NEW!
About two years ago, Susan Nelson from the Society for Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) approached me to put together a book for middle and high school students on careers in the marine industries. Months later, we hashed out a plan and I began writing.
I knew I would love writing the book because my family is from Hawaii and the ocean, sand, surfing, and boating were a big part of my world while growing up. Playing in the water seemed to connect everyone together. Before I went to school for biomedical engineering, I lived on a sailboat in the San Francisco Bay. It was a magical time in my life and for better or for worse, I have experiences from it that changed the course of my life and left many imprints on my heart.
As I wrote, I was immediately drawn to ocean engineering and the systems that engineers are designing to harvest energy from the oceans. When I began working on boat and ship design, I was enthralled with the many facets of ship design. I toured companies, talked to hundreds of people about boats and found myself wondering if I should go back to school for naval architecture. Learning about Navy ships was an unexpected delight as I learned about the systems to keep a ship upright even if a torpedo hits it. Did you know that it can take over a decade to design and build an aircraft carrier? Every type of engineer is involved and the work is highly specialized.
I call maritime engineers "Blue Sky" engineers. World trade is increasing, development of the oceans is still in its early stages with many parts still not fully explored, we feed much of the world with protein harvested from the oceans, and we are developing systems to extract minerals and precious metals, energy and power from the water-covered areas of our planet. The work of naval architects, and marine, ocean and naval engineers is global in nature and has never been more important. These professions connect people and places to each other in a way that is unmatched by other engineering careers.
Learn More...
