Member Spotlight - Roger Gill
Roger Gill is an American Society of Marine Artists Signature Artist member, and an Artist member in the Rockport Art Association. A 5th generation Mariner with 20 years of maritime service installing and repairing international fiber-optic cable systems world-wide aboard AT &T’s cable ships, Roger rose to the rank of Chief Engineer. He is now an Associate Professor at his alma mater, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, where he serves as the Student Advisor for the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, and was SNAME’s 2022 Faculty Advisor of the Year. Roger is also a Steamship Historical Society of America member and has assisted with their educational website. Roger is a 3rd generation artist.
From left, "SS America", "Passing Twin Lights", "Lightship Nantucket" by Roger Gill.
Questions:
1. At what point in your career did you join SNAME?
I joined SNAME while I was an Assistant Professor at MMA where I heard many of my colleagues talk about what a great organization it is and how good it would be to have a section at MMA!
2. How has SNAME membership been of value to you in your career?
It has been invaluable. As a professor, SNAME has allowed me to meet some wonderful people in the Marine Industry with exceptional backgrounds. Many of these individuals have given SNAME presentations on their industries as well as providing tours of their facilities, such as, Rolls-Royce Marine in Walpole, MA.
3. When did you know you wanted to pursue a job in the maritime field?
Being a 5th generation Mariner, one might say I knew it long before I was born.
4. What advice would you give to those entering the maritime field?
Stay current with technology.
5. What do you do in your spare time?
I truly love to oil paint! My website is ArtbyRogerGill.com.
6. What is your favorite book, movie or tv series?
Actually, I have two favorite books: First, Endurance: The Story of Ernest Shackleton’s South Pole Expedition, and Second: Armageddon in The Arctic Ocean, which is my cousin Paul Gill’s true story of my father and Uncle’s Arctic Convoys during WWII.
7. What is a fun fact about yourself?
I have a lot of fun singing karaoke with my 7-year-old grandson.
*Art shared with permission from Roger Gill.