SAWE Hampton Roads Chapter

In December 2017, the Hampton Roads Chapter met for it’s annual holiday social gathering at the Park Lane Tavern in Hampton, Virginia.  A time to socialize and catch up with each other, the chapter avoids technical presentations for these events.  We had a great time and a couple of us got to sit in the “King” chairs as the Park Lane is an English Pub style restaurant and tavern, a favorite among us.  A good time was had by all and it’s always nice to relax and catch up with each other one last time at the end of the year before the holidays.

 

 

On November 2, 2017, Bill Boze, the SAWE International President, gave a presentation titled “Mass Properties Discipline – Risk and Opportunity” to the Hampton Roads chapter of the SAWE.  It was very informative and has been given to others as well including at the International Conference in Montreal, Canada, at the Texas Regional Conference, and at meeting of the newly formed San Diego Chapter.

Congratulations to Jeff Cerro on being selected as SAWE’s nominee for the Peninsula Engineer’s Council Engineer of the Year Award! Jeff’s dedication to professionalism is supported by his service to the SAWE and the Hampton Roads Chapter. Along with being an Honorary Fellow of the SAWE, his numerous technical achievements, publications and NASA accommodations illustrate how well deserved this nomination is.

The voting will take place over the next month, were nominees will be evaluated based on their technical achievements in engineering, leadership, community service and service to the profession.

Good Luck Jeff!

The Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk will be hosting a photography exhibit in celebration of NASA Langley’s 100 year anniversary. Selections from NASA’s archives will be on display from October 2017 through March 2018. The photographs will highlight the beginnings of space exploration and the contributions of NASA Langley in aerospace and aeronautics over the past 100 years.

Admission to the museum and the exhibit is free.

More information available at

http://www.chrysler.org/exhibitions/upcoming/

 

With the new season kicked off with the annual picnic last week, we are ready to embark on another year of monthly meetings and presentations!

As discussed in the past, we are still looking to find a new location for our monthly meetings. I know we all love the Chinese food at Peking Buffet, but variety is the spice of life as they say. So far we have not had much luck in finding a venue that has a separate room for us to hold presentations while also providing quick meal service (ie buffet style or order when you walk in). If anyone has any suggestions or ideas of a possible location please let us know! We are open to suggestions!

But who is going to entertain us while we eat? That’s up to you! If you have a topic relating to the vast world of mass properties, are writing a paper for the upcoming conferences or have an idea for a special guest speaker, we want to know! Please contact Dave or Nick with any suggestions or ideas.

2017 Marks the 100^th anniversary of NASA Langley Research Center! Centennial celebrations have been occurring throughout the year and continue with an Open House event on October 21. This event allows the public to come see some of the exciting work the oldest NASA field office has participated in both past and present! The daylong event will feature hands on activities, lectures and facilities tours to include wind tunnels, laboratories and a historic aircraft hangar! You won’t want to miss this exciting event celebrating 100 years in aerospace history!

Admission to the event is FREE!

October 21, 2017: 9am-4pm

More information available at

https://openhouse.larc.nasa.gov/

https://www.nasa.gov/langley/100/events

The Hampton Roads Chapter held it’s annual September picnic to kick off the new year for the society.  We normally hold it at a local city park, but after coordinating for several years now, I wanted to give it a try at my own house.  I noticed we were having more and more children coming and with a recent playground addition to my backyard, I figured I’d give it a shot.  It turned out very well, although, as my wife pointed out, it was a lot of work to get our house in good enough condition to host guests, especially with 3 children of my own.  It was worth it though as I got a lot of positive feedback and the weather held off to make it a very nice evening.  Unlike the park, we didn’t have to leave by dusk either, which allowed us to take our time, especially when it’s more convenient for guests to work a full day and then come by.

We had 32 attendees, including 14 members, 10 spouses/guests, and 8 children between 1 and 8 years old.  As always, we had a full menu of hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken salad sandwiches, a number of sides, some dessert, and plenty of drinks.

Please enjoy the photos in the link.

SAWE Hampton Roads Chapter Picnic 2017

– David Cash, Hampton Roads Chapter President

While yes, this is the SAWE, I also find it important that we recognize our chapter members for accomplishments in other societies as well.  For those that don’t know, Bill was recently awarded the status of Honorary Fellow with the SAWE at the 2016 International Conference in Denver, Colorado. I was honored to receive his award for him that night in his absence as a Hampton Roads Chapter member and sitting President of the chapter.

This spring/summer, several chapter members worked to help get Bill nominated for the status of SNAME Fellow.  David Hansch, an SAWE Fellow who is also very active in SNAME, led the effort and Bill Boze, our SAWE President and Honorary Fellow, and myself were happy to write letters of recommendation to endorse him, along with another, David Chapman.  Fortunately, Bill’s nomination was accepted and SNAME has bestowed upon him the status of Fellow!

Please see Bill’s notification letter from SNAME and congratulate him on his status in both international societies.  Of course, for those that know Bill, his history with Naval Architecture makes him an easy nomination.  Congratulations Bill Fox!  Notification to Newly-Elevated Fellow_William A. Fox

– David Cash, President, Hampton Roads Chapter

Newport News Shipbuilding is one of the oldest shipyards in America at over 130 years old!  Located along the James River in Virginia, it is the sole facility that can build, overhaul/refuel and decommission nuclear powered aircraft carriers.  Halfway through an aircraft carriers 50 year lifespan, it comes back to Newport News Shipbuilding for a multi-year overhaul where it is repaired, upgraded, updated with the latest technology, and its nuclear reactors refueled.  The  Nimitz-Class carrier, USS George Washington(CVN 73), has just arrived to begin this process.  The video shows the ship being lead across the river from Naval Station Norfolk to the dry docks at Newport News Shipbuilding. Hampton Roads SAWE members will be monitoring weight changes throughout the ship’s overhaul in order to guarantee her stability over the 25 years of her service.

In June, Newport News Shipbuilding successfully completed a superlift of the stern of the newest aircraft carrier the USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79). Weight and mass properties are certainly a major priority when lifting several tons of steel and placing them gently and precisely against the existing structure.  Members of the Hampton Roads Chapter were involved in this crucial step of construction for the new warship.