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Welcome
Welcome from the OOAE Division
Prof. Jon Mikkelsen
10 | www.asmeconferences.org/omae2012
Welcome to the 31 st International Conference on
Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering (OMAE
2012) and the vibrant and beautiful city of Rio de
Janeiro. The entire Extended Executive Committee
(EEC) of the Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering
(OOAE) Division welcomes you to OMAE 2012 and
thanks all authors and participants for helping make
the OMAE Conference be recognized as the primary
international forum in this area.
Members of industry, academia and government
agencies from over 40 countries meet at the
OMAE Conference to discuss new state-of-the–art
technologies and share fundamental knowledge
related to the ocean environment. The goal of the
OOAE Division always remains the development
of novel concepts, better understanding of the
environmental forces, and safer operation of
structures in the often harsh ocean environment. This
year’s conference has 13 technical symposia: nine of
our long-established regular symposia plus our two
newest symposiums on Offshore Geotechnics and
Petroleum Technology, and a special symposium
honoring our esteemed colleague, Ronald W. Yeung.
This honorary symposium on Offshore and Ship
Hydrodynamics has attracted over 70 special papers.
As we all know, Brazil has experienced
tremendous growth over the past several years. I
am certain that those of you who visited OMAE
2001 can attain to this fact. Much of this growth
is due to the remarkable hydrocarbon reserves
found in the deep waters surrounding Brazil. It is
especially relevant that OMAE 2012 will feature the
“Workshop on Pre-Salt Technologies: Challenges and
Opportunities” as the thirteenth symposium. It is sure
to attract tremendous interest.
The “Outreach for Engineers Program” continues
to grow in popularity with a record number of
well qualified applicants this year. It is vital that we
continue to attract students and young professionals
to our OMAE Conference.
On behalf of the entire EEC of the OOAE
Division of ASME, I would like to thank all the
sponsors for their financial support. It is important
to acknowledge all the dedicated volunteers who
worked very hard to make this Conference a success.
Special thanks to our Conference Chairs, Dr.
Antonio C. Fernandes and Prof. Segen F. Estefen,
both from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro,
for all their work in making OMAE 2012 a success.
Special thanks as well to the Technical Program
Chair, Dr. Walter L. Kuehnlein of SEA2ICE Ltd.,
for overseeing an excellent program. Thank you to
the all the Local Organizing Committee members ,
the International Advisory Committee, Symposium
Coordinators, Session Organizers, authors, reviewers,
and the staff of Sea to Sky Meeting Management, C
& M Congresses and Meetings, JAX Tours, and the
International Petroleum Technology Institute. The
hard work and dedication of everyone makes the
conference a success.
It is with this in mind that I once again thank
the organizers and welcome you all to the OMAE
2012 Conference. Have an enjoyable and rewarding
experience in beautiful Rio.
—Jon Mikkelsen
Chair, OOAE Division of ASME
Professor of Engineering,
University of British Columbia