. Mr. Renfro’s achievements are of such significance that they will continue to positively affect the future defense of this country and the credibility of the U.S. and U.K. nuclear deterrent capabilities. It is a tribute to his skill, determination, and innovative leadership that these systems have been accorded unqualified praise by the highest government officials of both nations.

Mr. Renfro’s unique style of Total Quality Leadership has set a positive tone that encourages complete, meticulous execution across the full range of all major disciplines. His mastery of the complexities of technical program management is evidenced by deployed systems whose sustained quality, reliability and maintainability far exceed system goals. The extremely high demonstrated reliability of the systems has permitted Commander-in-Chief operational evaluation flight tests to be reduced by 75 percent a year at an annual savings of over $300 million.

Mr. Renfro has been a major force in the success of the FBM program throughout its history. He has been responsible for originating programs; managing design, development, test, and production programs; and phasing out programs both within the United States and the United Kingdom. He has directed, planned, organized, and managed contracts worth in excess of a billion dollars for design, development, flight test, production, and operational support of U.S. and U.K. missile subsystems. His efforts on the TRIDENT II program have earned him special recognition throughout the Department of the Navy. His many accomplishments through the years have been recognized as significant contributions to the Navy and the country. In many circles, when the phenomenal success of the FBM program is discussed, the name that always surfaces in Jim Renfro. For his exceptional career accomplishments in naval engineering, Mr. Renfro is most deserving of the Society’s Harold E. Saunders Award.