KEYNOTE
Robert G. Allan P.Eng (ret.), FRINA, HMSNAME
Executive Chairman; Robert Allan Ltd.
Keynote Title: Frontier Engineering: Innovations in Ship and Offshore Design for the Mackenzie River and Western Arctic (1972-1985)
Biography: Robert G. Allan is a third-generation naval architect who has followed his grandfather and father as independent consulting naval architects in BC since 1928. Incorporated as Robert Allan Ltd. in 1961, their company is the most senior in its field in Canada, and well-regarded internationally.
A graduate of the University of Glasgow (1971), he is a Registered Professional Engineer in BC, a Fellow of both SNAME and RINA, and an Honorary Member of SNAME.
He is a recognized authority on the subject of escort tugboat design and has authored numerous papers and several textbook chapters on the subject of tugboat and workboat design.
He has received major peer awards for achievements in Naval Architecture including:
- 2004: Small Craft Group Medal: Royal Institution of Naval Architects (UK)
- 2005: David W. Taylor Medal: Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (USA)
- 2005: German Red Dot Industrial Design Award, "Best of the Best", Transportation Category, for Z-Tech tug design
- 2012: "Beaver" Medal (Now Lieutenant-Governors Medal) from Maritime Museum of British Columbia for Significant Contributions to the marine industry of BC
- 2017: BC Export Award for Leadership from the BC Ministry of International Trade
- 2017: West Coast Towboat Legacy Award from Council of Marine Carriers "for an individual who has made a significant, positive and lasting contribution to the BC marine towing industry"
- 2017: Meritorious Achievement Award from the Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia in recognition of significant technical achievements within the engineering and geoscience professions
- 2022: Lifetime Achievement Award International Tug & Salvage Conference
- 2024: "Admiral's Medal" from Canadian Naval Association "to recognize the advancement of maritime affairs in Canada"
- 2025: Lifetime Achievement Award from British Tug Owners Association
OMAE 2025 Panel Discussion | June 23rd, 10:30AM
Panel Title: AI and Marine Sustainability: Opportunities, Challenges and Current Trends
Abstract: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming a key enabler for sustainable innovation in the marine, offshore, and Arctic sectors. Following the discussion at OMAE 2024 in Singapore, the AI and Marine Sustainability panel at OMAE 2025 in Vancouver will examine recent advances in AI-driven modeling, autonomy, and environmental monitoring for marine/offshore systems. This panel will bring together experts from academia, industry, and policy to discuss cutting-edge applications, standardization, regulations and the directions toward scalable and responsible AI integration in the marine sector. From mitigating climate impacts to enhancing marine biodiversity conservation, the panels will discuss how AI can contribute to safety, operational efficiency, and environmental sustainability of marine and offshore systems.
In addition to the ongoing efforts around digital twin and AI-driven predictions, the panel will examine emerging developments in agentic AI, enabling marine systems to adapt and make decisions in uncertain environments, and generative AI, which offers new methods and tools for designing optimized ships, offshore platforms, and eco-restorative technologies. These advances represent important directions for enhancing autonomy, improving environmental sustainability, and accelerating innovation in marine engineering. The panel will also address key barriers to AI adoption, including the challenges of model validation, regulatory compliance, system integration, and workforce readiness. Emphasis will be placed on building trustworthy AI frameworks that ensure transparency, reliability, and ethical deployment in real-world marine and offshore applications.
Dr. Adrien Desjardins (Moderator) is the Seaspan Chair in Robotics for Marine Vessels at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Desjardins' interdisciplinary research is situated at the intersection of novel sensing methods, AI, and autonomous robotic platforms for navigating complex environments, with marine and ocean science applications. Prior to joining UBC, he was a Professor at the University College London in the United Kingdom, and co-founded two start-up companies. Dr. Desjardins holds a PhD from MIT and Harvard and an undergraduate degree from the University of British Columbia.
Eric VanDerHorn (Panelist) has worked in the maritime and offshore industry for 15 years through various roles, including in-service technologies, digitalization, decarbonization, and product management. His career at the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) has allowed him to contribute to teams within ABS Bureau and ABS Wavesight. Currently, as the Manager, Technology for the Digital Research team, he supports the digital transformation of the maritime industry by working on cutting-edge technologies such as Digital Twins, Visualization Technologies, AI/ML, Autonomy, and Cybersecurity. His academic background includes a BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis and a PhD in Civil Engineering with a focus on uncertainty quantification from Vanderbilt University.
Rajeev K. Jaiman (Panelist) is currently a Professor and NSERC/Seaspan Industrial Chair in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, Canada. He has over 25 years of experience in computational engineering and high-performance computing and his Lab is currently focusing on the integration of AI-enabled data-driven models with traditional mechanics and multiphysics simulations for reducing ship noise and greenhouse gas emissions. Prior to his current appointment at UBC, he was a faculty at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and has worked on deepwater technologies at Keppel-NUS Corporate Lab. Before joining NUS, he was a Director of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Development at Altair Engineering and worked as a lead software developer over 5 years at ACUSIM, California. He is a fellow of SNAME and an Associate Editor of JOMAE.