News and Events

We attended the Naval Station Norfolk 2024 Fleet Fest on Thursday, October 17, 2024. With the support of the Naval Station Norfolk Fire Department, we successfully set up our Aquatraks, the yellow portable mini towing tanks, just in time to welcome 6th graders from Portsmouth Public Schools. Students had the opportunity to design and test devices to transport cargo across…

The ASNE Tidewater Section generously awarded a $1,000 STEM grant to support VDMC’s upcoming Digital Ship Challenge. Chapter Chair Ken Blair and Treasurer Chuck Doty visited the ODU Virginia Modeling, Analysis, & Simulation Center (VMASC) building to present the grant to our Curriculum Coordinator, Jennifer Renne. This funding will directly benefit the participating teams in this year’s competition, which focuses…

VDMC was honored to be recognized at Chesapeake’s Grassfield High School Partnership Meeting and Appreciation Breakfast. We are incredibly thankful for the opportunity to collaborate and provide valuable experiences for their students, from field trips to see our labs and 3D printers, to the ModSimWorld Conference and Expo, and chances to connect with project scientists. Hearing how these experiences have…

Virginia Digital Maritime Center (VDMC) team members attended the National Naval Officers Association and the Association of Naval Service Officers 6th Annual Youth STEM Day at the USCG Base Portsmouth. Students in grades 7-12 spent the day at the Coast Guard Base Portmouth for STEM Day where they did hands-on activities including an underwater robotics exhibit, Newport News Shipbuilding’s MX…

Summer camp students at Lambert’s Point Community Center enjoyed a visit from the Virginia Digital Maritime Center (VDMC) on Aug. 1. The students designed a vessel to take their duck cargo across the ocean using Sphero Bolts. They also had to design a submarine and then a simple machine system that would raise and lower their submarine for repairs. There…

Representatives from our team (Jessica Galassie, MBA and Darryl (Deri) Draper-Amason, Ph.D.) attended the NATIONAL TRAINING & SIMULATION ASSOCIATION (NTSA) 2024 Training and Simulation Industry Symposium (TSIS), gaining invaluable insights from the USMC, US Navy, US Army, and USAF teams during their training programs, addressing various needs, gaps, and missions. NTSA remains at the forefront of innovation, uniting government, academia,…

The Defense Leadership Forum (DLF) offered its fifth annual “Navy Contracting Summit” here in Norfolk, 11 – 12 June, to a maritime audience of about 400 industry principals. Highlights included keynotes by Navy Office of Small Business Programs head Arveice Washington and CAPT Ben Miller, Vice-Commander of NAVFAC – Atlantic – both of whom noted the improvement portents of the…

Virginia Digital Maritime Center – Member Spotlight The Virginia Digital Maritime Center (VDMC) leverages expertise from Old Dominion University, industry, and state and federal agencies to advance the maritime workforce and drive economic growth in Hampton Roads, Virginia. Utilizing applied research and cutting-edge technologies, VDMC mitigates workforce and supply chain gaps across the defense industrial base (DIB), with a focus…

By Joy Vann Old Dominion University received approval from the Virginia Board of Education on April 25 to establish lab schools with Newport News Public Schools (NNPS) and Chesapeake Public Schools (CPS) to prepare students for work in the computer science and maritime industries. “These schools are establishing innovative pathways for students to explore potential careers and be better prepared…