Arthur A. Burr ’54 Awarded Honorary Doctorate at Homecoming 2017
On Saturday, May 20, 2017, Webb Institute honored one of its own during the Annual Alumni Homecoming event.
After a fun-filled day of activities, delicious meals, class reunion photos, and presentations, Alumnus Arthur A. Burr ’54 was awarded in a special ceremony with the highest degree Webb Institute can grant, an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science. Mr. Burr was chosen for his excellence in the marine industry, and unwavering support of Webb Institute and its students.
Over the years, Mr. & Mrs. Burr have given so much to Webb. In 2006, their generous donation made The Arthur & Marilyn Burr Junior Classroom possible, which is in memory of Arthur’s departed classmates, John Franklin and John Dalzell. Additionally, in 2007, the Benjamin C. Keeler Reading Room was dedicated because of the Burr’s gifts to Webb. The “Art Burr” William H. Webb scholarship endowment provides a full tuition scholarship for a Webb student each year.
Alumni in attendance for the special ceremony remarked that they were “inspired” by Mr. Burr’s achievement and the example he has set for alumni to give back to Webb.
After receiving his honorary degree, Mr. Burr thanked Webb, his extended family (his Burr Yacht company associates), his wife Marilyn, and daughter Theresa for their support.
The Webb community is eternally grateful for Mr. Burr’s supreme generosity that will transcend throughout our institution for years to come.
Video of Honorary Doctorate Ceremony
Photo Gallery of Homecoming 2017
Bruce S. Rosenblatt 2017 Commencement Speaker
Bruce S. Rosenblatt served as President of his family-owned business, M. Rosenblatt & Son, Inc. (MR&S), a full service naval architecture & marine engineering company established in 1947 jointly by his grandfather, Mandell, and his father, Lester. He is now President of Bruce S. Rosenblatt & Associates, LLC (BSR), naval architects & marine engineers, the successor organization of MR&S.
Mr. Rosenblatt proudly employs a number of Webb Institute alumni, and has taken on several Webb student interns over the years, as well as very generously contributed to Webb’s Mission and Strategic Plan. From 2005 to the present, he has served as a member of the Webb Board of Trustees, the last year as Chairman providing guidance, time, and talent; for that we will be forever grateful.
Founder’s Day 2017
On Friday, April 28, 2017, the Webb community celebrated Founder’s Day. Founder’s Day focuses on honoring and recognizing our founder, William H. Webb for his grand achievements, extraordinary vision, and generosity. William Webb’s grand efforts have given hundreds of students the opportunity to obtain a great education in a truly unique way. Therefore, it has become a tradition to honor him by devoting one afternoon each year to repairing, reorganizing, and beautifying Webb Institute’s historic campus.
During this year’s Founder’s Day observation, students, faculty, and staff spent the day combing the beach, maintaining student whalers, reorganizing library archives, planting new trees and flowers, washing windows, setting up for the evening’s dinner and much more!
After the days tasks were completed, everyone washed up, dressed in their formal wear, and headed to the Visconti Reception Room to enjoy the Annual Founder’s Day Banquet. The evening included performances by the WooFs, a delicious dinner by Flik Dining, the traditional cutting of the cake, and speeches by Webb’s Student Organization President Vincent Commisso ’18, Dean Matt Werner, and President and CEO of Metal Shark Boats, Chris Allard ’04. Allard’s captivating speech touched on the current state of the marine industry, what lies ahead in the future, the legacy of William H. Webb, and the importance of carrying on Webb’s mission.
View Founder’s Day Dinner Video
View Founder’s Day Activity Video
Webb Takes Second Place in WFSA 2017 Ferry Design Competition
A team of Webbies have taken second place in the Worldwide Ferry Safety Association (WFSA) 2017 Ferry Design Competition. The student team, advised by Dean Matthew Werner, consisted of Captain Andrew Vogeler ’18, Brandon Louis ’18, and Nicholas De Sherbinin ’18.
Students from nine institutions, including Webb, submitted designs for a 200 passenger ferry for 30 kilometers of the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok Thailand, with the mandate of providing plans for a vessel that is safe, affordable to construct and operate and is appropriate for its intended geographic place. The University of Liege took first place, Webb second, and the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur third.
The team will give a presentation on their vessel at the Ferry Safety and Technology Conference on Thursday, May 11, 2017, in New York City where they will also be receiving their award.
About Webb’s Ferry Design:
The team paid particular attention to ensuring passenger safety and operational efficiency in their design. This was shown through the incorporation of redundancy as a core characteristic in various mechanical systems on board the vessel.
This redundancy is achieved by designing the mechanical systems to be operated by one of two machinery spaces in the ship’s demi-hulls. These systems include the fuel oil system, the carbon dioxide fire suppression system, the fire main system, electrical power system and the steering gear control.
The team also designed easy open/removable windows to provide an easy escape from the vessel in the event of a major emergency.
In order to keep the vessel affordable, the hull is comprised of uniplanar curves aimed at reducing manufacturing costs, while still maintaining efficiency and pleasing aesthetics. The team also planned to reduce the overall maintenance cost of vessel through the use of local shipyards and mechanics, as well as through the use of Cummins engines and generators. The ferry also makes use of a simple interior design, which allows for reduced manufacturing costs when compared to other catamaran ferries.
The team also considered ease of operation by designing a midship loading station which would allow the vessel to be docked at the existing piers. The transverse offset of the propellers relative to centerline increases maneuverability of vessel at low speed operation, while a raised pilothouse and strategic bench placement increases overall pilot visibility. The use of a CCTV system was considered to provide the pilothouse with exterior views of vessel during operation.
Alumni Spotlight: Wombi Rose ’09
Naval Architect — Turned Paper Engineer
After graduating
from Webb in 2009, I pursued a master’s degree at MIT in Computation for Design and Optimization, hoping to learn how to harness the power of technology to create better ship designs without having to build them one at a time. I learned a great deal about Greek symbols, linear algebra, and most importantly, how difficult it is to sum up real-world problems as a system of equations. While at MIT I worked with ABS and the folks at SeaRiver Maritime (ExxonMobil) on building a logistics system for offshore vessels and employing it to attempt to predict future trends in offshore support vessel design. As a lucky coincidence, I met a professional management consultant and fell in love with his job of helping managers identify their biggest challenges and influencing others in their organization to make positive changes. I was incredibly surprised to learn that there is an entire profession dedicated to this and that I could get a job doing that.
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