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Jon Berry and Lisa Blodgett of the ����ֱ�� Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, were honored recently at the (NDIA) 2022 Undersea Warfare Fall Conference, held at the U.S. Naval Submarine Base in New London, Connecticut. Berry, APL’s Anti-Submarine Warfare program area manager, was awarded the Bronze medal, and Blodgett, head of APL’s Force Projection Sector (FPS), received the Vice Adm. Charles E. Weakley Award.

As the winner of NDIA’s Undersea Warfare Bronze medal, Berry was recognized for outstanding individual achievement in science or engineering in the field of undersea warfare. Berry’s experience includes active and passive acoustics, sonar system design and development, sonar performance modeling and test planning and execution. He currently leads development and evaluation of active capability across submarines, surface ships and surveillance platforms.

“Jon’s leadership in the undersea warfare community, and specific notable contributions in active acoustic technology development, make this a well-deserved honor,” said APL Sea Control Mission Area Executive Christopher Watkins. “He leads a dedicated cross-organizational working group to drive the future of active sonar capability across the fleet.”

Berry began his APL career more than 30 years ago as a systems engineer and has extensive experience on low frequency active (LFA) and compact low frequency active (CLFA) systems for U.S. Navy surveillance, delivering critical analysis to support development of towed-array sensor systems and LFA and CLFA programs. As program area manager for Anti-Submarine Warfare at APL, Berry guides a diverse portfolio of anti-submarine warfare efforts spanning exploratory science and technology through platform acquisition and modernization.

The Vice Adm. Charles E. Weakley Award is given annually by the Undersea Warfare Division to a distinguished individual for meritorious service and noteworthy contributions to effective government and industry communication in the field of undersea warfare. Blodgett is the second APL leader to receive the award since its inception in 1974.

“Lisa is innovative in every endeavor she leads,” said APL Director Ralph Semmel. “We are thrilled that she is being acknowledged by the technical community for her dedication and contributions to our nation’s defense.”

As the head of FPS, Blodgett oversees three mission areas focused on ensuring warfighter success. She has more than 30 years of experience in undersea warfare, including submarine warfare, anti-submarine warfare, mine warfare and the strategic deterrence mission of the SSBN force. As an expert in digital signal processing and passive sonar, she helped develop the capability to evaluate operational sonar systems in the Navy’s Advanced Processing Build/Acoustic Rapid COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) Insertion efforts.

“It’s an honor to contribute to the advancement of our nation’s defense,” said Blodgett. “These critical contributions benefit our service members, citizens and the country. I look forward to continuing this important work.”

Blodgett co-chairs the Submarine Technology Symposium and serves on the NDIA Undersea Warfare Division advisory council and Naval Submarine League board of directors. She is also member of the U.S. Strategic Command Strategic Advisory Group and chairs the Nuclear Command Control and Communications Task Force. She served on the Defense Science Board Task Force for Next-Generation Unmanned Undersea Systems and also served on the Submarine Superiority Technical Advisory Group. Before becoming sector head in 2015, Blodgett led APL’s Sea Control Mission Area.