Memorial's OERC co-hosts international ocean, offshore and Arctic conference
Memorial’s Ocean Engineering Research Centre (OERC) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers will co-host the 34th International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering (OMAE 2015) in St. John’s from May 31 to June 5.
Conference Chair Dr. Wei Qiu, director of OERC and Memorial engineering faculty professor, expects approximately 800 peer-reviewed technical papers to be presented during OMAE 2015. Symposia topics include offshore technology; structures, safety and reliability; materials technology; pipeline and riser technology; ocean engineering; ocean renewable energy; offshore geotechnics; and petroleum technology.
“This conference is the ideal opportunity to bring the world of the ocean, offshore and Arctic industry and research to Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Dr. Qiu. “It will allow Memorial University, the province and the provincial industry to showcase advances in this field, and it will position local companies and the university on the world stage.”
Three professors will also be honoured for their contributions to education, the advancement of research and the ocean and naval architectural engineering profession in Canada: Dr. Mahmoud Haddara, professor emeritus with Memorial’s engineering faculty; Dr. Chi-Chao (Charles) Hsiung, who is retired from Dalhousie University; and Dr. Sander Calisal, professor emeritus with the University of British Columbia (UBC).
Two of these professors played important roles in Memorial’s Ocean and Naval Architectural Engineering (ONAE) program. Established in 1980, it has developed an international reputation for its unique research focus on ocean technology and its graduates are in high demand among industry. Memorial’s undergraduate ONAE program is the only one in Canada and one of the few in North America.
Dr. Bruce Colbourne, head of Memorial’s ONAE department, will highlight the contributions of Drs. Haddara, Hsiung and Calisal on June 1 during the technical session entitled Canadian Shipbuilding and Hydromechanics.
Dr. Haddara, who received his PhD in naval architecture from the University of California, Berkeley, joined Memorial in 1986. He chaired the ONAE discipline for five years until 1998 and was then appointed associate dean for graduate studies until 2003. He also served as interim dean of the engineering faculty. One of his primary areas of research was the study of ship motion and stability. He received the Memorial President’s Award for Exceptional Service in 2010 and the following year was designated professor emeritus.
Dr. Hsiung received his PhD in naval architecture from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1972. He joined Memorial seven years later to start the first naval architectural program in Canada and also helped to set up the university’s towing tank facilities. In 1983, he moved to the Technical University of Nova Scotia, which later merged with Dalhousie University, and was the founding director of the Centre for Marine Vessel Development and Research established in 1989.
Dr. Calisal received his PhD in naval architecture from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1970. A decade later, he joined UBC where he developed the program of naval architecture in mechanical engineering and its research laboratory. He also spent four years developing a new engineering program at UBC’s Okanagan campus.