Two members of the San Diego Sockers — past and present  — were honored Feb. 25 during the 67th annual “Salute to the Champions” event at the Town and Country Convention Center. Brian Quinn, a Sockers standout of the past, was inducted into the Breitbard Hall of Fame. He was joined by Padres pitcher Trevor  Hoffman, three-time Super Bowl winner and former world wrestler of the year Stephen Neal and former Charger Junior Seau (posthumously). Sockers MVP Kraig Chiles, who is setting all kinds of scoring records this year, was selected as one of the stars of the year. Included in that category also were Padres third baseman Chase Headley; Rachel Buehler, a member of the U.S. gold medal women’s Olympic soccer team; Chargers defensive back Eric Weddle; Olympic gold medalist and 400-meter hurdler Felix Sanchez; and NASCAR’s Jimmie Johnson — all selected by the San Diego Hall of Champions. Quinn was one of the most popular members of the highly successful Sockers indoor-soccer team as a player from 1983-1991 and as its coach from 2001-04. He scored 188 goals during his tenure with the Sockers, during which time the team captured six Major Indoor Soccer League titles. A native of Ireland, Quinn became a U.S. citizen and played for the national team from 1991-94, earning 48 caps and scoring his lone international goal in a 3-0 win over Guatemala. He is currently an assistant coach at the University of San Diego and a director of the San Diego Soccer Club. “It’s truly humbling and an honor to be included with these pro and college athletes,” said Chiles upon learning of the award. “I could never have imagined receiving an award like this two years ago. It’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.” Chiles has been tearing up the PASL record book since joining the Sockers during their franchise reboot in 2008. The back-to-back MVP set a single-season record with 48 goals in 15 games last season as the Sockers rolled to a 24-0 season and three trophies. His 66 points were just two shy of the PASL single-season record.  … Seawater-powered jets Scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory are developing a process to extract carbon dioxide from seawater and use it to produce hydrogen gas, which can then be catalytically converted into jet fuel. “The potential payoff is the ability to produce JP-5 fuel stock at sea, reducing the logistics tail on fuel delivery with no environmental burden and increasing the Navy’s energy security and independence,” said Dr. Heather Willauer, a research chemist. “With such a process, the Navy could avoid the uncertainties inherent in procuring fuel from foreign sources and/or maintaining long supply lines.” The technique has been tested using seawater from the Gulf of Mexico to simulate conditions that will be encountered in an actual open ocean. — Johnny McDonald is a longtime writer and columnist for the San Diego Community Newspaper Group.