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Quantum Sails Announces New VP for Engineering & Design - Robert Ranzenbach
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Quantum Sails Announces New Vice President for Engineering & Design
Robert Ranzenbach, Ph.D. has joined Quantum Sail Design Group as Vice President of Engineering and Design where he is responsible for planning and coordinating new product development as well as managing the company’s research, development and design teams. He reports to Quantum President Ed Reynolds.
Dr. Ranzenbach is an aerodynamic engineer with over 30 years of programmatic, managerial, and technical experience spanning a broad array of design issues related to sailing and motor yachts, conventional and high speed naval vessels, automobiles, airplanes, underwater bodies, and dynamically loaded flexible membrane structures.
He completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Naval Architecture from Webb Institute and earned Master’s and Doctoral Degrees in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland.
Quantum President Ed Reynolds says Dr. Ranzenbach is uniquely qualified to lead Quantum’s innovation strategy. “As an avid sailor, aerodynamic engineer, and consultant to the sailing industry, Robert understands sailing performance. As a highly experienced technology development leader who has worked in other sectors, he brings a fresh perspective to planning, developing and executing innovative
solutions.” Adds Reynolds, “Robert’s expertise spans the top of the mast to the bottom of the keel. He will help propel Quantum to the forefront of sail technology and development. We’re delighted to have him on board.”
Most recently, Dr. Ranzenbach applied his expertise to the positions of Live Fire Test and Evaluation Manager and Technology Development Program Manager for U.S. Navy programs such as the Littoral Combat Ship and the Mobile Landing Platform. Prior, Dr. Ranzenbach was Research & Development Director at Donald L. Blount & Associates where he planned, developed, and executed comprehensive computational and experimental programs, risk mitigation efforts, and new technologies focused on the advancement of high-speed yachts and the development of supercavitating munitions.
At the Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel (GLMWT) at the University of Maryland, Dr. Ranzenbach served as Manager of Research & Business Development where he was responsible for the development of the first experimental off wind sail evaluation capability in the U.S. and studied the aerodynamic performance of off wind sails for the Whitbread/Volvo, America’s Cup, and other record breaking monohulls.
“For the last 20 years, I have been working at the forefront of the connection between aerodynamics and hydrodynamics,” says Dr. Ranzenbach. “I look forward to applying this expertise to the development of new sailing solutions as well as looking for efficiencies and economies to be gained through engineering and production methods.”
As a consulting engineer, Dr. Ranzenbach served as Technical Director for Quantum Sails from 1999 through 2005, developing, planning, and supervising the implementation of Quantum’s technology research and development program in areas such as the design geometry software, experimental and computational fluid dynamics, VPP integration, off wind flying shape determination, aero-structural coupling, and improved materials and construction techniques.
Dr. Ranzenbach is an avid sailor. He enjoys inshore racing and as navigator has achieved a number of podium finishes in distance racing classics such as Newport-Bermuda, Annapolis-Newport, Chicago- Mackinac, and Marblehead-Halifax.
He has made extensive contributions to the science of handicapping through a number of sail related projects and has published over 40 technical papers and articles. Dr. Ranzenbach presently serves on the Editorial Review Board for the SNAME Journal of Sailboat Technology and is an Advisory Board Member of the Sailing Yacht Research Foundation.
About Quantum Sail Design Group
Founded in 1996, Quantum Sail Design Group has grown to become the world’s second largest sail making company with more than 60 sales and service outlets around the world. Quantum designs, engineers, and manufacturers racing and cruising sails for sailors who demand the highest levels of quality and performance. The company’s US headquarters is in Traverse City, Michigan with European headquarters in Barcelona, Spain. The company’s state-of-the-art sail making facilities are located in Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Traverse City, Michigan.
Photo : Quantum Sails
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