Naval Engineering

The naval engineer deals with the design, planning, project and construction of ships, boats, and floating devices such as oil platforms and even wind farms and fish farms. Naval engineering encompasses the functions engineering including the creative project of the ship and floating artifacts, applied research, technical development in the fields of design and construction and the administration of floating material production centers (shipyards). As well as the maintenance and repair of these.

The naval engineer must have knowledge of many fields of engineering, such as fluid mechanics, generation and transmission of electrical energy, manufacture of naval engines and their installation, hydrodynamics, dynamic metallic structures, logistics, port activity, industrial organization, fleet and shipping management, etc.

In Spain and until the 18th century they were called «constructors». From 1770 the "marine engineers" (or "hydraulics") appeared, later the term ended up in "naval engineers".

Some famous naval engineers to mention are Thomas Andrews, designer of the RMS Titanic and RMS Olympic, and William Francis Gibbs, designer of many ships of the line such as the SS America, SS Leviathan and SS United States. Mention should also be made of Francisco Gautier, who succeeded Jorge Juan as an engineer for the construction of ships for the Royal Navy, or Romero Landa, one of the best shipbuilders of his time. Vice Admiral Keiji Fukuda, designer of the Yamato-class battleships in 1937, is also cited.

More currently, one can cite Víctor González, founder of Next Limit Technologies and winner of a technical Oscar for a liquid simulator for films or Manuel Ruiz de Elvira, designer of several Copa América ships (4 of them winners of the competition).