MISSION
STATEMENT
Promote
development and use of Manned Underwater
Vehicles in commercial and scientific
activity. Disseminate technical
knowledge-based resources for the
community. Cooperate with other
Professional and Technical Societies as
well as Government rule making agencies.
To promote simplicity, reliability and
safety in the, design, development,
manufacture and operation of manned
submersibles and related underwater
equipment and to do so without
inhibiting innovation and creativity.
Personal
Message
Dedication to the Committee is for all those that honor underwater
vehicle technology which gives humans
access and interaction to the sea
environment. This includes
manufacturers, operators, and users of
submersible vehicles and submarines in
the fields of research, commercial work,
security, or tourism.
The committee’s prime purpose is to
provide knowledge, education and
dialogue for the stewardship of an
industry that stands to play a critical
technical, scientific and social role in
the 21st century. The committee’s
mission is to provide a collective
backbone and solid reference for this
industry in order:
For the devoted to achieve their purpose,
The careless to be enlightened,
The uncertain to find confidence and
The apprehensive to be encouraged.
The newcomers to find help,
The worried find reassurance,
The disillusioned find integrity,
The hard-working be renewed,
The experienced find significance,
The young to be inspired and
The public to be educated.
Appointed to the chairmanship of the
Underwater Vehicles committee, I intend
to exercise my talents and energies to
provide an environment of organization,
education and support for all members
endeavored to the diligent growth of our
industry.
Biography
Mr. William Kohnen, is president of SEAmagine
Hydrospace Corporation, a
California
company established in 1995 for the
manufacture of manned submersible
vessels. Born near
Dusseldorf
in
Germany
, he grew up in rural
Quebec
,
Canada
, where he completed his Bachelor and
Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering
at
McGill
University
, in
Montreal
. He moved to
California
in 1986 working in the aerospace
industry, specializing in
electro-mechanical precision systems for
satellites, including Hubble Space
Telescope, Space Station,
SOHO
and Cassini, among others. Fascinated by
parallels between inner and outer space
exploration Mr. Kohnen left aerospace in
1993 to develop a new, simpler type of
hydrospace vessel and holds 2 patents on
the SEAmobile submersible technology. As
CEO of SEAmagine, he actively promotes
manned submersible technology.
Mr. Kohnen is chair of the Marine
Technology Society Manned Underwater
Vehicles Committee since 2003. At the
head of the MUVC, his principal focus is
the gathering of the industry around a
yearly Underwater Intervention
conference to discuss a range of issues
regarding the safe operation,
construction and regulation of the
manned submersible industry. Mr. Kohnen
is an active member of the Deep
Submergence Pilot Association and a
strong promoter of this organization to
produce a National Standard for
submersible pilot training. As an active
member of the ASME Pressure Vessel for
Human Occupancy Committee, he actively
participates in the review of national
standards for the fabrication and
testing of human occupied pressure
vessels, especially as it applies to
manned underwater vehicles. In 2004, Mr.
Kohnen was appointed by the National
Science Foundation to be an industry
representative on the Replacement HOV
Oversight Committee. The RHOC is
composed of a multidisciplinary group
responsible for the construction of the
new National Deep Submergence Vehicle to
replace
ALVIN
. Mr. Kohnen has over 10 years
experience working with the US Coast
Guard and American Bureau of Shipping
(ABS) rules and regulations for building
submersibles and is a member of the ABS
Special Committee on Underwater Systems
and Vehicles. Mr. Kohnen is Chief
Instructor for SEAmagine’s US Coast
Guard Approved Pilot Training Program.
SEAmagine manufactured and delivered 6
submersibles to date and licensed in
excess of 30 pilots for submersibles
ranging in capacity from 2 to 3
occupants and depth ratings of 150 to
1500 feet deep. This involved dealing
with many field operation and regulatory
agencies in the
United States
,
Cayman
,
Turkey
,
Costa Rica
and
Australia
.
Mr. Kohnen is fluent in French and
German and lives in
Southern California
with his wife and two children.
