October 12, 2022

Johns Hopkins APL Experts Recognized by Undersea Warfare Community

Berry, Blodgett Honored for Critical Leadership, Technical Contributions

Jon Berry and Lisa Blodgett of the Johns Hopkins
Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, were honored
recently at the National Defense Industrial Association
(NDIA) 2022 Undersea Warfare Fall Conference, held at the U.S. Naval
Submarine Base in New London, Connecticut. Berry, APL’s Anti-Submarine
Warfare program area manager, was awarded the Bronze medal, and
Blodgett, head of APL’s Force Projection Sector (FPS), received the
Vice Adm. Charles E. Weakley Award.

As the winner of NDIA’s Undersea Warfare Bronze medal,
Berry was recognized for outstanding individual achievement in science
or engineering in the field of undersea warfare. Berry’s experience
includes active and passive acoustics, sonar system design and
development, sonar performance modeling and test planning and
execution. He currently leads development and evaluation of active
capability across submarines, surface ships and surveillance platforms.

“Jon’s leadership in the undersea warfare community,
and specific notable contributions in active acoustic technology
development, make this a well-deserved honor,” said APL Sea Control
Mission Area Executive Christopher Watkins. “He leads a dedicated
cross-organizational working group to drive the future of active sonar
capability across the fleet.”

Berry began his APL career more than 30 years ago as a
systems engineer and has extensive experience on low frequency active
(LFA) and compact low frequency active (CLFA) systems for U.S. Navy
surveillance, delivering critical analysis to support development of
towed-array sensor systems and LFA and CLFA programs. As program area
manager for Anti-Submarine Warfare at APL, Berry guides a diverse
portfolio of anti-submarine warfare efforts spanning exploratory
science and technology through platform acquisition and modernization.

The Vice Adm. Charles E. Weakley Award is given
annually by the Undersea Warfare Division to a distinguished individual
for meritorious service and noteworthy contributions to effective
government and industry communication in the field of undersea warfare.
Blodgett is the second APL leader to receive the award since its
inception in 1974.

“Lisa is innovative in every endeavor she leads,” said
APL Director Ralph Semmel. “We are thrilled that she is being
acknowledged by the technical community for her dedication and
contributions to our nation’s defense.”

As the head of FPS, Blodgett oversees three mission
areas focused on ensuring warfighter success. She has more than
30 years of experience in undersea warfare, including submarine warfare,
anti-submarine warfare, mine warfare and the strategic deterrence
mission of the SSBN force. As an expert in digital signal processing
and passive sonar, she helped develop the capability to evaluate
operational sonar systems in the Navy’s Advanced Processing
Build/Acoustic Rapid COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) Insertion efforts.

“It’s an honor to contribute to the advancement of our
nation’s defense,” said Blodgett. “These critical contributions benefit
our service members, citizens and the country. I look forward to
continuing this important work.”

Blodgett co-chairs the Submarine Technology Symposium
and serves on the NDIA Undersea Warfare Division advisory council and
Naval Submarine League board of directors. She is also member of the
U.S. Strategic Command Strategic Advisory Group and chairs the Nuclear
Command Control and Communications Task Force. She served on the
Defense Science Board Task Force for Next-Generation Unmanned Undersea
Systems and also served on the Submarine Superiority Technical Advisory
Group. Before becoming sector head in 2015, Blodgett led APL’s Sea
Control Mission Area.

Media contact:
Katie Kerrigan, 240-761-9046, Katie.Kerrigan@jhuapl.edu

The Applied Physics Laboratory, a not-for-profit
division of The Johns Hopkins University, meets critical national
challenges through the innovative application of science and technology.
For more information, visit www.jhuapl.edu.