World's first model-test facility to conduct maneuverability and control experiments for surface ships, submersibles, and airships

This model-test facility was the first in the world to conduct experiments for obtaining comprehensive measurements of those forces and moments necessary to define the maneuverability and control of surface ships, submersibles, and airships. This and subsequent facilities throughout the world have been essential in the design of more responsive vessels through calculations derived from the performances of precision models in laboratory water tanks. The installation at Stevens constitutes a tribute to the pioneering efforts of Kenneth S.M. Davidson (1898-1958), professor of mechanical engineering, and his colleagues in the Davidson Laboratory.