Dr. Thomas Fu is the Head of the Sea Warfare and Weapons Department of the Office of Naval Research. He oversees a broad range of basic and applied research and advanced technology development programs covering naval power systems; advanced materials and manufacturing; platform survivability, sustainment, performance, and autonomy; and undersea weaponry; with an annual budget of over $700 million.

Previous to his time at ONR, he held a number of positions at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division, including Deputy Head of the Naval Architecture & Engineering Department and Head of the Resistance & Propulsion Division.

Dr. Fu earned a B.S. in ocean engineering from Purdue University; a M.S. in physical oceanography from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego; and a Doctorate in mechanical engineering from Johns Hopkins University. He has been a Visiting Scholar at George Washington University and adjunct faculty member at the University of Maryland, Oregon State University and George Washington University.

He received the David W. Taylor Medal by the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) in 2023 and named an Asian-American Engineer of the Year by the Chinese Institute of Engineers-USA in 2013. Dr. Fu is a Fellow of both SNAME and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the SNAME Journal of Ship Research.