MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIETY OF NAVAL ARCHITECTS OF JAPAN
On the occasion of the opening of OMAE '97 Yokohama, I would like to sincerely welcome all our colleagues on behalf on the Society of Naval Architects of Japan(SNAJ) and the domestic organizing committee. OMAE '97 Yokohama has been jointly organized by the OMAE division of the ASME and the SNAJ. Further, in addition to many international OMAE societies, it is being co-sponsored by eight Japanese academic associations with close relations to the SNAJ. This marks the second time the conference is being held in Japan. The first time was the fifth OMAE which ended successfully in Tokyo in 1986 and contributed significantly to the field of ocean engineering in our country. This experience formed the basis for holding the OMAE conference again. The SNAJ is celebrating its centennial this year and OMAE '97 is being held as the first of its centennial events. To enhance this celebration, a joint gathering of the Port and Ocean Engineering Under Arctic Conditions Conference(POAC) and the OMAE '97 Arctic/Polar symposium has also been planned. As you can see from this final program, the joint meeting has been nearly ideally arranged. Furthermore, we are fortunate that the conference has received the generous financial encouragement of the Nippon Foundation and several other Japanese companies as a part of general centennial support. Finally, in welcoming you all to Yokohama, we have prepared a variety of technical events such as a plenary session, special session, workshops, a number of technical sessions and visits to the Mega-Float At-Sea Experiment Site, Japan Marine Science and Technology Center, and Trans-Tokyo Bay Highway, as well as interesting and entertaining social events including a banquet cruise on Tokyo Bay and accompanying person's programs.
