Winter wins Senate approval to be Navy secretary

A corporate vice president at Northrop Grumman Corp. was confirmed by the Senate yesterday to be the new secretary of the Navy.

Donald C. Winter most recently served as president of Northrop Grumman's Mission Systems sector. He also formerly worked as president and CEO of TRW Systems.

As Navy secretary, Winter fills the position formerly held by Gordon England. England was named deputy secretary of Defense earlier this year.

In the early 1980s, Winter worked with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency as program manager for space acquisition. He was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for meritorious civilian service while working at DARPA.

Winter earned his bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Rochester and a master's and doctorate in physics from the University of Michigan.

In 2002, Winter was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

Dawn S. Onley is a senior writer for Washington Technology's sister publication, Government Computer News.