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NAVAIR employee named top Navy engineer for 2010

  • Published
  • By Tom Worsdale
  • Naval Air Systems Command Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  Michael Doyle, lead Electro-Magnetics technologist for the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System Program at Naval Air Systems Command at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst has been chosen as one of the "2010 Top Scientists and Engineers of the Year" for the U.S. Navy.

In a July 15 ceremony held at the Pentagon, Doyle was singled out for his role as the Navy's leading expert in high energy, high power electromagnetic systems as they relate to launching and recovering aircraft. In 2010, his efforts were integral in the Navy's first historic launch of an aircraft utilizing the EMALS system at Lakehurst.

According to Sean Stackley, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, in presenting the award he stated, "your technical excellence is outstanding and the payoff of your achievements to the Department of the Navy is significant."

The EMALS system, along with the Advanced Arresting Gear program, which have both been in research, development, production and now testing at Lakehurst, are the critical technologies leading a new era of naval aviation that will enable aircraft to more safely and efficiently launch and recover aboard ships at sea.

The Navy's current steam catapults and hydraulic arresting gear engines reflect the technology of the 1950's. Largely through the vision and technical leadership of Doyle, the Navy is addressing a major need for high powered electromagnetic technologies to support the next generation of aircraft carrier - the Gerald R. Ford class, which will deploy in 2015.

Doyle is often called upon to provide his opinion on these concepts, to discuss the risks associated with them and to postulate on their operational value. According to his supervisor, Robert Rossi, "in many instances, Mike's opinion has become the U.S. Navy's opinion. He is the go-to expert, whose nuanced insight and inspired innovation is a leading force driving the vision of electromagnetic technology in support of naval aviation."

Additionally, Doyle has contributed his technical guidance to the AAG program by helping define limitations and suggesting system configurations that will enhance the development of the program. He has also authored several technical papers on the application of linear motor technology as it applies to aircraft launch and recovery.

He was recently the keynote speaker at the International Electric Machine and Drives Conference sponsored by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Also this year, Doyle assisted NASA with their single stage to orbit launch assist program. As an international expert in his field, he was asked to support the United Kingdom's electromagnetic catapult test program.

Throughout Doyle's career with the NAVAIR, which began in 1988 at Lakehurst, he has demonstrated an unfailing commitment to the Navy's mission. As a result of his unparalleled knowledge and leadership, the Navy is preparing to institute ground-breaking technology in the form of electromagnetic launch and recovery of aircraft from ships at sea, a technology that will carry the Navy through the 21st century.

In receiving the award, Doyle stated, "I am extremely honored in being selected to receive this award. I am truly accepting it as a representative of the entire EMALS team that has worked so hard for so many years to bring the concept of electromagnetic to a reality for the Navy. They are an incredibly talented group of people, and I am humbled to be a part of their success."