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April 2013 www.sname.org/sname/mt training people like you and other youngsters to come by the tank and stand at the rails and look at whats hap- pening. I would spend days looking at the model running in the tank because we didnt have computers to collect the data. We had to stand at the tank side to look at the dierent scales?drag scale, heave scale, and so on that would ash by as the model went by, to record this data. In that process, we got a great view of what was happening hydrodynamically. We looked for bow waves, we looked for quarter waves, we looked for separation. You dont see any of that in CFD or in the computer at your desk. Its nowhere near the water. So Im saying experimental work will continue. Its a great source of education. Its a great source of data? data to be used not only to corroborate CFD results, but as I did, to do some regression analysis and come up with the methodologies for design. So I dont see any wind tunnels closing down. WALLING: Speaking of education?how do you feel about nav arch education programs that are currently available? Are they adequate? Or do they need to be focusing on something else? SAVITSKY: Ive got a feeling about that. Again, Ive got to come back to things the way they were when I was in college. Now Im talking about the 1940s, most of the instructors in my classes were people whod come from industry. ey had experience in designing things. ey had world experience and really working with peo- ple and so on. ey would be lecturing to us, putting a lot of their practical experience on the blackboard and explaining their ups and downs and whatever. Today, the emphasis in hiring a professional sta at a college is to bring in PhDs, even fresh PhDs who havent designed a thing, who begin to teach naval architecture. eyre just repeating some of the things that were taught to them by other PhDs that preceded them. I think we need more practical people being involved in the coursework that colleges offer in an engineering school. Because so many of these engineering students are not going to college to become researchers. ey want to do design work. Unfortunately, the courses are taught by research- ers rather than designers. WALLING: Do you see any game changers on the hori- zon? Opportunities for a huge leap in naval architecture and testing? SAVITSKY: ere will always be ships, obviously. Its the cheapest form of transportation. Naval architec- ture will always be very important. Opportunities will always come up. Its the innovation of ideas, people like you that hopefully will come along and accelerate its devolvement to make ships more economical, more green, which is the expression today, and more com- fortable and safe. Wed be looking for people like you? young people that hopefully are enthused about what youre doing to make further advances. Weve done a lot in my generation and I think were all proud of what weve accomplished. Now, weve got to pass the torch on to you. You and your fellow students and naval archi- tects are going to be the game changers. I mean, Im 91. I cant be a game changer much longer! [laughter] Bob, I was your age when I began looking at putting these planing hull equations together. So youve got the torch, you and your colleagues. WALLING: Dr. Savitsky, youve been such a huge part of Davidson Lab and naval architecture. Youve just been a huge contributor to the eld. What does that mean to you on a personal level? SAVITSKY: Bob, if I had to start all over again, I would go in for naval architecture. Its a relatively small eld, and you get to know a lot of people. Particularly a small boat naval architect?hes got the responsibilities of electrical, hydrodynamic, power, structures, on and on, on his desk compared to a big ship naval architect, who may be con- ned to designing station three, or whatever. I think naval architects, particularly for the small boat people, is the most challenging [segment] there is. I was excited being a part of it and I hope you will be, too. WALLING: If you could give me and my peers one piece of advice going forward, what would that be? SAVITSKY: Stay up with the literature, attend the meetings, read the papers, talk to people. Dont be shy. Expand yourself. Meet people. Attend the meetings. e rest will take care of itself. MT (founders and leaders) Daniel Savitsky continued You and your fellow students and naval architects are going to be the game changers.?