Go Blue
by Bob Beck
Horst,
Congratulations on your 90th Birthday! I have known you since you arrived at the University of Michigan’s department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering in 1964. At the time I was a lowly undergraduate working on my bachelor’s degree. I graduated in 1965 and did not return until 1972 after getting my Ph.D with Nick Newman and a post doc in Australia under Ernie Tuck, two colleagues that I know you are familiar with. The third member of the famous triumvirate was Francis Ogilvie, who became chair a few years after you left Michigan for the position at Berlin.
At Michigan you were originally interested in ship hydrodynamics, but as computers became more widely used you began working on computer-aided design and quickly became a world leader in this new field. Today, it is hard to recall all the struggles that the community had with the use of computer-aided design and how it could be utilized to advantage. I remember many discussions I had with you regarding how computer-aided design could be incorporated into the naval architecture curriculum. It is hard to believe that today every aspect of design and analysis is digital. You and your colleagues were a big part of that change.
I probably should not mention this in a public forum, but on a lighter note do you remember the department picnics. The picnics have long been abandoned, but one of the highlights was a beer-chugging contest between the faculty and the students. You were the anchor of the team and the faculty always won. Post Horst, I believe that we never won again.
I also remember all the times you visited the department on your world travels. In particular, the long discussion we had concerning Euler and his discovery of the metacenter. On several of those visits, Harry Benford would host a dinner for our honored guest. I cannot remember all the guests, but in addition to Barbara and me, from Mechanical engineering Walter Debler and Bill Graebel and their wives were usually present. The dinners were always fun with animated conversations.
Again, congratulations and best wishes for a Happy 90th birthday. Bob