Kenton Meland began his career at Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) as a summer intern in 1981 and returned as a full-time employee after completing his bachelor of science in civil engineering from the Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech in 1982. During his career with NNS, he has worked on the design and construction of Nimitz-class and Ford-class aircraft carriers, and Los Angeles-class, Seawolf-class, and Virginia-class submarines. Over the years Meland has effectively transitioned from design to construction management, and he is currently responsible for manufacturing the thousands of pipe assemblies for aircraft carrier and submarine construction.



In his career at Newport News Shipbuilding, Meland has received multiple awards. For example in 2005 he led the team that won the Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing. In 2009 he received the “Star Award for Commitment to Excellence for Environmental, Health and Safety” for leading the redesign of manufacturing shops with a focus on ergonomics. Most recently, Newport News Shipbuilding has recognized him as a Model of Excellence for Leadership. The ceremony included the following comments as part of his introduction:



“Kenton Meland’s extraordinary leadership has resulted in unprecedented results in the pipe shops for all principal contracts. NNS has had increasing pressure to improve performance and stay competitive due to building a new class of aircraft carrier and working towards building two submarines per year. Kenton helped NNS meet this challenge by providing outstanding leadership in the Pipe Value Stream. The four pillars of safety, quality, cost and schedule in the pipe shops were improved through accurate manning in the shops, listening to shop personnel to improve processes, and by building strong relationships with suppliers and value stream leaders.”



Meland has been a long-time friend of the Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech. He has been a member of the College of Engineering Committee of 100 since Wayne Clough appointed him in 1991. He served on the Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Advisory Board and the College Advisory Board for six years one of which he served as the Chair. He has been on Dean Benson’s legislative committee since 2008, lobbying members of the General Assembly for the approval and funding of the Signature Engineering Building and more recently for improved funding of engineering operations. He has established several undergraduate scholarships for the Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering



Meland claims he won the Colombian lottery when he married Liliana Alexandra Angel from Bogota in 1996. They live in Newport News and have two sons; Kristian, who is in the sixth grade and Tallak, who is in the ninth grade. The boys attend Hampton Roads Academy and they are active in Boy Scouts. The Melands enjoy traveling, and they are on a quest to visit as many states as possible before Tallak and Kristian go to college. So far they have been to 42 states, and they have plans to go to the Pacific Northwest and Alaska this summer.