“Our engineers support the finest ships at sea by solving complex engineering challenges every day,” said Bill Ermatinger, HII’s corporate vice president and chief human resources officer. “At BEYA, HII can not only celebrate the achievements of our current employees but also recruit top talent from colleges and universities across the nation. STEM is vital to every aspect of our business so we are proud to recruit and retain some of the best and brightest in the STEM fields.”

HII’s Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA) winners are:

William Cherry, an electrical engineer at Newport News. Cherry first came to Newport News through an engineering co-op program and has since worked on both new construction and overhaul of aircraft carriers with increasing levels of responsibility. Currently a member of the test engineering department, Cherry coordinates the processing and review of test data across multiple platforms. Cherry received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Old Dominion University.

Lonnie Dixon, a mechanical engineer at Newport News. Dixon is the project lead for the development and installation of air handlers commercial off-the-shelf equipment. He received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Old Dominion University and a master’s degree in engineering management from the George Washington University.

John German, an engineering manager at Newport News. German manages an engineering group at the Kenneth A. Kesselring site in West Milton, New York, that provides a sustained engineering presence in support of plant overhaul activities. He holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in physics from North Carolina A&T State University.

Russell Moore, an electrical engineer at Newport News. Moore is the lead engineer on several projects for the turbine generators aboard Nimitz­-class aircraft carriers. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Virginia Commonwealth University and is pursuing a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the George Washington University.

Leander “Skip” Taylor, a manager of quality trends and records at Ingalls. Taylor began his career with Ingalls at its Avondale site as a manufacturing engineer. In his current position, he leads a team that provides cost savings and process improvement for the company. Taylor received a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Mississippi State University.

Marion Thomas, an electrical engineer at Ingalls. Thomas currently works in the fleet support planning yard for combat systems and is responsible for overhaul, repair, modernization and maintenance of U.S. Navy ships. Thomas received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of South Alabama.

Christopher Ware, a nuclear engineer at Newport News. Ware is the night shift lead engineer supporting the inactivation of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65). Ware received a bachelor’s degree in physics from North Carolina A&T State University and a master’s degree in engineering management from the George Washington University.