OPENING CEREMONY 



INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS 



Roger BRARD 



Chairman, French Organizing Committee 



Ladies and Gentlemen, 



As an introduction to the Opening Ceremony of the Ninth 

 ONR-Symposium on Naval Hydrodynamics I would first like to say 

 how pleased and honored we felt when Dr. Frosch accepted the invi- 

 tation to attend the said ceremony and to speak on behalf of the United 

 States Navy. The presence of such a high ranking official of the 

 United States Department of Defence is a very unusual privilege. 



To welcome the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for 

 Research and Development it was only befitting that the French 

 Government representative be Mr. Jean Blancard, Delegue Minis - 

 teriel pour l'Armement, who ranks immediately after the Ministre 

 d'Etat charge de la Defense Nationale. 



As Delegue Ministeriel pour l'Armement, Mr. Jean 

 Blancard is responsible for all the armament programs of the French 

 Armed Forces, Army, Navy and Air Force. This includes the pro- 

 curement of all the materials, either from the military establish- 

 ments or from the industry, and also all the activities in Research 

 and Development. 



In particular, the Direction Technique des Constructions 

 Navales, which is in charge of designing and building the naval ships, 

 comes under his supervision. So does the Direction des Recherches 

 et Moyens d'Essais which deals with fundamental research and eva- 

 luation of new scientific concepts. 



Mr. Jean Blancard's academic achievements comprise 

 ranking first at both Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole Nationale Supe- 



