Dr. Miller joined the Coast Guard Academy in 2017 after 18 years at the Naval Academy. A 1985 graduate of Tufts with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, he then earned a Masters in Ocean Engineering from Stevens in 1987. He started his maritime engineering career with the yacht designer Gary Mull, helping design boats for Freedom Yachts. In 1989, he changed tacks and helped design submarines and aircraft carriers at Newport News Shipbuilding. Heading back to yachts in 1992 he worked part-time on Dennis Conner’s America’s Cup syndicates for the next 13 years while also building boats, helping design yachts with Carl Schumacher and earning a Masters in Naval Architecture and a doctorate in Civil Engineering at Berkeley.

His long-term academic focus is engineering materials for the marine environment, which includes composites, fatigue and fabrication processes. More recently he has worked to develop small, low-cost, autonomous vessels for oceanographic research, successfully launching over a dozen vessels that have cumulatively traveled over 2,000 nautical miles in the ocean.

Dr. Miller officially concluded his distinguished career on July 31, 2025.

Education

• D. Eng., Civil Engineering, University of California at Berkeley
• Certificate in the Management of Technology, University of California at Berkeley
• M.E., Naval Architecture and Offshore Engineering, University of California at Berkeley
• M.E., Ocean Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology
• B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Tufts University
• Williams College/Mystic Seaport Museum Program in American Maritime Studies

Courses Taught

• Ships and Maritime Systems
• Engineering Materials Science
• Principles of Naval Architecture
• Ship Structures
• Small Craft Design
• Private Pilot Ground School

Selected Publications and Presentations

• Miller, Paul H., “A Case Study on the Effect of Sweep and Variations in Free-Surface Cross Section Geometry on the Lift and Drag of Transom-Hung Sailboat Rudders”, 23rd Chesapeake Sailing Yacht Symposium, Annapolis, Maryland, 2019
• Miller, P., Judge, C., Sewell, D., and Williamson, S., “Alternative Wing Sail Concept for Small Autonomous Sailing Craft,” 10th International Robotic Sailing Conference, Horten, Norway, September 2017
• Colin Sauze, Mark Neal, Tom Blanchard, Paul Miller “An Autonomous Surface Vessel for Glacier Surveying”, Journal of Ocean Technology, October 2015
• Miller, Paul, Neal, Mark, Sauze, Colin, “Development of ARRTOO: A Long-Endurance, Hybrid-Powered, Oceanographic Research Vessel”, 6th International Robotic Sailing Conference, Brest, France, September 3, 2013

Honors and Awards

• Fellow, Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers
• Fellow, Royal Institution of Naval Architects
• U.S. Navy Civilian Superior Service Medal
• U.S. Navy Civilian Meritorious Service Medal
• Civilian Instructor of the Year, U.S. Naval Academy

Professional Affiliations

• Professional Engineer – Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering