NEWPORT, R.I. – Kim Belenger, lead system systems engineer for the surveillance towed array sensor system-expeditionary (SURTASS-E) in the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport Sensors and Sonar Systems Department, recently won a Providence Business News 2023 Leaders and Achievers Award. This annual award recognizes senior level employees who are leaders in their field and contributors to the community.

Belenger, a resident of Dighton, Massachusetts, started her career at NUWC Division Newport in 1995, bringing with her over 13 years of technical experience from industry. She won the award for her significant leadership contributions to various projects spanning two departments in the areas of surface ship sonar systems, unmanned undersea vehicles, maritime surveillance, and information technology.

“Belenger is a demonstrated leader, innovator and mentor, consistently working on challenging new programs to achieve successful results and on-time capability delivery to the U.S. Navy,” the award states. “She has provided exceptional leadership to keep development teams focused and process oriented. She has implemented software bug reporting processes on several programs, and a software configuration management processes to enable the government to track progress and retain control of the software.”

For the past several years, Belenger served as the integration and software lead for Snakehead, a large displacement unmanned undersea vehicle, providing technical leadership for the development, integration and testing of the software and system integration. In her current role, Belenger works with NUWC Division Keyport in Washington and industry partners to collaborate on near-term tasks, actions and strategic planning for the execution of the collaborative roles of SURTASS-E.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology statistical research and analysis from the University of Massachusetts in 1981; an Executive Development Intensive Mini-Master of Business Administration from the University of Rhode Island in 2000; and a Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act Level III engineering certification in 2003.

Belenger has received 10 other awards throughout her 28-year career, including the 2022 Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Warfare Center John C. Mickey Award for Collaboration, a NUWC Division Newport 2021 Excellence in External Collaboration award; a 2014 NAVSEA Excellence Award as part of the Systems Engineering, Integration and Test and Evaluation Team; and a 2007 NAVSEA Scientist and Engineer of the Year Team Award.

“Belenger’s demonstrated community volunteer efforts also made her a stand-out among other applicants for this honor,” the award states.

She serves as an active community volunteer for her town and her church. As the vice president and scholarship chair for the Dighton-Rehoboth Citizens Scholarship Foundation for the past 15 years, Belenger works with donors and community service organizations to underwrite and award more than 25 scholarships annually to graduating high school seniors.

As an active member of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Taunton, Massachusetts, Belenger is part of the mission team leading two mission trips, with both adult and high school students, to Holy Cross Anglican School in San Mateo, Belize.

Belenger will receive the award at a Providence Business News event on Aug. 23 at the Aldrich Mansion in Warwick, Rhode Island. For more information visit https://pbn.com/event/2023-leaders-and-achievers-awards-program/?fbclid=IwAR1YNUKJjnOGSCmtZA_CGkjOO2ljRV54ZikHbB7hH9-SGHKJXIbNP8WuldI

NUWC Newport is the oldest warfare center in the country, tracing its heritage to the Naval Torpedo Station established on Goat Island in Newport Harbor in 1869. Commanded by Capt. Chad Hennings, NUWC Newport maintains major detachments in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Andros Island in the Bahamas, as well as test facilities at Seneca Lake and Fisher’s Island, New York, Leesburg, Florida, and Dodge Pond, Connecticut.

Join our team! NUWC Division Newport, one of the 20 largest employers in Rhode Island, employs a diverse, highly trained, educated, and skilled workforce. We are continuously looking for engineers, scientists, and other STEM professionals, as well as talented business, finance, logistics and other support experts who wish to be at the forefront of undersea research and development. Please connect with NUWC Division Newport Recruiting at this site- https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Warfare-Centers/NUWC-Newport/Career-Opportunities/ and follow us on LinkedIn @NUWC-Newport and on Facebook @NUWCNewport.