NAWCAD Lakehurst selects Federal Engineer of the Year Award winner

Published Feb. 25, 2014
By Tom Worsdale
NAVAIR Public Affairs

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Lakehurst at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., selected Andrew L. Imperiale as its agency winner for this year's Federal Engineer of the Year Award (FEYA), sponsored by the Professional Engineers in Government (PEG) interest group of the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE).

Imperiale and 23 winners from other federal agencies were invited to attend the awards ceremony on Feb. 20 at the National Press Club in Washington.

Imperiale is a licensed Professional Engineer and a senior mechanical analyst at NAVAIR's Lakehurst site where he performs design and analysis work for a wide range of Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment.

Quoting Ford Motor Company's 1980s slogan, "Quality is job 1," Imperiale said he sees his role as ensuring that best product is provided to the fleet. "We are able to put out a better design and give the fleet confidence in the equipment they are using from a performance and safety standpoint," said Imperiale.

His work is often divided into two main categories: hands-on engineering work (such as Finite Element Analysis) and checking and verifying analyses performed by contractors and less seasoned engineers. "Every job is always a little bit different," said Imperiale, who said that he enjoys the challenge and variety in each task.

One of his most significant achievements to-date was his design and analysis work of a new aircraft steam catapult steam spreader/launch bar interface.

The previous design of the spreader nose contour was causing the launch bar to stick to the spreader, and giving the false impression of a proper attachment when, in fact, it was not properly connecting the aircraft's nose gear to the catapult. Since the launch bar would not "click in," as Imperiale described it, there was the potential that the launch bar wouldn't disengage or provide the full thrust for the catapult event, which could result in aircraft loss.

Imperiale developed a new geometry for the launch bar interface and used computer-aided FEA to aid him in proving the new design's superiority over the existing design. His new design forces the launch bar to either seat firmly in the spreader throat or "pop out" all together.

Outside of work and in his spare time, Imperiale is an Outdoor Adventure Leader for the Monmouth County Park System where he leads hiking trips and runs cross-country ski clinics. He also volunteers as a coach for his son's basketball team.