News and Events

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…

March 25, 2024 By Jonah Grinkewitz Old Dominion University’s Virginia Digital Maritime Center (VDMC), a newly established entity to support the maritime industry in Hampton Roads, has received $643,000 in fiscal year 2023 Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) funds from the U.S. Department of Labor. The federal investment, secured by Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine for the Maritime Skilled Trades…

High school students from around Hampton Roads participated in the First Annual Digital Ship Challenge on March 21, 2024. Teams were tasked with designing and building an innovative container ship that had to survive heavy seas and deliver as many containers as possible. The teams performed admirably and moved a lot of cargo. Congrats to the winning team – “Indigo”…

Dr. Katie Smith was interviewed by CoVaBIZ Magazine in February 2024. She appears on the cover of the March-April magazine, along with 24 other exceptional women who are Innovators and Disruptors on the Leading Edge of their respective fields! The article features women representing various fields of endeavor who are doing amazing things and contributing to our region. Screenshot 2024…