OPENING ADDRESS 



Captain L. B. Melson 



Assistant Chief for Research 



Office of Naval Research 



Washington, D.C. 



Brought together here are scientists and engineers from the far corners of 

 the earth to review the progress that has been made in the demanding and ex- 

 citing field of hydrodjmamics. This progress will provide clues as to the con- 

 cepts and technologies of the future. In the late 1870's the Superintendent of the 

 U.S. Patent Office resigned his position, explaining he had seen all the ideas 

 patented that could ever possibly be submitted and had no reason to continue his 

 work. Fortunately, his philosophy was not correct and the future at any point in 

 time will always be bright and challenging. 



Rear Admiral Leydon has mentioned a few of the new areas that have opened 

 within the hydrodynamic field. These intriguing avenues, through collective 

 thought and research, will lead the way to newer and wider applications. The 

 United States of America, recognizing the importance of the oceans, has re- 

 cently created by law a Committee chaired by the Vice President of our country 

 and charged with the responsibility of insuring that our national efforts are 

 channeled into the support of oceanographic development. The United States 

 Navy, in meeting the requirements of the present, has reorganized its oceano- 

 graphic efforts to insure that its support maintains a proper balance with the 

 advancing technology. The Oceanographer of the Navy is now responsible for all 

 research and development in oceanography, assisted by the Chief of Naval Re- 

 search and the Chief of Naval Development as his principal deputies. Through 

 this organization, we know we will encourage the collection of knowledge and in- 

 formation needed to emphasize the sciences concerned with the oceans and 

 hydrodynamics. 



Progress in translating the truths of sciences into the practical applications 

 of technology always seems slow. All of us are impatient in seeing new con- 

 cepts tested, their feasibility ascertained, and improvements becoming the or- 

 der of the day. Yet, when we look back only a few years, we realize that many 

 concepts have proved feasible and have been placed into practice. The integra- 

 tion of the knowledge of any given scientific discipline, coupled with the advances 

 in others, have permitted the development of techniques and vehicles in a re- 

 markably short time. In my youthful days as a budding naval architect, I was 

 told any design that might be conceived had to meet three limitations. Any ship 

 to be built had to be low enough to pass under the Brooklyn Bridge, be narrow 

 enough for the Panama Canal, and be shallow enough to transit the Suez Canal. 

 These restrictions stagnated marine construction for more than forty years. 



xii 



