Paul E. Sullivan (born 1952) is a retired

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vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

Personal

Sullivan is native of

Chatham, New Jersey "The Chathams" (, ) is a term used in reference to shared services for two neighboring municipalities in Morris County, New Jersey, United States – Chatham Borough, New Jersey, Chatham and Chatham Township, New Jersey, Chatham Township. The two a ...

. He graduated from the

U.S. Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy is the sec ...

in 1974 with a

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degree in mathematics. He earned dual degrees of

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering and Ocean Engineer from

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

. He was an associate professor of Naval Architecture for MIT.

Military career

Sullivan served on where he earned his Surface Warfare Qualification. After transferring to the Engineering Duty Officer Community, he served at the

Norfolk Naval Shipyard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility ...

Naval Sea Systems Command The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) is the largest of the United States Navy's United States Navy systems commands, five "systems commands," or materiel (not to be confused with "material") organizations. From a physical perspective, NAVSEA ha ...

, Supervisor of Shipbuilding in

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and on the staff of the

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (ASN) is the title given to certain civilian senior officials in the United States Department of the Navy. From 1861 to 1954, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy was the second-highest civilian office in the Depart ...

(Research, Development and Acquisition). During his engineering duty assignments Adm. Sullivan earned his Submarine Engineering Duty Officer Qualification. Sullivan served as program manager of the ''Seawolf''-class Submarine Program (PMS 350) and the ''Virginia''-class Submarine Program (PMS 450) from 1995 to 1998. Sullivan served as Deputy Commander for Ship Design Integration and Engineering,

from 2001 to 2005. Vice Adm. Sullivan became the 41st Commander, Naval Sea Systems Command in July 2005 until his retirement from the Navy in August 2008.

Post-military career

From 2009 to 2014, Sullivan served as a chief engineer and vice president with

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. In September 2014, Sullivan was named as the executive director of

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's Defense Related Research Units (DRRU) and Applied Research Laboratory (ARL). As of 2024, Sullivan began teaching at his alma mater, the United States Naval Academy, in areas of project management and engineering economics. He has been quoted as saying "Getting to teach these midshipman has been the greatest accomplishment of my career."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Paul E 1952 births Living people United States Naval Academy alumni MIT School of Engineering alumni MIT School of Architecture and Planning faculty United States Navy admirals NAVSEA commanders Pennsylvania State University people American naval architects