Three Newport News Shipbuilding employees were recognized for achievements in the science, technology, engineering and math fields during the 37th annual Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA) STEM Conference last week. The conference took place at the Gaylord Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.

Engineers Preshus Boone, Marcus Jackson and Ryan Jenkins received Modern-Day Technology Leader awards, which recognize efforts in shaping the future of engineering, science and technology.

Speaking during the awards presentation, NNS President Jennifer Boykin said the “power of diversity” is what allows the company to accomplish challenging and complex work.

“Our backgrounds, experiences and even our personalities influence our perspectives. It is this diversity that enables us to engineer, build and overhaul the most complex ships on earth. We innovate and we transform when we embrace all that is different and I’m excited to share that we’re experiencing a transformation across our business today,” she said.

HII President and CEO Chris Kastner also attended the conference.

Additionally, for the first time at BEYA, NNS displayed workforce training capabilities. Using the shipyard’s Digital Shipbuilding Mobile Experience (MX) trailer, BEYA attendees were able to experience first-hand tools being used by shipbuilders. Attendees experienced the visual work instructions on tablets, welding simulator, unmanned craft modelling and simulation, submarine engineering, and virtual reality and augmented reality.