Senior Spotlight: Linda Waters ’20
Hometown: Annapolis, MD
Thesis Title: A Machine Learning Approach to Renewable Energy and Cost Optimization for Wind-Powered Cargo Ships
Post Graduate Plans: I will be pursuing a PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Maryland with their Center for Disaster Resilience. My degree will be a joint focus on environmental and systems engineering with an emphasis on societal impacts.
What was your favorite Winter Work internship?
My favorite Winter Work internship was my junior year internship, where I was working with Naval Group in Nantes, France. My internship introduced me to artificial intelligence programming, which I immediately loved and was fortunate enough to incorporate into my thesis. It was also fun to travel, experience a new culture, practice my French, and eat delicious food everyday!
What are you passionate about?
Renewable energy and sustainability. Anthropogenic emissions, global warming, ocean acidification, and environmental destruction are rapidly changing the Earth, and, as an engineer, I hope to slow, stop, and reverse the adverse impacts of human behavior on the environment.
What will you miss the most about Webb?
I will definitely miss my classmates the most. After four years together, my classmates have become my family, and I can’t believe we won’t be living together, stressing out about assignments, and making countless happy memories together next year.
Who was your favorite mentor at Webb and why?
Professor Scott! He’s one of my favorite professors, and I’m so thankful that he was willing to be my thesis advisor. He always reminds us of the importance of integrity and ethics in our work, and he’s such a great role model.
What would people be surprised to know about you?
I can play the banjo, am formally trained in Bach’s composition style, and know a lot about music theory – I’ve taken over ten years of music theory classes, including some college classes!
A Message from President Michel
The last few months and especially the last few weeks have been troubling times for our nation and the world. The coronavirus has challenged us, as it impacts our daily lives and leaves loved ones at risk. Then came the tragic and deeply disturbing death of George Floyd. I hope you have watched the video, and then watched it again. Yes, it is uncomfortable and painful to comprehend, but we must confront ourselves with the harsh reality of the world around us. This is not a time to look away. The killing of George Floyd is only the latest in a series of senseless deaths that has brought into focus the systemic racism and inequality that grips our nation. That a portion of our population lives in constant fear, a fear that is compounded by a sense of hopelessness, is both amoral and unacceptable.
The pandemic has captured our attention and our actions over the last few months but it will pass, as vaccines are developed and treatments are enhanced. The racism and inequality that haunts our society will be more difficult to deal with and will take longer to resolve. We should all be concerned. Individually we may feel powerless but as a community we can make a difference.
We should ask ourselves, “What can the Webb family do?” We can begin through self-reflection – by assessing our own biases, both conscious and unconscious. We can aspire to acts of kindness and respect. In our Strategic Plan adopted by the Board last August, we renewed our commitment to enhance diversity and inclusivity at our college. When we gather together again this fall, we will discuss what this means. How do we foster greater inclusivity at Webb while in the broader sense, confront injustice and inequality in the world around us? I look forward to engaging with all members of the Webb community as we work together to make a difference.
Keith Michel ’73
President
Webb Institute
Founders Day 2020: A Bit Different but Still the Same
On Founder’s Day, the entire Webb campus comes together to dedicate an afternoon to honor the philanthropic efforts of William H. Webb by participating in beautification projects around campus.
Due to COVID-19, this year’s Founder’s Day, observed on May 1st, 2020, was celebrated a bit differently than in previous years. The nineteen students who stayed on-campus worked alongside the remaining essential administration and staff. On-campus tasks included a lot of cleaning: the kitchen, bike garage, and the floors of the Couch Academic Building were left sparkling and thesis digitization and landscaping projects were tackled as well. Isa Hill ’20 gave the drab hallway near the Brocket Arms Pub a much-needed facelift by painting a beautiful nautical mural. The students also assisted Chef Rob in the kitchen by serving lunch and making home-made chocolate cronuts for dessert.
Founder’s Day also inspired a few members of the off-campus student body and administration. Kasey Kennedy ’23 helped her dad start a garden in her backyard, the Assistant Director of Development, Joe Casio, donated blood, and the Director of Athletics and Electronics Lab Technician, Pat Doherty, worked in his community as the Oceanside Sanitation Commissioner.
Thank you to the members of the Webb community who participated in this special event!
We hope to be all together for next years and make an even bigger impact!
Watch the video and experience Founder’s Day!
Senior Spotlight: Jonathan Wang
Hometown: Tianjin, China
Thesis Title: Improving Shipyard Management: Automated Assignment of Dependencies Within Ship Overhaul Schedules
Post Graduate Plans: NSWC Carderock, Combatant Craft Division
What are you passionate about?
Food. Cooking. Travel. Photography. Adventure. Exploring new places and new foods.
What’s your favorite spot on campus and why?
I enjoy relaxing by the yacht club, especially during sunset. I find the sound of waves relaxing and it is easy to take a break from the work and other things happening at Webb to enjoy a good sunset, watch the waves crash on the beach, and look out across the Long Island Sound.
What would be the best job for you?
One that continually provides new challenges and problems for me to solve. I love the process of working my way through a problem and the satisfaction of putting the effort into solving it. I also work well in an environment where I am given autonomy to complete my own work. I also enjoy a mixture of office and hands-on work and would love to be able to travel occasionally for work.
Do you have any advice for incoming students?
Be involved. Webb is such a small community that your experience, along with everyone else’s will be better when you are involved with the community. There are so many ways to do so: join a sport or a student club; volunteer when opportunities arise; take a position of leadership. Be involved in different activities and learn something new! Work is important, but don’t forget to enjoy all the opportunities Webb has to offer.
What was your favorite Winter Work internship?
Sea Term on a MARAD ship docked just outside downtown San Francisco during the summer (I was in Southampton for the winter). Seeing the inner workings of the engine room was very interesting. Even more enjoyable was having the weekends free to explore the city. I love food and photography and SF had plenty of opportunities to explore both hobbies. It was basically summer vacation for two months in San Francisco with free room and board. The only downside was not getting to experience heavy seas like many of my classmates. The San Francisco Bay is not known for large waves.
SD1 Projects: Team Hot Stuff
About Junior Class Small Vessel Design Project (SD1):
As a part of Professor Bradley D.M. Golden’s ’99 Ship Design 1 (SD1) class, the juniors spent the first two-and-a-half months of the spring semester preparing their first complete concept designs.
Using the knowledge they’ve gained in their nearly three years studying at Webb and the experiences from their winter work periods to date, this was the students’ first opportunity to apply the naval architecture and marine engineering principles they’ve studied including stability, ship’s structures, main machinery systems, auxiliary systems, resistance and propulsion, and electrical engineering.
Working in small groups of three and four, the students selected one of the vessel types and took their first couple of spins around the design spiral to prepare vessel concept designs. To help make the project as realistic as possible, members of industry familiar with each of the vessel types helped prepare the statements of design requirements that each of the designs had to meet. To challenge the students even further, one or two “curveballs” were thrown into each design statement to make the students think long and hard about how they would achieve their objectives.
At the end of the spring semester, the students presented their final designs to their fellow students, faculty, and members of industry who served as part of an evaluation team. After three years at Webb, the Junior class can now say with confidence that they’re familiar with the design process and are well on their way to joining the fields of naval architecture and marine engineering.
Visit our Junior Class Small Vessel Design Project page to view all of this year’s projects.
Project Name: Team Hot Stuff
Designers: Jack Becker, Jackson Juska, and Maggie Maguire
Vessel Type: Fireboat
Standard Mission:
In response to an increasing need for firefighting services in the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach area, the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) has commissioned Team Hot Stuff to design a new class of firefighting vessels. This class must bridge the gap between the LAFD’s existing larger and smaller vessels by providing not only a fast response time but also a large pumping capacity. During its service, this vessel must respond to and suppress fires, provide emergency medical services, defend against acts of terrorism, respond to environmental pollution, aid in search and rescue operations, and provide specialty team support.