Miami Herald
Posted on Sun, Feb. 17, 2002

FAU gives Navy's top guy glimpse of war tools-to-be
BY DAN MURTAUGH
dmurtaugh@herald.com

During a tour of Florida Atlantic University on Saturday, the civilian boss of the Navy said the future of his branch of the armed forces lies in the technology the school is developing.

Gordon England, secretary of the Navy, spent about an hour looking at devices designed to chart enemy waters and seacraft and search for mines, all the while unmanned.

President Bush's proposed new budget would increase funds toward research of autonomous vehicles for the entire military, he said.

''I think you're going to see a continuing emphasis on unmanned craft in all branches of the armed forces, especially the Navy,'' England said.

FAU's ocean engineering program, at the SeaTech campus, at 101 N. Beach Rd.in Dania Beach, has developed such technology, which are referred to as autonomous underwater vehicles, for the past 10 years.

The Office of Naval Research has funded the research for seven years at $2 million to $3 million a year, said Florida Atlantic professor Edgar An, who is in charge of the Ocean Explorer project. Although all the machines England inspected were prototypes, FAU officials said they are in the process of contracting with an outside vendor to start mass-producing them.

England said he can't wait for that to happen.

''I want them yesterday,'' he said.

``The nation is at war. We need the best technology available at our disposal.''

England said one of the Navy's goals is to minimize the number of crew members needed to operate its ships.

The U.S. Navy has always been the most educated and advanced in the world, he said, and those wanting to enlist should study marine engineering at programs like FAU's.

The ocean engineering department has 14 faculty members and about 220 students, 170 of whom are undergraduates.

It was the nation's first such department when it was founded in 1962.

The jewel of FAU's fleet is a miniature submarine, called the Ocean Explorer, that can perform countless reconnaissance tasks.

About eight feet long and weighing 700 pounds, the sub has two sections -- a tail that contains a battery-powered engine and navigational software and a nose cone that contains most of the sensors.

Because of the two-part design, the sub's user can design a nose cone for almost any use, An said.