There were LED lights, parachutes, hovercrafts and slime. Naval aviators, physicists, doctors and archeologists, oh my!

On March 30, Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division hosted 140 middle school girls and over 50 volunteers from the command and surrounding community for the 18th annual Expanding Your Horizons Conference in China Lake, California.

Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division employees were recognized for their innovative achievements and outstanding contributions during the command’s first NAWCWD Innovation Awards ceremony April 9 at China Lake.

Teammates from China Lake and Point Mugu were recognized in five categories and presented with awards designed and constructed by members of the Engineer and Scientist Development Program within one of NAWCWD’s Innovation LaunchPad maker space locations.

Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division hosted more than 650 industry and government electronic warfare leaders from the United States for the 48th Annual Collaborative Electronic Warfare Symposium held April 2-4 at Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, California.

The annual symposium, hosted by NAWCWD under a co-sponsorship agreement with the Association of Old Crows, focuses on collaboration in the world of electronic warfare. Briefs are held at the classified level, allowing attendees to have more in-depth discussions than they could have in a regular meeting environment.

The Naval Air Systems Command Leadership Development Program and Journey Leadership Development Program gained three new graduates from Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division Point Mugu during a ceremony March 28.

NAVAIR recognized 68 JLDP graduates and 70 from NLDP in the commandwide ceremony.  

Twenty candidates came from as far away as Kentucky to participate in Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division’s annual recruiting event for individuals with disabilities and wounded warriors held March 5 and 7 in Point Mugu and China Lake, California.

The invitation-only event matches pre-registered candidates with hiring managers for on-site interviews for available positions with NAWCWD.

Dan Carreño, director of the Weapons and Energetics Department, welcomed China Lake candidates.

“There are plenty of examples how biology has made superior materials,” said Dr. Patrick Rose, science director for Synthetic Biology at the Office of Naval Research Global. “For example, spider silk for its elasticity or nacre in sea shells for its strength and toughness. Synthetic biology is a technology platform that allows scientists to apply engineering principles to re-engineer biological processes and make desired products from such amazing natural features.”

Seven Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division teammates were honored as the first cohort to complete the Naval Postgraduate School’s accredited Applied Trajectory Optimization Certificate program during a ceremony Jan. 31 at China Lake.

What could you build in two hours with spaghetti noodles and some epoxy?

If you were the winner of this year’s Tri-Warfare Center Middle School Challenge held Feb. 21 at Naval Base Ventura County in Point Mugu, California, you might build a bridgehead that can support more than 200 times its own weight.

Out of the 75 nominees up for Naval Air Systems Command’s 2018 Mentors of the Year, Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division’s Dwayne Heinsma received that honor at China Lake during a Jan. 31 NAVAIRwide ceremony. Dominic Priestly was recognized as the Mentor of the Year at NAWCWD Point Mugu.

We should all be so lucky as to work with Dominic Priestley; at least, that’s what his mentees say.

And it would seem others agree. Priestley was honored Jan. 31 as the Naval Air Systems Command’s Mentor of the Year for Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division in Point Mugu, California.