PHOTO RELEASE--10 Huntington Ingalls Industries Employees Honored at Black Engineer of the Year Award STEM Conference

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., Feb. 9, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Huntington Ingalls Industries HII announced today that 10 employees from its Newport News Shipbuilding and Ingalls Shipbuilding divisions were recognized for achievements in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields during the 29^th annual Black Engineer of the Year Award STEM Global Competitiveness Conference. The conference took place Feb. 5-7 at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, D.C.

"STEM is vital to every aspect of our business, whether we're designing and constructing ships, supporting environmental remediation or engineering the design of an oil pipeline," said Bill Ermatinger, HII's corporate vice president and chief human resources officer. "HII is a proud sponsor of the BEYA Conference because of its extensive support for STEM in schools and in the workplace. We're proud of our hard-working engineers who lead our company in STEM innovation, so we celebrate and congratulate them on this achievement."

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

John Banks, an electrical engineer at Newport News. He has held several positions in the reactor services department, working with aircraft carriers' AC power distribution and ventilation systems during the ships' refueling. Banks received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering technology from Old Dominion University.

Brandon Booker, a nuclear engineer in the nuclear propulsion, construction and process engineering department at Newport News. In this role, he has acted as lead engineer for a number of projects on the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), which is currently under construction. Booker has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Old Dominion University.

Dannon Butts, a quality engineering manager at Ingalls. During his 13 years with the shipyard, Butts has served in roles of increasing responsibility in the operations and quality departments. Currently, he leads a team that acts as a liaison between Ingalls' functional areas and the company's customers to improve quality performance. He holds both a bachelor's and master's degree in industrial engineering from Mississippi State University.

C. Mike Jones, a mechanical engineer at Newport News. Jones began in the shipyard's project planning department by supporting the refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). He currently is the propulsion engineering lead for fleet support work on USS Harry Truman (CVN 75). Jones received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Virginia.

Malcom Jones, a systems engineer who works in the strategy, architecture and engineering department at Newport News, which provides strategic direction for IT architecture activities. Jones received a bachelor's degree in computer engineering and master's degree in computer science from Christopher Newport University.

Anthony Norton Jr., a nuclear engineer in Newport News' nuclear propulsion, construction and process engineering department. He is responsible for providing second-shift support for all nuclear systems in the propulsion plant on Gerald R. Ford. Norton received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech and has a master's degree in pastoral counseling.

David Orie, a design engineering manager at Newport News. He began as a marine design apprentice and is currently responsible for overseeing the design and development of nuclear propulsion drawings used in overhaul engineering. He has been the lead of many department-driven initiatives, including design integration and standardization.

Derrick Scott, an engineering manager for Ingalls' planning yard, overseeing the life-cycle engineering of the Spruance-class (DD 963) destroyers, Ticonderoga-class (CG 47) guided-missile cruisers and San Antonio-class (LPD 17) amphibious transport docks. Scott received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Auburn University and has worked at Ingalls for 27 years.

Tavarius Urquhart, an electrical engineer working on carrier construction at Newport News. As a systems lead, he oversees the design, environmental qualification, installation and testing of three interior communication systems on Gerald R. Ford. Urquhart received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering technology from Old Dominion University and holds a master's degree in management from Cambridge College.

Jenell Webb, a systems test engineer at Newport News who acts as the program manager of the shipyard's engineering mentorship program. He previously worked as the chief test engineer for submarine hull, mechanical and electrical test repair availabilities. Webb received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering technology from Old Dominion University and has graduate certificates in systems engineering and engineering management from ODU and the George Washington University.

Photos accompanying this release are available at: http://newsroom.huntingtoningalls.com/releases/beya-2015-honorees.

Huntington Ingalls Industries is America's largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of manufacturing, engineering and management services to the commercial and non-commercial oil, gas and energy markets. For more than a century, HII's Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. Headquartered in Newport News, Va., HII employs approximately 38,000 people operating both domestically and internationally. For more information, visit:

• HII on the web: www.huntingtoningalls.com
• HII on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HuntingtonIngallsIndustries
• HII on Twitter: twitter.com/hiindustries