ADVENTURES
OF AN ITINERANT NAVAL ARCHITECT – Part One
January
– March 2013
Peter
Noble, SNAME President
It has
been a very busy but enjoyable 3 months since I took on the role of President
of our Society.
As many
of you know, my career (approaching 50 years) has taken me to many parts of the
world but one thing that has remained constant has been my involvement with
SNAME. The last 3 months have been no
exception. My travels have taken my
around North America and internationally to Asia and the UK.
During
these travels I have met with many members and also with a number of sister
societies and I am pleased to report that our chosen profession is well
respected and in high demand in many places in the world.
While in
Singapore in late January, I met with the leadership of the Singapore Society
of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, SNAMES, to explore ways to cooperate
more closely. I met with them again recently in London when Tom Mackey, SNAME
representative to the World Maritime Technology Congress, WMTC, Todd Grove,
Chair of the 2015 WMT Conference which SNAME will host and myself attended the
2013 Spring Meeting of the WMT Congress. Other societies represented at the
meeting were IMarEST, RINA and SUT from the UK, along with Shanghai Society of
Naval Architects and Ocean Engineers, Singapore SNAME, the Indian Institute of
Marine Engineers, and The Russian National Scientific and Technical Society for
Shipbuilding, NTOS, which hosted the WMT Conference in 2012.
Further,
while in London Tom Mackey and myself met with a group of local SNAME members
who are interested in establishing a UK Section of our Society. Watch for more information on this soon.
Another
outstanding event in which Tom, Todd and I took part was the annual dinner for
IMarEST held in the Guildhall, a building which was erected in the early
1400s. I was reminded of the long
tradition of our own profession when one of my dinner companions explained that
one of the City of London livery companies, the Worshipful Company of
Shipwrights had a 700 year tradition!
I also
had the opportunity to visit Strathclyde University, in Glasgow, one the
leading UK institution teaching naval architecture and marine engineering, and
gave a couple of seminars to students, research staff and faculty, including
one on the importance to graduates of active participation in professional
societies. We may see a new Student
Section there before long
While
international travel is interesting, the most rewarding part of my first 3
months in office has been my visits to our members in Sections around North
America. I have long held the belief
that our Sections are the real engines of our Society, where members actively
engage in networking, where younger members are mentored, where new leaders are
created, where current technology and design developments are presented etc. Even
I, however, was surprised by the enthusiasm I found on my visits. I started by taking part in the Texas Section
18th Offshore Symposium on Feb 7, well attended by 165 persons,
followed the next week with a visit to the Great Lakes-Great Rivers Section
where more than 60 members attended a 2 day Winter Meeting in Cleveland and
heard a number of papers on LNG as Marine Bunkers.
We also
held our first Executive Committee meeting of my term in Cleveland as a way to
bring the Society leadership a little closer to the grass-roots membership of
our society.
February
20-21 found me in Ottawa taking part in a very well attended (>220 persons)
two day Symposium organized by the Eastern Canadian Section and the Canadian
Institute of Marine Engineers. A quick
trip back to Texas to pick up a change of clothes and then on to San Diego to
visit with the SW Section at their well attended Symposium on Ship Costs on
Saturday 23 Feb.
While on
the west coast I took the opportunity to visit the Northern California Section
at a regular Section Meeting in Alameda on Feb 27, again very well attended.
Going
back to international activities, I am very pleased to report that our
international student sections are thriving and increasing in number. In the
past year or so we have initiated active Student Sections in Argentina, Brazil,
Ecuador and Mexico and each of these student groups has a strong local faculty
Advisor and a dedicated volunteer from the Texas Section as a liaison to
SNAME. We are looking forward to having
a number of these students attend the upcoming Offshore Technology Conference
in May along with student from our existing Student Sections, all of whom will
be welcomed into our expanding Mentor-for-a-Day program.
Looking
ahead, I can report that planning for our 2013 Annual Meeting which will be
held in Bellevue WA in November is well in hand and from what I have seen we
will have an exceptional technical program including some unique hands-on
events.
I hope
to continue my visits to Sections throughout my tenure and look forward to meeting
as many of you as possible and hearing what you are doing for SNAME and what
SNAME can do for you.
Fair
winds and following seas,
Peter G. Noble
"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood,
divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and
endless sea."
Antoine Saint-Exupery