Outstanding Accomplishment in the Marine Field
The 2016 Land Medalist
William Hurley joined The Glosten Associates in 1977, after graduating from the University of Michigan with a B.S.E. in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. He has served the marine industry for 39 years, specializing in commercial vessel design and construction.
William Hurley has participated in all aspects of naval architecture work, serving on numerous new ship design programs and major vessel conversions, including ferries, research vessels, workboats, barges, dredges and offshore marine construction equipment. He has applied his project management and leadership skills to large complex projects with complex stakeholder organizations. Some of the significant and innovative projects he helped lead include 1) the design of North America’s first fleet of Voith Schneider Propelled (VSP) harbor tugs, 2) design of the world’s first tanker escort vessels, the Lindsey and Garth Foss, 3) the Melville/Knorr conversion, which introduced azimuth thrusters to research vessels, and 4) many Boeing projects including the development of the Sea-Launch program, the rocket transport ship Delta Mariner, and the Sea-based X-band Radar platform SBX-1.
Bill served as President of The Glosten Associates from 2001 to 2011, and achieved broad success and growth through both larger, more ambitious projects and by continuing Larry Glosten’s and Duane Laible’s vision of a collegial atmosphere where career satisfaction among all staff is as important as financial reward. This collaborative environment has produced the innovative engineering the firm is known for, and with it came client loyalty and financial success for the company.
During his years as President he led the firm’s growth from a staff of 40 to 67, and expanded in breadth of services offered. He was elected as Chairman of the Board at Glosten in 2011, and continues in that role today. He also serves as Program Manager or Principal-in-Charge on special projects, and supports the firm in developing new markets and pursuing strategic initiatives.
In 2006, Bill Hurley led Glosten’s entry into the marine renewable energy business sector. Glosten now applies its engineering and analysis capabilities to the challenges of offshore wind energy, floating turbine foundations, installation vessels, and marine logistics supporting the marine renewable energy industry in the US and Europe. Additionally, Bill is President of PelaStar LLC, a Glosten new-venture company formed to commercialize the PelaStar floating turbine foundation, developed by Glosten.
William Hurley is a registered Professional Engineer in Naval Architecture, has co-authored numerous technical papers, helps lead the Society of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineers (SNAME), formally in Planning and Finance, and now in Education, and he was recently appointed to the Board of Western Washington University’s Institute for Energy Studies.