Fred Brown (E42) received the Expert Mass Properties Engineer Certification, the highest level of certification awarded by the Society of Allied Weight Engineers (SAWE), on Dec. 1. He is one of only six within the international community at this level.

Bill Boze (O40), SAWE executive director, presented Brown’s certification. The certification exam consisted of 75 questions with a duration of two hours. Brown has performed mass property calculations in E42 for 23 years, spanning carrier lift weights, Nimitz- and Ford-class new construction weights, Los Angeles– and Columbia-class submarines and Internal Research and Development (IRAD).

Asked why he pursued this experience, Brown replied, “It offered me a unique challenge to test my all-around knowledge of the discipline. The training and exam went into areas I don’t get involved with in the shipyard, such as aircraft weighing and very detailed moment of inertia calculations. I’ve completed training in operations management and project management, but this certification program is more directly tied to the work I do every day, so I felt it was important for my professional growth.”