Introductory Address 



Rear Admiral Robert K. Geiger, USN 

 Chief, Office of Naval Research 



On behalf of the Office of Naval Research I 

 would like to extend a sincere welcome to all the 

 participants of the Twelfth Symposium on Naval 

 Hydrodynamics . 



I wish to express my thanks to the National 

 Academy of sciences for its assistance and role as 

 a host and cosponsor of the Symposium through its 

 National Research Council . 



Thanks are also due to the third member of the 

 triumvirate of cosponsors of this, the Twelfth Sym- 

 posium on Naval Hydrodynamics, namely the David W. 

 Taylor Naval Ship Research and Development Center, 

 known more familiarly to most of us old-timers as 

 the David Taylor Model Basin and often referred to 

 affectionately as DTMB. This facility has been a 

 major contributor to the scientific program of each 

 of the Symposia in this series, as a glance at the 

 proceedings of any of the Symposia will confirm. 

 I am happy to say that the present meeting is no 

 exception and that it is again well represented on 

 the technical program. However, this is the first 

 time that it has participated as a cosponsor and I 

 am especially pleased to acknowledge the invaluable 

 assistance that our old colleague and ally in the 

 field of naval hydrodynamics research has rendered 

 in the organization and management of the present 

 Symposium. 



The first two Symposia of this series were 

 held in 1956 and 1958 and were also sponsored by 

 the Office of Naval Research and the National 

 Academy of Sciences. Many of the guiding princi- 

 ples that govern the organization of the Symposia 

 in this series were established in these first 

 meetings. For example, the selection of a limited 

 number of central themes of timely naval hydro- 

 dynamic interest upon which to focus the technical 

 program of the meeting was introduced in the 

 Second Symposium. 



From the very beginning, the international 

 aspects of the Symposia were emphasized through the 



invitation of speakers from all over the world 

 wherever outstanding research in naval hydrody- 

 namics was going on. Starting with the Third Sym- 

 posium, the international aspects were strengthened 

 by locating the meetings outside the United States 

 and cosponsoring them with relevant organizations 

 in host countries . 



The list of such meetings includes Symposia 

 held in the Netherlands, Norway, Italy, France, and 

 England, and we hope to continue this pattern into 

 the future as long as the series of Symposia con- 

 tinue to provide a useful forum for the exchange 

 of valuable information on results of advanced re- 

 search in the field of naval hydrodynamics. 



I am gratified to see so many representatives 

 of several coxintries in addition to the United 

 States, and the number of technical papers pre- 

 sented by internationally known authorities in 

 fluid dynamics and related fields. 



For the Navy, progress in hydrodynamics re- 

 search has become increasingly urgent. The Navy 

 must find ways to discover and correct the problems 

 that a new design may run into before reaching the 

 point of full-scale sea trials. 



Since the sea is the Navy's business and we 

 have been involved in it a long time, we are ex- 

 pected to know it well. Only investigators like 

 yourselves are aware of how limited is our knowl- 

 edge of the forces that impact on a buoyant body 

 propelled through the water. As much as our under- 

 standing has increased, we know we have much more 

 to learn. This information can only be obtained 

 through the arduous bit-by-bit process of basic re- 

 search, such as you gentlemen pursue. 



Today our nation is faced with the dilemma 

 that we must plan types of ships that are radically 

 different in design from anything in the past. At 

 the same time, these ships must be inexpensive to 

 operate and maintain in addition to satisfying our 

 traditional standards. 



