Location
225 NAME
Phone
734/764-6470
Biography
Thomas McKenney is currently an Associate Professor of Engineering Practice in the Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering Department at the University of Michigan. He teaches introductory and advanced ship design courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. His research interests include maritime decarbonization, sustainability, and passenger vessel design and operation.
Thomas was previously Head of Ship Design at the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (Center) in Copenhagen, a not-for-profit independent research and development (R&D) center with the vision to sustainably decarbonize the maritime industry by 2050. He was responsible for ship design activities within an active portfolio of over 50 R&D projects related to maritime sustainability and decarbonization including alternative fuel pathways and ship technologies. Before joining the Center in 2021, Thomas held various positions at Royal Caribbean Group including Senior Manager, Technical Projects & Newbuild Development where he was technical and project manager of $1 billion first-in-class cruise ship design and construction projects based in Miami, Florida, and Saint Nazaire, France.
Thomas holds four degrees from the University of Michigan including a Ph.D. in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.
Education
- Ph.D., University of Michigan, Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering (2013)
- M.S.E., University of Michigan, Industrial and Operations Engineering (2012)
- M.S.E., University of Michigan, Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering (2010)
- B.S.E., University of Michigan, Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering (2009)
Research Interests
As an Associate Professor of Engineering Practice, my goal is to help build a collaborative bridge between academia and the maritime industry to maximize global impact. This includes highlighting research and studies with immediate relevance and impact potential for the broader maritime industry as well as identifying research gaps and providing relevant use cases and necessary background and data from industry to academia. Based on my research background and industry experience, I currently have two main research themes: maritime decarbonization and passenger vessel design and operation.
Teaching
- NA 270: Marine Design
- NA 570: Advanced Marine Design