Hannah Wistort ’17 Awarded Thomas B. Crowley Sr. Memorial Scholarship
Hannah Wistort ’17 pictured with Johan Sperling, Vice President of Crowley Maritime Corporation.
In the Fall of 2016, Webb Institute, a four- year college specializing in naval architecture and marine engineering, announced the 2016-2017’s recipient of the Crowley Maritime Corporation’s Thomas B. Crowley Sr. Memorial Scholarship. The Webb’s scholarship selection committee chose Hannah Wistort (Class of 2017) from Niskayuna, NY, for her hard work, academic excellence, and superb leadership skills that she actively displays on and off campus.
Throughout her time at Webb Institute, Hannah has been involved with many student organizations and community projects because of her passion for Webb. She is a member of the Webb Leadership Committee, which organizes community service and outreach projects for students. She has also been the student representative to Webb’s Board of Trustees and is the Co-Chair of the Women of Webb. Her interests include workboat design, LNG fueling, and the energy sector. Upon graduation, Hannah would like to work for a company within the marine industry and earn a PE license. She will also look to further her education with an MBA degree.
“Hannah is hardworking and dedicated student who has been an important member of the Webb community for the past three and a half years.” says Dean Matthew Werner. “Her focus on excellence, professionalism, community service, and leadership illustrate that her guiding principles are in alignment with the Crowley Maritime Corporation and this award.”
“The Thomas B. Crowley Memorial Scholarship Program is a true testament to Crowley’s commitment to higher education and the future of the maritime industry,” said President R. Keith Michel. “Webb Institute is honored to continue its partnership with Crowley Maritime Corp. and this prestigious program that has generously chosen to highlight and support our students.”
Since 1984, Crowley has provided more than $3 million dollars in scholarship funding for more than 1,000 students studying at maritime academies and other select institutions in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Central America. In 1994, Crowley Chairman and CEO Crowley Jr. established the Thomas B. Crowley Sr. Memorial Scholarship Program in honor of his father.
Webb Alumni, Faculty Honored by SNAME at Annual Banquet
During this year’s Alumni Banquet, several Webb Alumni and Faculty were honored by The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME). Some were named Fellows, while others received awards for their 50 years of membership, outstanding service, and work in the industry.
Congratulations to all this year’s honorees!
SNAME Fellows:
Michael Martin, Professor of Electrical Engineering
Richard Royce, Professor of Naval Architecture and Director of Research
Russell Hoffman ’74
50-year Golden Membership Certificate:
Peter Fontneau ’68
John Glaeser ’68
Michael Goodwin ’69
Ralph Johnson ’68
Thomas Koster ’67
William McCreight ’67
James Royle ’66
Paul Snyder ’69
Robert Walsh ’66
The Elmer L. Hann Award – Honorable Mention:
Christopher Rose ‘11, et al. for their paper, “Automatically Determining the Latest Possible Equipment Installation Times for Shipbuilding.”
The Lisnyk Student Design Competition – Third Place:
“Ice hardened Medium-Sized Combatant Design Proposal”
University of Michigan
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Matthew Collette ’99
Certificates of Appreciation:
Matthew Tedesco ’91 – For his dedication, service, and active participation as the Editor of MT
Bruce Rosenblatt (Hon.) and Webb’s Chairman of the Board, for 22 years of service and active participation on the SNAME Maritime Convention Committee.
Photos from the 2016 Alumni Banquet
Students Tour Composite Prototyping Center
On Wednesday, December 14, 2016 a group of students, accompanied by President Michel, visited the Composite Prototyping Center (CPC) in Plainview, New York.
The CPC is a unique, state of the art facility that is staffed by experienced pioneers in the field of composites. It provides organizations with the opportunity to design, prototype, test, and train all under one roof. The center also offers workforce training opportunities for veterans, as well as STEM programs for high school and college students.
While touring the center, students had the opportunity to learn about advancements in composite materials including their design, construction, development, and applications. Students also got the chance to check out the center’s testing rooms, and have their questions answered by CPC professionals.
Experiencing the facility’s resources hands-on complemented the students’ materials science studies at Webb. We would like to thank the great staff at CPC for taking the time to host our students on not one, but two occasions this semester.
Modern-day Record Participation!
The 2015-16 Webb Alumni Fund (WAF) exceeded expectations AGAIN!
Contributions were $1,888,689 exceeding last year’s amount by $341,610 (22%) and our 2015-2016 goal by 28%. The average gift increased to $2,295 (up 17%).
Participation was record-setting this year at 76.3% for Alumni and 73.5% for the Alumni Association overall. Congratulations to all who were a part of this year’s success; for those who couldn’t give this year, we look forward to your participation in the 2016-17 WAF. I owe a special thanks to the dedication of the Class Agents and Group Leaders who really are the key liaisons to the Alumni Association base.
We can’t mention the WAF success without noting the achievements and efforts of the comprehensive Campaign for Webb. The successes are purposely interdependent. The momentum we’ve previously established in the Alumni Fund has been and will continue to be critical to the success of the Campaign for Webb. The Campaign was publicly launched on September 10, 2015. Every dollar contributed to Webb from July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2019, including your Alumni Fund gifts, counts toward the comprehensive Campaign for Webb. The contribution and participation levels illustrate the strong commitment the Alumni Association has to Webb’s achieving its financial goals.
Twenty classes achieved 100% participation, which is inspirational: ’44b, ’48, ’49, ’52, ’53, ’54, ’55, ’59, ’60, ’67, ’69, ’70, ’95, ’05, ’07, ’09, ’11, ’13, ’15, and ’16. I would like to point out that the class of 1995 is the first class of this decade to feature 100% participation in quite some time. Congratulations to all of you!
Last but not least, I’d like to change tracks a little bit. Filling the shoes of John Malone ’71 was a task I did not take lightly. The commitment is significant but I have to say that I am glad I have taken on the position. Not only is it an effort that I fully stand behind, it is one that the grand majority of alumni, honorary alumni, friends, and family stand behind as well. That is by far the most rewarding part of being the WAF chairman. Serving as Chair reminds me of what I enjoyed most about Webb, the tight sense of community. I have connected with so many of you and apologize to those with whom I have not yet had the opportunity to do so. As you can imagine, getting to know 1100+ people is a monumental task, but one I face with enthusiasm. The class agents, group leaders and I, are here to urge you to be a part of the Alumni Association. Sometimes the gentle reminders turn into urgent reminders (Webb grads never got extra credit for turning things in early), but nevertheless it’s personally rewarding to see the Alumni Association support the school in such significant ways.
See you at Homecoming!
-Jake M. Neuman ’93
Alumni Fund Chairman
(Photo Caption: Jake Neuman ’93 with Dean Matthew Werner ’95, PG ’97 at the Alumni Banquet in November 2016)
Webb’s Engineering Lab Tech Displays, Donates Historical Mechanical Drawings to Greek Museum
“Two Circle Goniometer” rendering done by Laurits Christian Eichner.
In early November, Webb’s Engineering Laboratory Technician and Machinist, James Swan, donated several mechanical drawings to the Herakleidon Museum of science, art and mathematics in Athens, Greece. Before their donation, Swan made all the drawings available to the Webb community by displaying each work in the campus Reading Room.
The drawings were rendered by a historically influential maker of scientific instruments, Laurits Christian Eichner. Eichner was born and completed his engineering degree in Denmark, but spent his professional career in Paterson, New Jersey.
Eichner’s work included telescopes and various other scientific instruments, many of which are still in service in laboratories and observatories around the world. During his career, Eichner studied the history of science, and was even commissioned by the Smithsonian Institution to create reproductions of many historically important scientific instruments.
After his death, the Smithsonian mounted an exhibit of his work and published a biography to accompany that exhibit.
Eichner’ mechanical drawings came into Swan’s possession through the state of his friend, Robert Deroski, a friend and collaborator of Eichner.
“I’m delighted to finally have an appropriate archive to place these materials that have been in my possession for years,” said Swan about the donation. “It was also great to have the chance to share the drawings with Webb students before they were shipped off to Greece.”
The museum’s founder, Paul Firos, and his wife Belinda, came to Webb to collect the drawings in person where they posed for a commemorative group photo with Swan. Swan was introduced to Firos by Connecticut art dealer, Jefferey deSolla Price. Prices’ father was an important scientist who collaborated with Eichner and Deroski in studying, and making models of, the Antikythera Mechanism. The Herakleidon is set to mount an exhibition on the Antikythera Mechanism in the upcoming weeks.
Eichner drawing’s displayed in Webb’s Reading Room.