United States Merchant Marine Academy

Associate Professor Michael Ales is a tenured faculty member at Kings Point, where he teaches in both the Shipyard Management and Marine Engineering Systems curriculums and serves as the course coordinator for several courses. 

In addition to his teaching duties, Professor Ales has served as the Academy´s NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative since the 2007 – 2008 academic year. He is a five-time winner of the CAPT Perry Walter Team Advisor Award (2003, 2010, 2015, 2019 and 2020) and has been awarded the Mark J. Paradiso Service Award twice (2003 and 2020) from the Academy’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for his support of and dedication to the Kings Point Athletic Program. He has also served as the Mariner football team’s faculty-team advisor since the 2003 season and has served as a game day assistant coach for the past several years. 

In 2007 Professor Ales was awarded the Sue Alice McNulty Award for Distinguished Teaching, the highest honor the Academy can bestow on a faculty member. Professor Ales led the Faculty Forum’s Committee on Curriculum during the major revision to the Academy’s curriculum required to comply with the new STCW standards mandated by the 2010 Manila Accords. His team was awarded the 2013 Bronze Medal Team Award by the Maritime Administration and the 2014 Transportation Safety Award by the Department of Transportation for their efforts. He is a member of the NCEES committee that develops and vets the questions for the nationwide Naval Architecture/Marine Engineering Professional Engineers (PE) licensing exam. He also serves as the head judge for the biennial International Human-Powered Submarine Race. Professor Ales holds an active PE license in the state of Wisconsin and a Chief Engineer license for stationary plants from the National Institute for the Uniform Licensing of Power Engineers (Illinois Chapter). 

Professor Ales came to USMMA in 2002 after working in the shipbuilding industry for 11 years as a naval architect and later as a naval architecture supervisor for Northrop Grumman Ship Systems and its predecessor organizations in Pascagoula, Mississippi, providing lifecycle engineering support for the DD 963 class destroyers, the DDG 993 class guided missile destroyers, and the CG 47 class guided missile cruisers. Prior to that Professor Ales was an active duty naval officer for 11 years. His sea tours included duty as the Missile Control Officer on the USS Callaghan (DDG 994) and the Boilers Officer on the USS New Jersey (BB 62). His shore tours included duty at the Naval Training Center Great Lakes as Chief Engineer, 600 psi Steam Propulsion Plant Trainer; Director, Electrician´s Mate/Interior Communications Electrician Schools; and Director, Steam Training. Professor Ales was the co-winner of the SNAME Undergraduate Paper Honor Prize for 1981.

Education:
B.S. Naval Architecture, United States Naval Academy
M.B.A., University of Southern Mississippi
M.S. Ocean Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University