Wm. Howard Thomas II B.S. Mathematics, Northeast Louisiana University, 1983 M.S. Applied Mathematics, Naval Postgraduate School,  1992 Mathematician, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren

Since 1982, my educational and professional careers have revolved around the United States Navy. Having been recruited into the Nuclear Propulsion Program as a junior, I reported for training and commissioning as a naval officer upon graduation in 1983. This was followed by a year of intense training on naval nuclear reactors. My mathematical study got me through heat transfer, fluid dynamics, and a host of other subject areas in preparation for going to sea as an engineer. Mathematics was part of my daily life through a complex overhaul of USS MISSISSIPPI and the maiden deployment of USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT. During my 12-year career, I was privileged to attend the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. To this day, I remain impressed with both the caliber of the faculty and the variety of mathematics I encountered there. After a final tour of duty on USS ANTRIM, I returned to school to begin doctoral work. When I had completed my coursework, the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Virginia extended an offer to work on a project that was too intriguing to pass up. My current work involves modeling and simulation using cutting edge tools and systems. Mathematics has been both a focus and an enabler throughout my life. The world becomes clearer through mathematical lenses. While I have yet to revisit some of the subject areas I studied in school, every one of those courses and the professors who delivered them contributed to my success.  Soli Deo Gloria