Dr. Kirsi K. Tikka will deliver the 2018 commencement address at Webb Institute on Saturday, June 16, 2018.  She will also be awarded Webb’s honorary doctorate.  Dr. Tikka is a marine industry leader and longstanding advocate for enhancing safety and environmental performance in the maritime industries.  Commencement will take place on campus on Saturday, June 16, 2018.

 Dr. Kirsi Tikka is the Executive Vice President and Senior Maritime Advisor at ABS (American Bureau of Shipping).  Prior to this role, she served as the organization’s Executive Vice President of Global Marine, President and Chief Operating Officer of the Europe Division, Vice President of Engineering and other senior leadership roles. Earlier in her career, she worked for Chevron Shipping in San Francisco and Wartsila Shipyards in Finland.

 Before joining ABS in 2001, Dr. Tikka was professor of Naval Architecture at Webb Institute.  In addition to teaching, she carried out research on structural strength of tankers and risk analysis and was actively involved in the US National Research Council Marine Board studies on double hull tankers.

 Dr. Tikka has a Doctorate in Naval Architecture and Offshore Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture from the University of Technology in Helsinki.

 She is a Fellow of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) and recipient of its David W. Taylor medal for notable achievement in naval architecture, a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA), and a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

On Sunday, May 6, 2018, Webb Institute joined forces with the City of Glen Cove to host a Batman Forever Screening event in Stevenson Taylor Hall. This event was the first of many to come this month for the City of Glen Cove that will be celebrating its 350th Anniversary.

The event was part of Glen Cove’s “Movies in Mansions” series which aims to highlight Glen Cove’s rich filmography. In 1995, Webb Institute’s Stevenson Taylor Hall served as the iconic Wayne Manor in the Batman Forever which starred Val Kilmer, Jim Carey, Nicole Kidman, Tommy Lee Jones, and many others. Students, faculty, and administration who were present for the filming recall the production being a very exciting time on campus.

Over 150 attendees had the chance to take a history and film tour of Webb Institute, take a photo with Batman, enjoy refreshments, and watch a screening of Batman Forever in the auditorium.

The event was a great opportunity for the general public to explore and learn more about Webb as well as celebrate the great City of Glen Cove.

Event Photo Gallery

Payscale has ranked Webb Institute #10 on their Best Value Colleges Report for 2018. Payscale ranks colleges according to the highest return on tuition investment 20 years after graduation. According to Payscale, Webb’s 20 Year Net ROI  is $987,000.

Webb was also ranked #12 on Payscale’s College Salary Report with Webb Alumni earning a $71,600 in their early career, and $143,900 in their mid-career salary.

You can visit the full College ROI Report for 2018 here: https://www.payscale.com/college-roi

This year’s Founder’s Day was celebrated on Friday, April 27, 2018. On Founder’s Day, the entire Webb campus comes together to dedicate an afternoon to honoring the philanthropic efforts of William H. Webb by participating in beautification projects around campus.

This year’s projects included giving Dr. Stein’s office a fresh coat of paint, beach clean-up, planting flower beds, shelf moving in the library, and building benches for the tennis courts, vanity side tables for the guest rooms, and student store shelves. Photos that were taken throughout the day are available on Smugmug.

After the projects were completed, a formal dinner was held in the Visconti Reception Room, where Sarah Wickenheiser ’08 served as keynote speaker. Wickenheiser, a graduate of Webb’s 2008 class, is a civilian engineer at the United States Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, Maryland where she serves as a project manager where she oversees preliminary and detail design engineering efforts during major maintenance availabilities for a variety of vessels.

She has recently made headlines for being the recipient of both the 2017 Coast Guard Engineer of the Year and DC Council for Engineering and Architecture Societies Young Engineer of the Year awards.

The entire dinner can be viewed on Webb Institute’s Vimeo channel.

A special thank you to the Director of Facilities, John Ferrante, and his crew, for setting up all of the projects for the students, faculty, and administration.

View this year’s video!

Founder’s Day 2018 from Webb Institute on Vimeo.

On Tuesday, April 24, 2018, Webb Institute received the Community Visionary Award from Brooklyn Boatworks at their annual Spring Party and Silent Auction.  Dean Matthew Werner accepted the award on behalf of the Webb Institute community.

For many years, Webb students have taken great pride in volunteering as mentors at Brooklyn Boatworks, a non-profit organization offering a unique boat building program to local middle school students.

The Spring Party, which was held at 7 World Trade Center in Manhattan included live music, food, and drinks from local vendors such as Eataly, Brooklyn Brewery, and New York Distilling Company, and unique silent auction items.

Students had fun enjoying the festivities and took some fun photos in the photo booth.

On Saturday, March 3, 2018, Webb Institute’s Dean and Professor of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, Matthew Werner served as the lead judge at the Cayman Islands SeaPerch Challenge.

Twenty-one teams from six schools in Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac participated in the day-long underwater robotics challenge, which was presented in partnership with Dart’s Minds Inspired, WISTA, and Maples and Calder. The long-term goal of the Cayman Islands SeaPerch Challenge is to encourage more students to study STEM subjects and ultimately, seek STEM-related careers.

Students who participated in the Cayman Islands SeaPerch challenge were required to submit an engineering journal where they logged their activities during the design and construction of their Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs). The students were then judged on how quickly they could navigate their vehicle and move objects around the pool at the Camana Bay Sports Complex. The engineering journals submitted by each team were evaluated and scored by members of the Webb faculty and student body to guarantee objective scoring. Engineering journal reviewers included: Professor Martin, Professor Onas, Mara DuVernois ’20, Renee Tremblay ’20, Jonathan Wang ’20, Chris Merola ’21, and Hank Rouland ’21.

The winners of the high school division were the Layman E. Scott Brac Bots (Kenny Ryan and David Tibbetts). And the winners of the middle school division were the John Gray Aqua Lasers (Diamond White, Davonte Howell, Alvan Boxwell, and Caleb Feare).

Both teams will head to the International SeaPerch underwater robotics challenge in Dartmouth, Massachusetts in June.

Webb Institute is proud to announce that Sarah Wickenheiser ’08, recent recipient of the 2017 Coast Guard Engineer of the Year Award, was selected by the DC Council for Engineering and Architecture Societies (DCCEAS) as their Young Engineer of the Year for 2017! Wickenheiser graduated in 2008 from Webb Institute with a B.S. in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering and is currently pursuing her Masters in Engineering Management from Johns Hopkins University.

Sarah Wickenheiser is a civilian engineer at the United States Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, MD. as a project manager, she oversees preliminary and detail design engineering efforts during major maintenance availabilities for a variety of ships, like the 140′ ocean-going icebreaking tug, 225′ ocean-going buoy tender, 270′ medium endurance cutter, and the WWII-era riveted sailing training ship Eagle. Prior to transitioning to more of a management role, she supported work at the USCG Yard by writing design study reports, completing shipboard investigations, designing structure, tracking weight changes, writing work instructions. Of particular note, Wickenheiser was the nexus of Eagle shell repair execution, developing the plan for removal of wasted hull plate and installation of new plate partially secured by rivets. The NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson also benefited from Wickenheiser’s technical expertise when she completed a structural analysis of the classification society-approved design which did not in fact meet requirements. These calculations prevented catastrophic structural failure, saving NOAA over $1 million. She is currently the project manager for a study to determine the end of service life for the US Army Corps of Engineers hopper dredge Essayons.

Prior to her career with the USCG, she was a naval architect for BMT Designers & Planners where she worked on a variety of commercial and military designs. She is a member of the American Society of Naval Engineers, Flagship Section. Wickenheiser is also a member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers where she has recently completed a term as the Chair of the Chesapeake Section. Wickenheiser is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Maryland.

Wickenheiser resides in Bowie, MD, with her husband, Vincent, and son, Peter.

The awards banquet will be held at the Westin Arlington Gateway on Saturday, February 24^th.

Source: DC Council for Engineering and Architecture Societies (DCCEAS)

Webb Institute is pleased to announce the appointment of Bradley Golden, Class of 1999, as an Assistant Professor of Naval Architecture.

Golden has served as an adjunct professor of naval architecture at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point since 2017.  He also provides technical consulting to commercial marine and offshore clients.

Golden began his professional career as a naval architect at Tritec Marine Consultants in the United Kingdom.  In this position he provided design and engineering services for owners and operators of commercial and offshore vessels. As the company expanded, Golden took on larger projects, subsequently becoming Senior Leader of the naval architecture group. In 2005, Golden returned to the United States to open a Tritec Marine Consultants office in New York.

Golden obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from Webb Institute and a Master of Science in Marine Technology from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Golden is a licensed Professional Engineer in multiple states and a Chartered Engineer through the UK’s Engineering Council. He is a member of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology (IMarEST), the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME), and the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA). He also served on the Executive Committee of the IMarEST’s Eastern USA Branch since 2006 and as a branch officer since 2014.

Webb Institute welcomes Golden to its faculty.

Webb Institute is sorry to report the passing of Webb’s oldest living alumni, Harrison T. Loeser ’43. He passed away in Waterford, CT at the age of 98, on Wednesday, January 17, 2018.

Loeser wrote a book about his life and career as a naval architect and marine engineer in a book entitled, Tales of an Engineer. The book is available free online, thanks to Webb Institute. The 60-page softcover, perfect bound book can be obtained by sending a check for $10.00 plus $2.50 shipping and handling to The Proper Exposure at P.O. Box 1070, New London, CT 06320.

About Harrison T. Loeser ’43: 

He graduated from Bayside High School and then attended Webb Institute of Naval Architecture. He married Grace (Molwitz) Loeser upon graduation, then after a brief stint at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, he shipped out to Pearl Harbor where he was involved in the repair of ships damaged in the Pacific theater. He served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Reserve from 1943-46.

After the war, he joined Bethlehem Steel Corporation where he worked on the design of Naval and Merchant ships, including supertankers, the C-4 Mariner Class cargo vessels, passenger liners, the SS Independence and SS Constitution, as well as dry docks and drill platforms.

In 1953, he joined the Electric Boat (EB) Division of General Dynamics. The company gave him the opportunity to earn his master’s in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at MIT. There he received training in nuclear engineering which he used on the design of the power plant on the first nuclear-powered submarine – the USS Nautilus. Next, he was made an engineer on several nuclear projects, including the USS Skate (the first watercraft to surface at the North Pole), the USS Triton and the USS Seawolf.

He became a supervisor in the new research and development department where his projects included the submarine – test and research (STAR) series of one-man submarines, as well as work on the General Dynamics-deep submergence research vessel (GD-DSRV) project. He went on to a position as director of marine systems at the General Dynamics corporate office in New York. Before leaving EB, he became the chief Naval architect of advance engineering and program development at Bethlehem Steel Shipyard in Quincy,Mass. While working at EB, he was awarded several patents involving arrays and radiation processing.

In 1968, he accepted a position at the Naval Underwater Systems Center in New London (now the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, R.I.). While employed there, he helped select and locate acoustic arrays on the Trident class submarines. He also attended the Naval War College in Newport and was appointed science advisor to the U.S. Navy’s Second Fleet operating in the North Atlantic and Norwegian Sea. He worked again on the USS Nautilus, this time heading up the installation of the marine acoustic communications sonar (MACS) arrays that tested long distance sonar transmission. He was also responsible for installing research equipment on submarines for polar research.He retired in 1984, but continued his acoustics work, writing the Sonar Engineering Handbook (1992) and the Fundamentals of Ship Acoustics (1996) .In his senior years, he penned short stories of events that occurred to him over the course of his career which were published this fall as The Tales of an Engineer.In his retirement he thoroughly enjoyed sailing the waters off southeastern Connecticut.

He volunteered in the community as a deacon, Sunday school teacher, Boy Scout commissioner, treasurer of the West Farms Land Trust,ethics commissioner, charter revision commissioner, and as a Friend of Harkness Memorial Park.His wife Grace died in 2015. He is survived by a sister; children, Christopher Loeser (Christine), Jane Loeser Clukay (Robert) of Groton, and Douglas Loeser(Amy Horne); three grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, two nieces and a nephew. A celebration of his life will be held at a later date.

Donations in his name can be made to the Friends of Harkness Memorial State Park, Box 10, Waterford, CT 06385 or Webb Institute, 298 Crescent Beach Road, Glen Cove, NY 11542.