SNAME Elects New Fellows

On November 14, 2007, the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers announced new additions to its rank of Fellows. The membership grade of Fellow is accorded to individuals who have contributed to significant achievements in naval architecture, marine and ocean engineering, and related fields in the form of advances in design, research, production, operation, education, and associated management. The new SNAME Fellows are:

Roderick A. Barr, one of the world’s preeminent hydrodynamists, who developed ship trajectory prediction models from model tests and pioneered their use in ship-handling simulators for training and research. He gathered and analyzed maneuverability data that, with U.S. Coast Guard leadership, resulted in the first set of international maneuvering performance design standards.

Norman D. (Scotty) Birrell, who is best known for recognizing the potential of Tension Leg Platforms (TLPs). With his staff at Conoco he developed and installed the world’s first TLP in 485 feet of water in the Hutton field in the North Sea. This TLP proved very successful and subsequently several other major TLPs have been installed in the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.

Dietmar R. Deter provided strong leadership in the development, design, and commissioning of the world’s first dynamically positioned (DP) oil-well drilling ship, Sedco 445, in 1970. Raymond P. Fales, who has 30 years of experience as an engineering manager and naval architect in the offshore and marine industries. He has contributed extensively to the technology development, design, engineering, classification, and survey of offshore units and ships, mooring risers, subsea layouts and equipment, and pipelines.

Carlos Guedes Soares – has developed broad expertise in all fields of marine mechanics that contribute to a holistic development of reliability based marine design. He contributed to the fields pf marine dynamics, marine hydrodynamics, marine structures, and wave climate research. A dedicated teacher for over 20 years, Professor Soares organized 50 international conferences, led 50 international projects, edited 17 books and served on journal editorial boards. Richard W. Thorpe has over 50 years of professional experience in the marine industry, most of it in senior engineering and leadership roles. He has made outstanding contributions in managing the design of ships, directing shipyard R&D programs, starting up new ship design offices, and in marketing ships and ship designs. He has also made significant contributions to the industry through his ongoing volunteer efforts with SNAME and other professional maritime organizations. Johannes E. W. Wichers, who has more than 30 years of experience in model testing and analysis of a variety of ships and offshore units, jetties, single-buoy moorings, and dredging equipment. His work includes both shallow and deepwater analysis of equipment exposed to wind, waves and current.