The Richard B Couch Model Basin at the University of Michigan College of Engineering, following completion of extensive renovations to the 750,000gallon, 360ft-long towing tank facility. The reopening ceremony marked the occasion with a “mixing of the waters”, in which water contributed by 41 hydrodynamics laboratories across 20 countries was poured into the basin, a gesture reflecting the global community the facility has long served.

The basin is the largest towing tank at a US university. Over its 120-year history it has been central to some of the most consequential advances in naval architecture, among them the development of the bulbous bow, the hull form optimisation that reduces wave-making resistance and is now fitted to most large commercial vessels, which combined carry approximately 90% of world trade by volume.

This article appeared in The Big Picture, TNA May/June 2026