Royal Institution of Naval Architects honors Dr. Savitsky

Professor cited for his contributions to high-speed vessel design

HOBOKEN, N.J. -- Stevens Institute of Technology Professor Emeritus Daniel Savitsky has been awarded the Royal Institution of Naval Architects’ (RINA) 2007 Small Craft Group Medal, in recognition of his “significant contribution over many years to the development of high speed vessel design, through [his] research and papers,” said Trevor Blakely, Chief Executive of the RINA, in his announcement.

“This is an international recognition of Dan’s life-long commitment to excellence that truly touches us all,” said Dr. Michael S. Bruno, Stevens’ Dean of the Schaefer School of Engineering & Science. “Our esteem for Dan’s achievements is based on his amazing skill and generous sharing of knowledge, of which we at Stevens are privileged to be the regular beneficiaries. This award is yet further evidence that his impact has been felt on a global scale.”

Savitsky has been associated with Stevens for approximately 60 years and has authored dozens of research papers about the hydrodynamics of marine craft. His pioneering work on hydrodynamic design methodology of planing hulls, the so-called Savitsky method, was developed in the early 1960s and is still widely used.

Several years ago, Stevens and the Center for Maritime Systems honored the professor by christening a research vessel The R/V Savitsky. The vessel contains a 2,000-pound hydraulic A-Frame and a full suite of electronic navigation and communications instrumentation. The vessel also has a large working deck, which makes it stable in rough seas, and has the speed necessary to move quickly from one measurement point to another. Taken together, these attributes make her a perfect vessel to perform the type of research the lab conducts in the New York Harbor.