ASA Names Dr. Richard Burke as Honorary Member

On July 20, 2018, the American Salvage Association (ASA) welcomed Dr. Richard J. Burke, of SUNY Maritime College as the Association’s very first honorary maritime academy faculty member representative. This initiative is designed to broaden the knowledge about the marine salvage and emergency response industry, and the academic community’s access to it.

The ASA’s Education Committee was established in March 2011 to further promote general maritime industry interest with a focus on marine salvage and emergency response and to help develop maritime industry expertise through interactive experiences with ASA salvage professionals. The Committee’s goal has been to support career development in all maritime disciplines inclusive of, but not limited to, the development of both licensed and unlicensed seafarers. For non-seafarers, the committee strives to promote STEM education through the study of naval architecture, diving, environmental sciences, robotics, marine insurance, maritime law and other related fields. 

“Since having begun my chairmanship, the committee has worked diligently over the past years to strengthen key relationships with various maritime academies and institutions present throughout North, Central, and South America, as well as the Caribbean,” said Rebecca Garcia-Malone, chair of the ASA’s Education Committee. “By fostering such relationships, organic opportunities of mutual benefit are sure to arise for both ASA members and students interested in a career within the greater marine salvage and emergency response industry. We strongly believe that inviting key faculty representatives from various maritime academic institutions to join the ASA as honorary members will open the door to a more fluid dialog on how to effectively achieve our goals as a committee.”

It was with complete confidence that the ASA called upon Dr. Richard J. Burke to join the Association as its very first honorary maritime academy faculty member representative as he has shown unwavering support of the ASA’s Education Committee and shares in its commitment to raising awareness of the various functions and responsibilities of the marine salvage industry. “I am honored and touched that the ASA should think of me at this time. The salvage industry is immensely important as a service to mariners, to shipowners and their underwriters, and to the public. The industry represents a tremendous professional challenge and may provide rewarding careers for our graduates. Salvage work is the ultimate test of what you know and what you can do” said Dr. Burke. 

A true ‘Privateer’ through and through, Dr. Burke graduated from the Maritime College with a degree in Naval Architecture in 1972 where he currently serves as SUNY Maritime’s ABS Professor of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. Dr. Burke completed graduate work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (S.M., Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, 1974) and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (Ph.D., Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, 1990). He has worked in industry for Mobil Shipping and Transportation Company, the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, and at the United States Salvage Association. 

“We’re tremendously grateful for Dr. Burke’s acceptance and willingness to join the ASA. This is just the first step in integrating the professional salvage industry with students at various maritime academies across the Americas and to develop pathways for them to interact directly with marine salvors and emergency responders while simultaneously providing our members with a well-educated and motivated future workforce” said Garcia-Malone. “Dr. Burke and the Education Committee have already begun to develop plans for a future lecture series at the Maritime College and the establishment of engineering and salvage focused projects for its students.”