News and Events

July 23-24, 2025 VDMC’s Executive Director, RADM Mark Whitney, USN, (Ret.), attended the Defense Strategies Institute Maritime Security Summit in National Harbor, MD where he moderated the “Maritime Dominance Panel: Efforts to Revitalize Shipbuilding and Strengthen America’s Maritime Power.” The panel brought together maritime industry experts to address one of the nation’s most urgent challenges: revitalizing and strengthening America’s shipbuilding…

July 23-24, 2025 VDMC hosted the NSRP | National Shipbuilding Research Program Planning, Production Processes & Facilities and Welding Technology Panel Meeting. With nearly 80 in-person attendees—plus more joining virtually—this event offered a fantastic opportunity to dive into the latest in smart docking systems, shipyard operations, cobot technology, cutting-edge welding technologies, and more. Participants also toured the Cobot Alliance Training…

June 16, 2025 VDMC’s Senior Program Manager for Technology Insertion, Jessica Galassie, MBA, had the incredible opportunity to visit the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) Project – the United States’ largest offshore wind farm—located 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. She joined a group of Old Dominion University colleagues, students, and Associate Vice President for Maritime Initiatives, Elspeth…

June 10, 2025 VDMC hosted several 8th graders and their teachers from Isle of Wight County Schools Middle School! Almost 50 smart and creative students rolled in with their capstone projects—each presenting a custom-designed food or service truck with an innovative business idea. The projects were put to the test by our VDMC judging team, who evaluated everything from logos…

May 19, 2025 VDMC volunteered at the the “Weld It, Build It, Sail It – Reimagined Maritime Career Festival” at the Nauticus in May. Team members had a STEM station set up right outside the front doors where people of all ages could design and build a barge out of everyday materials for a Sphero Bolt robot to tow a…

April 15, 2025 Nearly 200 undergraduate and Eastern Virginia Medical School students, as well as more than 30 faculty teams, participated in the Old Dominion University Inaugural Knowledge & Creativity Expo in April – a celebration of innovation, research, and academic collaboration. This was a great opportunity for attendees to explore, learn, and network, as well as view poster and…

April 21, 2025 Senior Program Manager for Maritime Trades, John Snell, represented VDMC at the AMPP: Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP) Conference & Expo in Nashville in April, where he joined a distinguished panel on Workforce Development. As our nation faces critical workforce shortages in the submarine industrial base, this conversation couldn’t be more timely. John shared strategic…

March 15, 2025 The Virginia Digital Maritime Center (VDMC) hosted the Second Annual Digital Ship Challenge on Saturday, March 15, 2025. Over 75 Hampton Roads high school students participated in the challenge where teams were tasked with designing and building an innovative support vessel that can maintain stability at sea. Students utilize engineering design, innovation, ship design and construction, research…

February, 2025 In February, VDMC’s Senior Program Manager for Technology Insertion, Jessica Galassie, represented VDMC at the NSRP National Shipbuilding Research Program All Panel Meeting in Charleston, SC. This biennial event unites all nine NSRP panels to recently concluded and ongoing R&D projects, address technology gaps, and share best practices in ship design, construction, and modernization. Beyond innovation, this is…