By MC3 Brian H. Abel

NPS faculty, Drs. Amela Sadagic, Eric Hendricks, Dragoslav Grbovic and Thomas Albright, from left, spent several days on board USS America, May 9-13, through the Scientists at Sea program. The effort provides academics and scientists who work on advanced defense technology with a first-hand view of naval vessels and systems in action.

"I was part of a larger group of 17 people, all Navy civilians, who were given the opportunity to go visit and spend five days on USS America," said Sadagic, a research associate professor in NPS' MOVES Institute, who said she appreciated the opportunity to gain some perspective on the life her students lead while deployed.

"We have a very good chance to learn things from our students as we work with them; however, we rarely have a chance to gain a clear understanding of context," she said.

Albright agreed, noting the effort not only gives the Navy an opportunity to expose top scientists to its top platforms, it also exposes faculty to the skill sets Sailors are required to master.

"The Navy wanted fresh eyes on old problems … But I wanted to go to sea to understand my students better, to understand the skills they employ, and the training they may have taken to permit them to do fueling at sea, or firefighting, for example," Albright said. "We appreciate having been invited aboard USS America, and appreciate the time they took out of their busy schedules to show us around."