Webb Institute President Elected to NAE

Webb Institute said that its president, R. Keith Michel, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). In the announcement on the election of new members, President Michel was cited by the NAE for his “contributions to the design, construction and operation of efficient, environment-friendly ships.”

Upon learning of his election, Michel said, “It is indeed a special honor to be selected by my peers to serve on the NAE.  I am indebted to Webb Institute for instilling in me the fundamentals of engineering and a passion for lifelong learning and to Herbert Engineering Corp. for providing a distinctly collaborative workplace that enabled me to pursue my interests in ship safety and protection of the marine environment.”

Dr. George Campbell, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Webb Institute stated, “All of us at Webb are proud of President Keith Michel's singular contributions to the critically important field of marine engineering. His election to the National Academy of Engineering is a well-deserved tribute to his lifelong accomplishments. We are proud, too, to count him among Webb's distinguished alumni."

Michel worked at Herbert Engineering for forty years where he contributed to the design of a wide variety of ocean-going ships–designs that are broadly recognized for their efficiency and high levels of safety and environmental performance.  Some of the contributions to ship safety pioneered by Michel and his colleagues at Herbert include the advancement of methodologies incorporated by the International Maritime Organization to assess the environmental performance of ships with regard to oil outflow following collisions and groundings, investigations enhancing the profession’s understanding of the phenomenon of parametric rolling in random seas, and the creation of software algorithms applied by salvage companies worldwide to assess salvage alternatives for damaged ships.

According to the Academy, “Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer.  Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice or education.”

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