Notable Achievement in Naval Architecture and/or Marine Engineering
The 2017 David W. Taylor Medalist
Dr. John C. Daidola, P.E.
Dr. John C. Daidola, P.E. (BSE and MSE in NA&ME, University of Michigan and PhD in Ocean Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology) is widely recognized as a leader in ship design, ship vibratory response, ship maneuverability, and ship survivability during grounding and collision.
Dr. Daidola’s research includes research on the hull response in waves, as well as a probabilistic design for subdivision and structural design of crude oil and product tankships. He applied this design approach to the study of hull integrity in grounding and collisions and provided detailed design recommendations on increasing a ship’s ability to avoid environmental pollution from oil discharge. He later expanded his ship structure design methodology to the structural design of icebreakers and other ships navigating in ice. He also applied his maneuvering expertise on behalf of the U.S. Coast Guard in development of the IMO requirements on maneuverability for commercial ships and the NATO ANEP requirements for naval vessels. He was the project director for the initial design of the TAGS 39 ocean survey ships as well as for their later conversion into the Maine Maritime and California Maritime training ships.
Dr. Daidola, who spent a majority of his design career at the naval architecture and marine engineering firm, M. Rosenblatt & Son, Inc. and its successors, also worked at Newport News Shipbuilding and John J. McMullen & Associates. He has authored 80 publications on a variety of subjects of interest to the industry. He is an adjunct professor at Stevens Institute of Technology and the US Merchant Marine Academy and is currently a professor of ship structures at Webb Institute as well as the President of his own naval architecture and marine engineering firm, AENY.