Kings Point names engineering department head

Kings Point names engineering department head David J. Palmer of Seaford, N.Y., has been named head of the Department of Engineering at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point.

David J. Palmer

   Palmer will lead a department that prepares academy midshipmen for the U.S. Coast Guard-administered license examination in engineering and trains them as marine engineers.
   Palmer is a 1991 Kings Point graduate, and has been a member of the federal maritime school’s faculty since 1995. He most recently served as the academy’s assistant academic dean and as an associate professor teaching engineering classes.
   In addition to holding a bachelor’s degree from the USMMA, he earned both a master’s degree and a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from Brooklyn Polytechnic University. Palmer, who holds the rank of commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, is also a graduate of the Navy’s nuclear power program.
   Prior to joining the Academy’s staff, Palmer worked at General Electric’s Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, where he was responsible for training and certifying Navy personnel in operating nuclear power plants for the nation’s submarine and aircraft carrier fleets.