OCEAN, OFFSHORE and ARCTIC ENGINEERING - Kivi Niria

Welcome Letters
Dr. Walter Kuehnlein
8 | www.asmeconferences.org/OMAE 2011
Welcome from the OOAE Division
Welcome to the 30 th International Conference on
Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering (OMAE
2011). It is with great personal pleasure that I
welcome all of the attendees this year to Rotterdam,
the Netherlands. Exactly five years ago, when I
chaired OMAE 2006 in Hamburg, I talked with Bas
Buchner about having an OMAE Conference again
in the Netherlands, and now, here we are and I even
have the honor to open the Conference.
The Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering
Division of ASME features a wide range of social
and technical issues, like environmental protection,
education, HSE, energy supplies, environmental
loading, hydrodynamic behavior, arctic engineering,
materials selection, and structural strength. Aside
from all oil and gas related topics which are
still playing an important role, nowadays ocean
renewable energies like waves, tides, currents
and offshore wind have provided new and very
interesting areas for scientists and engineers.
The Conference Chair, Bas Buchner and his
dynamic and enthusiastic team put together a
very exciting program, starting with an interesting
Technical Opening Session under the title ‘Going
Deep!’ on the challenges of new activities offshore:
floating wind, deep water salvage and deepsea
mining. Special highlights of the social program are
the Rotterdam Offshore Boat Tour on Tuesday and
the special Banquet in the Maritime Museum on
Wednesday. Every conference day will conclude with
informal drinks where you can meet all your offshore
colleagues and make plans for dinner, etc.
Technical Chair Ron Riggs and the Symposium
Coordinators have put together an outstanding
program. This year, there are three specialty
symposia in addition to our ten regular symposia.
The specialty symposia are honoring Jan Vugts, Jo
Pinkster and Johan Wichers, three worldwide, well
known, outstanding offshore pioneers from the
Netherlands.
Thank you very much for joining us in Rotterdam
and I look forward to meeting and exchanging ideas
with you over the next four days.
—Dr. Walter L. Kuehnlein
Chair, OOAE Division of ASME
Managing Director, SEA2ICE Ltd. & Co. KG