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NAVSEA Materials Engineer Leads Shipboard Preservation Efforts

Featured Profile: Beau Brinckerhoff

By Gretchen Jacobson

The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) is the U.S. Navy's central operation for designing, engineering, integrating, building, and procuring naval ships and shipboard weapon and combat systems. NAVSEA's in-house technical capabilities comprise a community of divisions with some of the finest technical minds and facilities.

Beau Brinckerhoff, a senior materials engineer who has been with NAVSEA since 1986, specializes in the area of shipboard corrosion control. "Our office is the technical authority for corrosion control of all the Navy's ships, managing cradle-to-grave corrosion issues for these vessels," said Brinckerhoff. "I'm responsible for a variety of customer and command working groups to improve shipboard preservation, a paint task force focused on reducing costs, and various coating technologies."

Based in Washington, DC, Brinckerhoff also serves as the Command's liaison to the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) on the DoD's corrosion policy and is involved with the Corrosion Prevention and Control Integrated Product Team (CPC IPT) as the Navy ship representative. He recently finished his term as chairman of the Training Working Integrated Product Team (WIPT).

"During my tenure on the Training WIPT, we delivered course material on corrosion for inclusion in existing Defense Acquisition University training programs to raise the level of awareness of program managers, logisticians, systems engineers, and others involved in acquisition programs," Brinckerhoff explained. "We are also nearing the delivery of a Corrosion 101 online course that the DoD is developing in conjunction with NACE International and ITA, Inc."

Brinckerhoff serves as the Command's liaison to the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) on the DoD's corrosion policy and is involved with the Corrosion Prevention and Control Integrated Product Team (CPC IPT) as the Navy ship representative.

Brinckerhoff is involved in OSD corrosion projects that include studies of a wireless corrosion sensor for surface ships, composite electrical enclosures, rapid-cure coatings for well deck preservation, self-inspecting coatings, and a corrosion detection algorithm for topside coatings on ships. In addition, he is a member of joint NAVSEA/Fleet working groups, including the Technical Issues Working Group, the Tank and Void Working Group, and the Paint Warranty Working Group.

"I enjoy the technical nature and variety of my work," he said. "We touch every ship, submarine, aircraft carrier, and small boat."

Brinckerhoff received his Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering in 1985 from the University of Maryland. He became interested in the field of materials engineering when going through the Navy's Engineer-in-Training program, where he rotated through various offices and did field assignments. "The materials engineering office was my best fit," he said

He is active in NACE, SSPC, and other professional societies and is working on his master's degree in program management at the Florida Institute of Technology. He and his wife, Courtenay, have two children, Kristin and Matthew. In his spare time, Brinckerhoff enjoys bicycling, drumming, and sports that interest his children.