By Austin Glassner
August 23, 2018
Each year we challenge our interns to go the extra nautical mile in a competition called the IRIS (Interns Researching Ideas for Submarines) Project. This year, we asked them to come up with a crazy idea that just might help us design a more affordable or more capable submarine. After the interns submit their ideas, a panel of subject matter experts picks the top 10. The submitters are then given the chance to present their work in front of a panel of judges. The winner receives $400 and four runners-up receive $150 from our Chief Operating Officer, Kurt Hesch.
For this summer’s IRIS competition, our panel of judges included our VP General Counsel (a former engineer himself), Matt Luxton, two engineering directors, Greg Angelini and Laura Hooks, as well as a global science advisor from the Office of Naval Research, Dr. Rob Mushen. After much deliberation, and a presentation by last year’s winner, Sara Mikovic, about how she continues to work on her project after becoming a full-time employee, the judges chose a winner. This year, Jared and Jacob Covell were awarded the grand prize for their submission, a Machine Learning Maintenance Network.
After the presentation and the short awards ceremony where the winners were given comically large checks (Billy Madison style), all interns who submitted an idea joined us for a pizza party to celebrate their accomplishments. We at Electric Boat have found this a great opportunity to tap into a pool of employees who have new ideas, and we plan on continuing this tradition for the fifth year in a row in 2019.
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