The David W. Taylor Medal

THE DAVID W. TAYLOR MEDAL

Notable Achievement in Naval Architecture and/or Marine Engineering

Barry Tibbitts | Retired

Barry Tibbitts has decades of experience in all aspects of naval engineering in both submarines and surface ships. He received a BS from the U.S. Naval Academy and MSME and Naval Engineer degrees from MIT. As a line officer he earned both surface and submarine warfare qualifications. In his last industrial assignment he was Deputy for Submarines at SUPSHIP Pascagoula overseeing the construction, refueling, or overhaul of nine nuclear attack submarines. He commanded the David Taylor Research Center - with a staff of 2700 it included major facilities at Carderock and Annapolis, and seven field activities. He played a key role in gaining approval for the Large Cavitation Channel. He was twice Director of the NAVSEA Ship Design Group for a total of six years – major designs included CG47/52, DDG51, and SSN21. He was Chairman of NG6, the NATO Ship Design Group, for ten years. He retired statutorily but was recalled to active duty to serve as Professor of Naval Construction and Engineering at MIT.

Barry Tibbitts is a Fellow of SNAME and an Honorary Life Member of ASNE. He authored chapters in four books (two published by SNAME) and has published over 30 technical papers. He received “best paper of the year” awards from ASNE (2018) and SNAME (2019) and he led three SNAME webinars in 2020. He is a recipient of ASNE’s CAPT Saunders Award for lifetime achievements in naval engineering and is an Associate Editor of the Naval Engineers Journal. He was an Adjunct Professor at both Virginia Tech and Stevens Institute of Technology and lectured on ship design integration each summer at MIT for 25 years.

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

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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