Maritime College Names Faculty Office in Newest Academic Building After Wowczuk
BRONX, NY – October 2, 2020 – In support of the New York Maritime Innovation Center (NYMIC), Maritime College recently received a $50,000 gift in honor of Andrew Wowczuk, Class of 1969. The Center, a Maritime College program, is dedicated to connecting maritime industries to the tech sector, and encouraging faculty, students and start-ups to focus on creating technological solutions to address the challenges encountered by present day mariners.
Wowczuk is considered a world expert/thought leader in implementing Lean/Six Sigma and continuous improvement methodologies for the manufacturing and military services industries. His career has included leading roles at Fortune 500 companies including General Electric, where he led continuous improvement efforts in the freight locomotive division, and Westinghouse as lead engineer for the Commercial and Navy Nuclear Division. "Fort Schuyler has had a major influence on my professional career and personal life, and the institution will always be a part of me,” stated Wowczuk.
In honor of Wowczuk’s generosity and dedication to his alma mater, SUNY Maritime College will name a faculty office after him within the Maritime Academic Center, the College’s newest and most advanced academic building. Wowczuk was a founder of the Civil-Military Innovation Institute (CMI2) – a nonprofit focused on bridging the gap between academia and commercial/military technology development. Since his graduation from Maritime College, Wowczuk was issued seven U.S. patents in the areas of automation, nuclear process repair and novel law enforcement safety equipment. His experience in transitioning each of them into products or integrating them into functioning systems helped create the vision for CMI2.
As a neutral ground with the entrepreneurial focus of the maritime industry ecosystem, the New York Maritime Innovation Center (NYMIC) at Maritime College works to spur development and serves as a bridge between the Tech, Maritime, Logistics, and Finance communities to convene industry experts and forward thinking developers, to connect problem solvers, corporate leaders and investors, and to catalyze ideas and business concepts to maritime interests globally. “This investment in NYMIC is an affirmation of our role in spurring industry innovation and the useful events and activities we have held over the last two years to benefit the maritime technology sector. It also further elevates the profile of SUNY Maritime College,” said NYMIC Director Dr. Christopher Clott.
About SUNY Maritime College:
SUNY Maritime College educates dynamic leaders for the global marine transportation industry, shipping business, engineering, energy, facilities management, finance, the armed forces and public service. Students choose from 11 undergraduate majors, including five ABET-accredited engineering programs, and two master's degree programs. Students participate in 17 varsity athletic teams and more than 40 clubs and organizations, ROTC options and U.S. Coast Guard license programs. The license program prepares students to navigate, power and operate marine vessels.