Miscellaneous Musings from the Technical Director
Perhaps my favorite SNAME section meeting of the year is the “Student Papers Night”, held each February. This is an opportunity for engineering students to “test drive” the process of writing a technical paper and presenting it to an audience of professionals. Everything about this evening is what is good about a professional society meeting. The food is actually quite nice (kudos to the staff at the MIT Faculty Club), the topics fresh and interesting, the presenters are generally very engaging (albeit sometimes quite nervous) and the audience is generous. The organizing committee from the New England Section did an outstanding job both in preparation for the meeting and during the evening.
The schools that presented papers included Massachusetts Institute of Technology, The U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Maine Maritime Academy, and the University of New Hampshire (including two papers from students in my Intro to Naval Architecture class). Topics included turbine-based tidal energy systems, a novel technology for passive pressure sensing, a review of the Colgate 26, design of a polar class icebreaker, stability testing and criteria for pontoon vessels, and vortex shedding on marine risers.
I was proud of the effort by my students, and would definitely encourage young engineers to take advantage of similar opportunities where they can find them. Writing and presenting is not easy when you are starting out, but trust me, it actually gets fun as you become more comfortable with the process. It is now one of the most enjoyable parts of my work. So, students – contact your local SNAME section, or any other professional society for that matter, to see if there is a similar venue near you. And, to the professionals – let’s make sure that students are afforded an opportunity to write and present with a “Student Papers Night” in your area.
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