DHi Director Honored at UK Naval Engineering Conference

DHi Director Honored at UK Naval Engineering Conference

Manassas, Virginia (March 23, 2006) —. Rick Hepburn, DHi's Director of Naval Engineering, recently returned to the U.S. from London, UK, where he participated in the World Maritime Technology Conference held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Westminster from March 6-10. This prestigious event, which welcomed distinguished naval engineers and architects from around the globe, was hosted by the UK's Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology.

Captain Hepburn (USN, Ret.), who currently serves as President of the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE), co-chaired a panel presentation and discussion on power systems and propulsion with Chief Marine Engineer (Electrical) Paul Norton of the UK's Defence Logistics Organisation. Topics included "Lessons learnt from modeling an integrated electrical propulsion system," "Link converters for quality of power supply—the reality," and "Advanced marine electrical power system behaviour under severe disturbances."

Captain and Mrs. Hepburn were honored by being seated at the President's Table for the 103rd Annual Dinner and WMTC Conference Dinner which was held at the Grosvenor House, Park Lane, on March 10.

The world's leading expert on naval drydocking, Captain Hepburn was awarded his Master of Science degree by MIT in 1988, with a focus on Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. He was also awarded a Naval Engineering degree by MIT in the same year, and is a graduate of the Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) Advanced Program Management Course. His recent book, History of American Naval Dry Docks: A Key Ingredient to a Maritime Power inspired a History Channel documentary on the subject.

Captain Hepburn’s Naval career began at the United States Naval Academy, from which he was graduated in 1976 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Ocean Engineering and an Ensign’s commission. He and his wife Debby reside in Manassas, Virginia. They have three children, Scott, Samantha, and Eric.