NEWS ROOM
       
   

10 October 2005

THE VOICES OF WMTC 2006

  • The IMarEST President – Maurice Storey, CB, CEng FIMarEST
  • The IMarEST Chief Executive – Keith Read, CBE, CEng, FIMarEST
  • The Chairman of the IMarEST Technical Committee – Professor Chris Hodge, FREng, CEng, FIMarEST
  • The Chairman of the Innovation Hour – Dr John Chudley, CEng, FIMarEST

The IMarEST President – Maurice Storey, CB, CEng FIMarEST

It is a great privilege for the IMarEST to host WMTC 2006, which, following the successful first conference in San Francisco in 2003 is now rapidly establishing itself as the key global maritime technical event. We are equally privileged to be holding the event in the heart of historic London – there are few venues in the world to rival the facilities and attractions of Central London, and the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Parliament Square provides a unique and historic backdrop for the event.

Maritime organisations from all over the world are participating as presenters, exhibitors and supporters, and there are keynote speakers of great distinction in both plenary and streamed sessions. The Conference provides an unprecedented opportunity for members of the maritime community to network not only in their own disciplines but across the ever blurring boundaries of marine science and engineering.

WMTC 2006 gives us all, across the continuum of marine science and engineering, a voice and visibility with governments and industry. It is an unrivalled opportunity for us to be heard and seen, an opportunity that we must grasp at a time when it was never more important for the sea to be at the forefront of wealth creation.

WMTC 2006 is also an opportunity to exchange ideas, discover more, share our vision, meet new contacts and renew friendships – WMTC 2006is ‘ the Fellowship of the Sea’.

As President of IMarEST and the Conference WELCOME and enjoy it.

The IMarEST Chief Executive - Keith Read CBE CEng FIMarEST

WMTC 2006 will be delivering science and technical peer reviewed papers of unprecedented quality. The organising committees for each of the ten topic streams have had the very difficult task of whittling down the five hundred and fifty synopsise that the call for papers has produced from across the world into a coherent programme that includes everything that warrants publication. The programme bears witness to their success and hard work.

But WMTC 2006 is about more than papers and conference sessions, it is about people and the opportunity to learn what is going on in other areas of the marine science and engineering agenda, what innovative ideas are bearing fruit and what marine professionals across the world are making of the growing importance of maritime affairs below, on and above the seas.

I believe that in the WMTC series of conferences we now have a platform that will enable the sector to give much greater visibility to the unfettered detail of our science engineering and technology research and development programmes.

IMarEST has long been a champion of the peer reviewed paper not subject to commercial pressures and we welcome the opportunity to provide a platform for the many organisations from around the world, their members, scientists and engineers to demonstrate the importance of the work being undertaken in the maritime sector. I join the President and all the members of IMarEST in welcoming you to London and WMTC 2006 – a maritime opportunity not to be missed.

The Chairman of the IMarEST Technical Committee – Professor Chris Hodge, FREng, CEng, FIMarEST

The technical programme of the World Maritime Technology Conference is the result of well over a year’s hard work by many, many people; not only from within IMarEST and the WMTC Technical and Conference Stream Committees, but also from a host of others simply interested in seeing WMTC become the success it so richly deserves to be. Indeed it is this wide range of self-less support and the resulting contributions from a plethora of people currently engaged at the forefront of marine science, engineering and technology that has turned what might have been a daunting challenge into a period of dynamic, exhilarating team work.

Constructing a coherent programme from the formidable number of papers submitted has been an exciting task. The result is a rich and varied technical offering that truly spans marine science, engineering and technology; and offers both depth and breadth. I believe the most difficult task facing delegates will be the choice of which paper they wish to see presented.

It should not need saying that WMTC will be a tremendous success in 2006, but it does need saying that all the many people I have worked with have made chairing the Technical Committee a real pleasure and a genuine privilege. Welcome to WMTC 2006 and all it offers.

The Chairman of the Innovation Hour – Dr John Chudley, CEng, FIMarEST

Innovation is the recurring theme throughout all the streams of WMTC and will be taken one step further during the innovation hour to be held each lunchtime period of the conference. It will be a unique opportunity to facilitate lively debate on a particular concept; it will assist with the development of initiatives and encourage entrepreneurial thinking. The innovation hour will feature fast, fun presentations to encourage lively debate through like-minded entrepreneurs.

The innovation hour presenters will be announced just before the conference to keep their concepts as fresh as possible; all attendees are invited for a rare opportunity to think innovatively for just one hour in this very busy world.

N.B. Quotes are also available from the chairmen of each WMTC 2006 conference stream – contact judithpatten@wwmail.co.uk for these