William Vorus, ‘universally admired’ professor passes away

The Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering acknowledges with profound sadness the death of Professor William S. Vorus, who passed away in his home on See Off Mountain in North Carolina on September 6 at the age of 83.

William Vorus earned his Ph.D. in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1971. After working at the naval shipyard in Newport News, Virginia he returned to join the faculty at the University of Michigan in 1973. During his time in Ann Arbor, Professor Vorus founded a private engineering consulting firm, Vorus and Associates. His specialties were propellers and propeller-induced vibrations. In both fields, he brought a valuable combination of theoretical knowledge and years of practical application. Known as the toughest grader in the NAME Department since the days of H. C. Adams, he nevertheless earned the students’ universal respect and admiration.

He earned awards for his teaching and served several years as our advisor to our graduate students. He was prolific in his scholarship, publishing over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles during his tenure. Professor Vorus taught in Ann Arbor for twenty years before moving to Louisiana to continue his work at the University of New Orleans continuing a tradition of long association between that naval architecture department and our own. During his long and distinguished career, Professor Vorus received numerous accolades.

He was the recipient of the much-esteemed Jerome L. Golden Endowed Chair in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. Just before his retirement in 2010, he received The William H. Webb Medal for outstanding educational contributions.  Professor Vorus held numerous engineering patents and was the author of three books; Principles of Naval Architecture, Hydrodynamics of Planing Monohull Watercraft and the children’s book Once We Were Walking in the Woods; Tales of a Grandfather.

His student, Matthew Halpin (NAME BSE ’89) remembers Professor Vorus with great fondness.

“For those of us who were taught by Prof. Vorus, he is someone we will never forget. His classes were perhaps the hardest classes I had at Michigan but, in some weird way, they were the most satisfying. I think that underneath Prof. Vorus’s seemingly hard approach to his lectures, and his legendary tests, was an underlying belief that we were all capable of rising to the challenge. To be clear, I was no “A” student in his classes. There were no gold stars on my blue books. I think the best I did in his class was a B minus and I was thrilled. It was like training for a marathon knowing that you will never win the race, but just finishing is a proud accomplishment.

I have a very unique connection to Professor Vorus. He wrote my recommendation for admittance to law school. In retrospect, I think he may have written the recommendation to protect the shipping industry from a future rash of sunk boats starting in the early 90s rather than the world’s need for one more lawyer. When I ultimately met with the admissions folks at The University of Detroit Law School, the admissions officer asked if I had read Prof. Vorus’s recommendation. I had not. She told me it was one of the best she had ever seen, and she let me take a look. I was surprised and humbled. It was so personable, kind, flattering, and something I could have never expected. I was presented with my admission to law school that day.

Professor Vorus has had a lifelong impact on my path. Starting with the knowledge that I could work hard and rise to a challenge and culminating in 2 bar admissions, 25 years as a litigation attorney, several triathlons, a great family, and my oldest son graduating from Michigan Engineering (sadly, not a Naval Arch). Prof. Vorus will never know the impact he has made on me, and his passing now leaves me with one more lesson. Pay it forward. Sometimes we have the opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life and what may seem like a small gesture in our world may make all the difference in others. I will never forget Professor Vorus and will always be proud of knowing him and thankful for the difference he made in my life.”