Table of Contents:
Pacific
Northwest
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Northern California
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Gulf
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Chesapeake |
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Table of Contents:
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Chesapeake
Section What can WE do to ensure a skilled technical Maritime Workforce? A very interesting and timely paper/presentation was moderated by Ed Comstock; the paper presented to a the last meeting of the season will probably vie with any Sections for the honor of longest section presentation. The subject of future workforce is not only a volatile issue for naval architects and marine engineers, but also for the manning of ships and seeking a “pipeline” for skilled professionals for yards; the issue of skilled labor force is being addressed by other industries as well. The June dinner meeting was held at the Washington Navy Yard. The paper titled “Building a Skilled and Innovative Maritime Workforce for the 21st Century” describes the need for and approaches to creating a robust pipeline of skilled workers into the U.S. maritime industry. A healthy pipeline is necessary to meet critical needs for the future. The presentation described the demographic trends in the U.S. workforce noting conditions and future prospects, and the elements of the maritime workforce pipeline. The presenters described the various approaches possible to increase interest in maritime careers and strengthen the flow and retention of skilled and innovative workers. Covered were the various types of educational outreach and levels of student engagement and intervention along with the complementary needs of the education community to stimulate interest and engage students to better apply themselves and excel. The presentation identified specific personal volunteer activities that SNAME, ASNE and other related maritime professional societies participation activities that support the outreach initiatives. Ms Beermann-Curtin described the National Naval Responsibility for Naval Engineering (NNR-NE) program. The program was initiated in 2002 to ensure the presence of a strong U. S. Naval Engineering discipline to maintain technical superiority in the design and integration of innovative maritime technologies into the future fleet. The near term goal was to strengthen the Ocean Engineering, Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering departments for viability within the universities. The far term goal is to recruit the students to ensure a strong Naval Engineering community for the future to meet the challenges of an aging work force. Current NNR-NE initiatives focus on tool development as well as the entire ‘human pipeline’: kindergarten - 12th grade; undergraduate design projects; graduate and post-graduate research projects; curriculum development; and career development for professionals.
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The program has been successful in initiating a national educational outreach program for grades K through 12. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology initiated the SEAPERCH program; a hands-on kit for students to build and test a remotely operated vehicle. For more info go to the website:http://web.mit.edu/seagrant/k12/SeaPerch
Photo courtesy of MIT Sea Grant & Brandy Moran Additionally, MIT is operating an interactive web-based education, research and application environment for advanced hull form design (http://imarine@mit.edu) focused on teaching using the computer as an aid. The NNR-NE is also working with SNAME and ASNE to distribute Naval Engineering materials to high school guidance counselors. Keep your eyes open for a call for volunteers to help with this project. The NNR-NE program has funded academic research in advanced technologies for incorporation into future naval designs incorporating the use of modeling and optimization techniques. This has led to a very significant success; the initiation of new Naval Engineering education programs at four Universities. These include Stevens Institute of Technology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Florida Atlantic University, and Stanford University.
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