NAHL was officially opened in the basement of Rickover Hall in September 1976, replacing previous experimental facilities in the Isherwood Hall Ship Hydromechanics Laboratory.  Of particular note, the 380 FT Towing Tank was formally dedicated in a ceremony held on August 24, 1977.  Professor Bruce Johnson, the first NAHL Director, was instrumental to the design, construction/fabrication, and subsequent operation of the 380 FT Towing Tank.  The following documents provide additional detail about the extensive history of NAHL's world-class engineering systems:

• 29th American Towing Tank Conference - The History of NAHL (B. Johnson & J. Zseleczky, August 2010)
• 29th American Towing Tank Conference - Appendices for The History of NAHL (2010)
• 380 FT Towing Tank Dedication Ceremony - Press Release (August 1977)
• 380 FT Towing Tank Dedication Ceremony - RADM D. L. Kauffman's Remarks (August 1977)
• 16th ATTC - Design Summary of the USNA 380 FT High Performance Towing Tank (August 1971)
• 380 FT Towing Tank Design/Construction - Justification Memorandum (July 1969)

The following individuals were directly affiliated with the previous Isherwood Hall Ship Hydromechanics Laboratory (1951-1976):

The following individuals served as the Project Officer/Director during the Rickover Hall and NAHL construction process:

• Tom Dyer (1965-1968)
• Professor Bruce Johnson (1968-1976)

The following individuals have served (and/or continue to serve) as members of the NAHL faculty/staff:

Beginning with the Class of 1972, the Naval Architecture (ENA/ENM/ENMH) major has allowed midshipmen to explore the fundamental aspects of ship/submarine design.  The following class photos document the history of naval architects at USNA:

NAHL has served as the very foundation of naval architecture education at USNA.  Through hands-on modeling/experimentation, including tow-tank testing, graduates of the ENA/ENM/ENMH major have emerged as more successful (and technically competent) engineers, program/project managers, and leaders.

NAHL has proudly supported USNA's prestigious Trident Scholar Program.  The following Trident Scholars have leveraged NAHL facilities, equipment/instrumentation, and expertise for their respective research:

• Brian Doherty, 1965, "The Effect of Macromolecular Solutions on Drag and Turbulent Flow Noise"
• Richard Barchi, 1966, "The Effect of Polymeric Additives on Turbulence Intensity in a Two-Dimensional Boundary Layer"
• Edward McKenney, 1966, "The Influence of Polymer Additives on Hydrodynamic Flow Noise"
• Robert Nutwell, 1966, "Reduction of Drag in Hydrofoil Ships"
• Gregory Dryer, 1967, "Measurement of Velocity Fluctuations in a Turbulent Boundary Layer With and Without Injection of a Polymer Additive"
• Richard Elliott, 1968, "The Swimming of Slender, Flexible, Fish-Like Bodies"
• Robert Sholars, 1968, "An Investigation of the Flow and Resistance Characteristics of Long, Slender Hulls"
• Nathan Williams, 1968, "A Comparison of Random Signal Analysis Techniques for Turbulence and Flow Noise Measurements"
• John Fisher, 1972, "Time-Dependent Shear Stress Beneath a Shoaling Wave"
• Wayne Thornton, 1974, "Drag Reduction of a Hull by Electrolysis"
• Mark Rolfes, 1980, "Wave Force and Structure Response: A Comparison of Theoretical and Experimental Results Using Regular and Irregular Sea States"
• Stephen Surko, 1982, "Performance Optimization of a Pneumatic Wave Energy Conversion Device"
• Jeffery Hoyle, 1985, "Optimization of Bow-Bulb Forms for Resistance and Seakeeping Characteristics: A Comparison of Existing Computer Software Prediction Methods with Experimental Results"
• John De Nuto III, 1986, "An Investigation of the Hydrodynamic Characteristics of Non-Axisymmetric Bow Shapes for Submarines"
• Jennifer Culbertson, 1987, "A Trade-Off Study of Sonar Performance and Powering Requirements for Unconventional Sonar Domes"
• Deborah Klatt, 1987, "Analysis of Glint Patterns Using Remote Sensing Techniques"
• Thomas Kiss, 1988, "The Effects of Transom Geometry on the Resistance of Large Surface Combatants"
• David Walker, 1989, "Viscous Drag Reduction for Slender Surface Craft"
• Brian Davies, 1991, "Model Testing of Low-Crested Breakwaters"
• Casey Moton, 1991, "Open-Water Resistance and Seakeeping Characteristics of Ships with Icebreaking Bows"
• Kyle Turco, 1993, "Development of an Interface System for the Design of Submersible Internal Arrangements and Hull Forms"
• Michael Beckette, 1996, "Dynamic Analysis of Beach Renourishment"
• Chad Bollmann, 1996, "Wave Interactions with Vertical Wave Barriers"
• Tullio Celano III, 1998, "The Prediction of Porpoising Inception for Modern Planing Craft"
• Jon Silverberg, 2003, "Performance Prediction of the MK II Navy 44 Sail Training Craft with Respect to Tank Testing, Velocity Prediction Programs, and Computational Fluid Dynamics"
• Thomas Shapiro, 2004, "The Effect of Surface Roughness on Hydrodynamic Drag and Turbulence"
• Christopher Wozniak, 2005, "Analysis, Fabrication, and Testing of a Composite Bladed Propeller for a Naval Academy Yard Patrol (YP) Craft"
• Erik Smith, 2007, "Swarm Manipulation of Large Surface Vessels"
• Jason Murphy, 2010, "A Novel Approach to Turbulence Stimulation for Ship-Model Testing"
• Sam Tan, 2012, "Predicting Boat-Generated Wave Heights: A Quantitative Analysis Through Video Observations of Vessel Wakes"
• Andrew Rydalch, 2013, "Turbulent Boundary Layer Flow Over Superhydrophobic Surfaces"
• Max Van Benthem, 2013, "Towing Tank Measurements of Hydrodynamic Performance of a Horizontal Axis Tidal Turbine Under Unsteady Flow Conditions"
• Grant Genzman, 2014, "An Analysis of the Loads on and Dynamic Response of a Floating Flexible Tube in Waves and Currents"
• Benjamin Bailin, 2017, "On the Effects of Unsteady Flow Conditions on the Performance of a Cross Flow Hydrokinetic Turbine"
• Bennitt Hermsen, 2019, "Near Wake Characteristics of a Marine Propeller in the Presence of Free Stream Turbulence"
• Jonathan Peck, 2020, "Characterization of the Far-Wake of a 6:1 Prolate Spheroid"
• Zachary Nygaard, 2021, "Near-Body Velocity and Turbulence Measurements in the Lee of an Inclined 6:1 Prolate Spheroid"
• Cameron Smith, 2022, "Characterizing Tandem Fin Wake Using Lateral Line Inspired Sensors"