GROTON, Conn. - Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory (NSMRL) is proud to announce Dr. Jeffrey Bolkhovsky, a research physiologist with our Warfighter Performance department, has been selected as the sole Navy Medicine awardee of the 2023 Dr. Delores M. Etter Emergent Scientists of the Year award.

Following the example set by Dr. Etter, this award recognizes Navy scientists and engineers for their technical superiority, innovation, technical merit, operational impact, and applicability to Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition) priorities.

Etter, a former faculty member of the U.S. Naval Academy’s Electrical Engineering department, served as the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology and the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisitions. She is known for her lasting work with software engineering and computer languages.

"I am honored to be the recipient of the Dr. Dolores M. Etter Emergent Scientist of the year award. This award is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and support of my team and NSMRL, for which I am grateful. I am also grateful to the Navy for their continued investment in research to support warfighters and their well-being."

Since joining NSMRL in 2017, Bolkhovsky has worked to meet the needs of the Navy warfighter across multiple domains. He has authored 15 publications and presented at 14 conferences on topics including cognitive modeling, decision aids, and human-systems integration. He is also a featured government partner for the Naval Institute of Undersea Vehicle Technology and a U.S representative in The Technical Cooperation Program, leading an activity with four other nations (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, or the Five Eyes) to align international efforts in psycho-physiological research.

Bolkhovsky works on wearable physiological monitoring technology to track decrements in the cognitive performance of Sailors, using tools such as the Optimized Watchstanding and Logistics (OWL) tool. The OWL tool tracks and predicts fatigue in Sailors, providing information for watchstanding managers to implement schedule changes and fatigue countermeasures. Bolkhovsky is helping transition this tool to the fleet, which is currently undergoing trials aboard submarines and surface vessels.

Also, Bolkhovsky conducts unmanned systems research, developing computational models to support enhanced situational awareness, machine learning paradigms, and task flow models that increase mission effectiveness for control systems. His work fosters game-changing U.S. Force supremacy via manned-unmanned teaming.

Additionally, he has helped develop the eGuardbook, a digital version of the physical Disabled Submarine Survival Guide. This guide aids submariners in the case of a disabled submarine, providing them with appropriate timeframes for making important life-saving decisions.

Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program and Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program interns working at NSMRL have benefitted greatly from Bolkhovsky’s involvement. He has directly coordinated and mentored 24 graduate, undergraduate, and high school students in these STEM programs, helping to train the next generation of scientists.

NSMRL is happy to congratulate Dr. Bolkhovsky on his win, and excited to see what further contributions he will make in support of the warfighter.

NSMRL, part of the Naval Medical Research & Development enterprise and based out of Groton, Connecticut sustains the readiness and superiority of undersea warfighters through innovative health and performance research.