1423 Powhatan St., Suite 1
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
Phone (703) 836-6727
Fax (703) 836-7491
Email: asnehq@navalengineers.org

 

ASNE is the leading professional engineering society for engineers, scientists and allied professionals who conceive, design, develop, test, construct, outfit, operate and maintain complex naval and maritime ships, submarines and aircraft and their associated systems and subsystems.  ASNE also serves the educators who train the professionals, researchers who develop related technology, and students who are preparing for the profession.  Society activities provide support for the U.S. Navy; U.S. Coast Guard; U.S. Marine Corps; U.S. Merchant Marine and U.S. Army.

ASNE is the seventh oldest technical society in the United States.  It was founded in 1888 by a group of naval engineering pioneers, most of them officers of the U.S. Navy's Engineering Corps, who sought a unified approach to their profession in order to make the most of new advances in technology. The purposes of ASNE are:           

  • to advance the knowledge and practice of naval engineering in public and private applications and operations,
  • to enhance the professionalism and well-being of members, and
  • to promote naval engineering as a career field.

For 125 years, the Society’s objectives have been strengthened and preserved to meet the changing needs of a time-honored profession. Today ASNE conducts a variety of technical meetings and symposia, publishes the highly regarded Naval Engineers Journal and a number of other technical proceedings and publications, and fosters professional development and technical information exchange through technical committees, local section activities and cooperative efforts with government organizations and other professional societies.

The Society's annual meeting, ASNE Day, is typically held in February of each year in the Washington, DC, area. The meeting features major addresses by high level industry and government leaders and panel discussions by leading members of the profession.  It also includes presentation and discussion of technical papers on a variety of timely naval engineering topics, presentation of the Society's prestigious annual awards and a large exposition with government and industry exhibits covering the full spectrum of naval engineering technology. ASNE Day is highlighted by the Society’s annual Honors Gala, attended by hundreds of executives and senior managers from both government and industry.

Our website is designed to not only serve our members, but also to support scholars, students and others interested in the varied field of naval engineering.  We welcome your suggestions on ways we can improve your experience. 

CDR Roderick M. White, USCG (Ret.)

Award: Gold Medal Award
Year: 1969
Recipient:
CDR Roderick M. White, USCG (Ret.)
Reason:
For his significant contribution to naval engineering as set forth in the following CITATION:

For exceptionally outstanding contribution to the science of Naval Engineering in the field of naval architecture as applied to the bow design of icebreakers and culminating in the adaption of the "White Bow" to the SS MANHATTAN. In 1965 CDR Roderick White published his analytical doctoral thesis entitled "Dynamically Developed Forces at the Bow of an Icebreaker." The analyses in this thesis led CDR White to the revolutionary concept of the "White Bow", a long concave bow approaching the ice at a lower and more effective angle than the conventional 30 degree bow.

Since 1965 CDR White has made invaluable contributions to the design of a new icebreaker soon to be built for the United States Coast Guard. He has participated in model testing in simulated ice conditions, and his latest paper including a computerized analytical approach to icebreaking entitled "Prediction of Icebreaker Capability" will be presented at the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, London, England, in 1970.

In 1968 CDR White was engaged as a consultant in the design and model testing of the $40,000,000 conversion of the SS MANHATTAN in an effort to provide that vessel with the latest and most effective icebreaking design known. Subsequently in 1969 the SS MANHATTAN made its mark in history and gained world-wide recognition of the "White Bow" with the first successful transit of the Northwest Passage by a commercial vessel.

Thus CDR White, through his keen scientific insight, his exceptional analytical skills and technical competence, and his demonstrated excellent engineering abilities has made outstanding and significant contributions in the advancement of icebreaker design in the field of Naval Engineering. His achievements clearly indicate his worthiness in being selected the outstanding Naval Engineer of 1969.