Protecting the Navy’s equipment from the marine environment

For those operating equipment on, under or near the water for commercial or recreational purposes, the corrosive effects of saltwater can be costly. For the U.S. Navy, the ramifications could be much more severe.

As a doctoral student in mechanical engineering and applied mechanics at the University of Rhode Island, Irine Neba Mforsoh studied the long-term effects seawater and ultraviolet radiation have on the materials used to coat marine structures.

After earning her doctorate in spring 2021, the first-generation college student is now applying what she has learned as an engineer at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport.