The David W. Taylor Medal

THE DAVID W. TAYLOR MEDAL

Notable Achievement in Naval Architecture and/or Marine Engineering

Thomas C. Fu | Office of Naval Research

Dr. Thomas Fu is the head of the Sea Warfare and Weapons Department of the Office of Naval Research. He oversees a broad range of basic and applied research and advanced technology development programs covering naval power systems; advanced materials and manufacturing; platform survivability, sustainment, performance, and autonomy; and undersea weaponry; with an annual budget of over $600 million.

Previously to his time at ONR, he held a number of positions at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division, including Deputy Head of the Naval Architecture & Engineering Department and Head of the Resistance & Propulsion Division.

Dr. Fu earned a B.S. in ocean engineering from Purdue University; a Masters in physical oceanography from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego; and a Doctorate in mechanical engineering from Johns Hopkins University. He has been a Visiting Scholar at George Washington University and adjunct faculty member at the University of Maryland, Oregon State University and George Washington University.

He was the 2012 Asian-American Engineer of the Year, Chinese Institute of Engineers-USA and is an American Society of Mechanical Engineers Fellow. He currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the SNAME Journal of Ship Research.

About The David W. Taylor Medal
Taylor Medalists

About The David W. Taylor Medal

The David W. Taylor Medal is for "Notable Achievement in Naval Architecture and/or Marine Engineering".

It was established by the Executive Committee in 1935 in honor of its namesake and first recipient, Rear Admiral David Watson Taylor.

Rear Admiral David W. Taylor, a Past President of SNAME, is known as “the father of American ship research”. He is internationally recognized for his “…outstanding achievements in naval architecture and marine engineering, for revolutionary results of persistent research in hull design, for improvements in many types of warships and airships, and for distinguished service as Chief Constructor of the United States Navy during World War I.” *

The award title is "The David W. Taylor Medal." The medal will be made of gold-plated bronze approximately 2 1/2 inches (6.25 cm) in diameter, one side to show likeness of Rear Admiral Taylor, the other side to show an inscription of award. Eligibility for the medal need not be limited to membership in SNAME. The proposal for award may be made by a member of SNAME in good standing.

The selection of the nominee for the medal shall be made by the Awards Committee of SNAME. The nomination by the Committee and final award by the Council will require a two-thirds vote of the Committee. Notification of the award will be made prior to the SNAME Maritime Convention (formerly the Annual Meeting) and the medal will be presented with suitable ceremonies at the SNAME Maritime Convention or at such time as the President of SNAME may arrange. The medal may be awarded annually.

*A Half Century of Maritime Technology 1946-1993, SNAME, 1993

Taylor Medalists

2023 Thomas C. Fu

2022 Barry Tibbitts

1980 Peter M. Palermo*

2021 David Andrews

2019 Jeffrey J. Hough

2018 Frederick Stern

2017 John C. Daidola

2016 Dracos Vassalos

2015 Donald Blount*

2014 Howard Fireman

2013 Jeom Kee Paik

2012 Kirsi K. Tikka

2011 Armin W. Troesch

2010 Peter Tang-Jensen

2009 Joseph P. Fischer

2008 Bruce L. Hutchison

2007 Hans G. Payer

2006 Edward N. Comstock

2005 Robert G. Allan

2004 Donald Liu

2003 Robert G. Keane, Jr.

2002 R. Keith Michel

2001 Peter A. Gale

2000 Thomas G. Lang

1999 Robert J. Scott

1998 Thomas S. Winslow

1997 George R. Knight, Jr.*

1996 Roy L. Harrington

1995 John W. Boylston

1994 Robert P. Giblon*

1993 Harry A. Jackson*

1992 Justin E. Kerwin*

1991 Douglas Faulkner*

1990 Lorenzo Spinelli

1989 Clark Graham

1988 Lawrence R. Glosten*

1987 John B. Caldwell

1986 Robert N. Herbert*

1985 J. Randolph Paulling, Jr.*

1984 Jan D. Van Manen*

1983 Jens T. Holm*

1982 Jacques B. Hadler*

1981 Erwin Carl Rohde*

1979 Philip F. Spaulding*

1977 James J. Henry*

1976 Harry Benford*

1975 James B. Robertson, Jr.*

1974 Roger E. M. Brard*

1973 Jerome L. Goldman*

1972 John R. Kane*

1971 Phillip Eisenberg*

1970 Ludwig C. Hoffmann*

1969 Douglas C. MacMillan*

1968 Matthew G. Forrest*

1967 Wilson D. Leggett, Jr.*

1966 Richard B. Couch*

1965 John P. Comstock*

1964 Henry A. Schade*

1963 Arthur D. Gatewood*

1962 Charles D. Wheelock*

1961 Mark L. Ireland, Jr.*

1960 Glenn B. Warren*

1959 Olin J. Stephens, II*

1958 John C. Niedermair*

1957 David P. Brown*

1956 Andrew I. McKee*

1955 Kenneth S.M. Davidson*

1954 Edwin L. Stewart*

1953 John E. Burkhardt*

1951 C. Richard Waller*

1950 Harold E. Saunders*

1949 George G. Sharp*

1948 Earle W. Mills*

1947 David Arnott*

1946 William Francis Gibbs*

1945 Edward L. Cochrane*

1943 William Hovgaard*

1942 Samuel M. Robinson*

1940 John F. Metten*

1939 Hugo P. Frear*

1938 W. L. R. Emmet*

1936 David Watson Taylor*

Medals & Awards Guidelines

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