Technical Program

The Chair of the Papers Committee is appointed by the Section Chair and other committee members are appointed by the Committee Chair.

The Committee should consist of at least five members, including the Chair. It is recommended that the Section Technical and Research Representative be assigned to the Papers Committee as it has been found to be helpful in promoting high quality papers and keeping members abreast of current technological advances. It is desired to have the full year’s schedule developed by the beginning of the Section year for printing in October’s Marine Technology and placement on the website.

Some Sections have successfully followed a procedure in which an Assistant Papers Committee Chair, working with the Section Vice Chair, devotes him/her self exclusively to the development of papers and
program ideas one year in advance. He/She then becomes Committee Chair the following year, and with the assistance of the other committee members, develops the program in detail as described. The Section Vice Chair may assume responsibility for the Papers Committee advance planning. The method of an individual or small group working a full year in advance enables the Section to develop its own program and not be forced to accept papers which are already available.

A principal objective of the Society is the presentation and publishing of a broad range of materials that are of value to the profession, to the marine industry and to the general public. It is the function of the Papers Committee to select the best papers available on subjects of interest and/or persuade eminent authorities to write such papers. Methods of determining members’ interests and suggestions for developing an effective meeting are to be found in Section V-A - Program Planning Guidelines of this
Manual. The Committee should use every source available to develop papers of the highest caliber, which avoid commercialism and have the broadest appeal. Suggestions for papers, authors, or special programs are to be submitted to the Section Chair and the Executive Committee for approval. It is recognized that PowerPoint presentations are favored by many authors and, although presentations are not as desirable as a technical paper, Headquarters does have a policy to archive all such presentations, which will become accessible on the website. Electronic copies of all papers and abstracts shall be forwarded to Headquarters, both in electronic format and hard copy to make it easier for website inclusion.

Coordination of the technical program is accomplished effectively by assigning one or more papers committee members to each author to assure that the papers standards are followed, and schedules and author’s requirements for audio/visual aids, etc. are satisfied. Information on Copyrights, Author's Instructions, and other technical presentation guidelines is available at http://www.sname.org/SNAME/SNAME/Publications/AuthorInstructions/. Adherence to Author's Instructions is strongly encouraged.

The Papers Committee members should insist that high quality papers standards be followed, and to provide helpful suggestions to the author that will enable him/her to write a top quality paper and make the best possible presentation. Many authors have had little experience in the development and presentation of papers, and would undoubtedly welcome help from Section members. Authors should be encouraged to discuss the topic of the paper in an extemporaneous fashion, using whatever aids
prove effective. Papers should never be read at a technical meeting.

It is particularly important that commercialism in any form be avoided in any of the technical papers presented before any meetings of SNAME. However, it is understood that many Section papers are commercially oriented.

Authors should submit manuscripts and the copyright release form in accordance with the schedule established by the Papers Committee. The manuscripts can be submitted to other knowledgeable people for review and possible discussion.

The Committee Chair, or someone delegated by him/her, must assume responsibility for providing the Secretary with the title, author, brief synopsis, and importance of the paper in sufficient time for inclusion in the meeting notice.