PHILADELPHIA SECTION THE SOCIETY OF NAVAL ARCHITECTS AND MARINE ENGINEERS CHAIR VICE CHAIR SECRETARY/TREASURER EXECUTIVE MATTHEW EAYRE GREG MORROW PETER SLOOTMAKER COMMITTEE THE GBS GROUP CDI MARINE – B AND LAVIS SLOOTMAKER GROUP MICHAEL KEARNEY 1 CRESCENT DRIVE, SUITE 201 6960 AVIATION BLVD 5120 S. 17TH STREET AL LEVESQUE PHILADELPHIA, PA 19112 GLEN BURNIE, MD 21061 BUILDING 669, NAVY YARD DON LINDQUIST [email protected] GREG.MORROW@ PHILADELPHIA, PA 19112 HERRON MILLER (215) 463- 3110 CDICORP.COM [email protected] DAVE MOORHEAD (540) 239- 1151 ( 267) 984- 7247 DENNIS PURVES JIM SANIAL JEREMY SMALL ROD SUTHERLAND MITCHELL D. WALKER THE SOCIETY OF NAVAL ARCHITECTS AND MARINE ENGINEERS PHILADELPHIA SECTION PRESENTS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012 A MAN AND HIS SHIP AMERICA’S GREATEST NAVAL ARCHITECT AND HIS QUEST TO BUILD THE SS UNITED STATES BY: Steven Ujifusa Please note the special day of Tuesday for this month’s meeting. SUMMARY William Francis Gibbs was an American original, on par with John Roebling of the Brooklyn Bridge and Frank Lloyd Wright of Fallingwater. Forced to drop out of Harvard following his family’s sudden financial ruin, he overcame debilitating shyness and lack of formal training to become the visionary creator of some of the finest ships in history. He spent forty years dreaming of the ship that became his post-World War II masterpiece, the S.S. United States— a cutting-edge ocean liner whose hull and engine room designs were classified top secret. Capable of carrying 2,000 passengers at the record-breaking clip of 35.59 knots, she could be transformed into a troopship capable of delivering 14,000 soldiers over 10,000 miles without refueling. In telling the story of this iconic vessel that delivered people from all walks of life across the Atlantic for almost two decades, Steven Ujifusa captures a perfect storm of man and machine, when one innovator’s dream stamped its mark on an era. A Man and His Ship is a first-rate work of history that heralds the arrival of an exciting new talent. Today, the future of the great ship remains uncertain. Thanks to a $5.8 million gift from Philadelphia philanthropist H. G. “Gerry” Lenfest, the S.S. United States Conservancy now has enough money to purchase the ship outright and maintain her for two years. The plan is to raise sufficient funds from private donors and for- profit developers to restore the United States as a stationary hotel and convention center, moored in either New York or Philadelphia, one of the two cities that William Francis Gibbs called home. Funding runs out in November 2012, and if the Conservancy does not find more, the ship will be sold for scrap. BIOGRAPHY Steven Ujifusa is an historian living in Philadelphia. He serves on the Advisory Council of the S. S. United States Conservancy and is involved in efforts to save Gibbs’s great ship. He received his master’s degree in historic preservation and real estate from the University of Pennsylvania and his B.A. in history from Harvard University. A MAN AND HIS SHIP is his first book. JOIN US: TUESDAY ~ SEPTEMBER 18, 2012 Ramada Inn – Philadelphia Airport South 76 Industrial Highway Essington, PA 19029 Phone: 610-521-9600 / Fax: 610-521-9388 Dinner Cost: $25 for member, $30 for non-member, Free for students Cocktail Hour (hotel bar): 5:30 pm ~ Dinner (banquet room) 6:30 pm (ASNE and other Engineering Society Members pay member price) For reservations or information, please call or email by Friday, September 14th, 2012 Matthew Eayre: (215) 463-3110: [email protected] Pete Slootmaker: (267) 984-7247: [email protected] Our next meeting will be Wednesday October 17, 2012. Please note the special day of Tuesday for this month’s meeting. .