Event
MSE Seminar - Dr. Tim Foecke, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Friday, April 17, 2009
1:00 p.m.
Rm. 2108, Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Bldg.
Annette Mateus
301 405 5207
amateus@umd.edu
"What Really Sank The Titanic? - A Forensic Analysis"
Since that fateful night in April 1912, there has been incredibly sustained interest in determining what really happened to the "unsinkable" Titanic. After her discovery in 1985 under 12,000 feet of water, it became possible to conduct a detailed scientific and forensic analysis of the details of the sinking. After ten years of extensive analysis and modeling of recovered pieces of the hull, coupled with research at the archives of the builder and a close look at survivor testimony, we have for the first time a detailed analysis of the science and engineering of the disaster. What initially appears to be a tragedy born of the hubris of a notion of "unsinkability" coupled with reckless navigation in an iceberg field transforms into a much more complicated story of material quality, design choices and production pressures that may in fact have caused the loss of the largest man-made moving object of the time. In addition, a number of other theories regarding her sinking are examined, and a discussion of what is happening to the wreck today will be presented.
