March 3, 2010

Glosten remembered as engineering pioneer

Lawrence Robert “Larry” Glosten, founder of The Glosten Associates, a prominent Seattle naval architecture and marine engineering firm, died Feb. 22 in his home on Bainbridge Island. He was 91.

Glosten was a leader on a number of innovative projects, including the instrumentation platform for Scripps Institution of Oceanography, which became world famous as FLIP, a cylindrical vessel able to float vertically or horizontally.

Among his other significant projects were the submersible Hughes Mining Barge used in the recovery of a cold war era Russian submarine, and his patented Sea-Link push barge linkage.

Tom Bringloe, Glosten chairman of the board, said the work on FLIP in 1961 was big time for the then-fledgling firm.

“Providing the opportunity to design FLIP made the difference (between) building a viable firm and not,” said Brigloe. “We're doing work for Scripps Institution today.”

Glosten graduated from the Webb Institute of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering in New York in 1940. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and left active duty in 1946.

He moved to Seattle in 1953 and entered into a partnership with Phillip Spaulding and Robert Herbert. He established his own consulting practice in 1958 as L.R. Glosten, Naval Architect & Marine Engineer. That firm became The Glosten Associates and now has 65 employees.

Larry Glosten had a reputation for high standards, according to executives at the firm.

“He was to me in many ways like a second father,” said senior principal Bruce Hutchison. “He thought very deeply and in a penetrating way about ethical questions in business and life, and he shared his reasoning with us (associates) and taught us to think with care about conflict of interest, and if so what to do about it.”

Glosten also supported the professional development of younger engineers, letting them take time off to get master's degrees or write professional papers, Bringloe said.

Hutchinson remembers Glosten taking a chance on him. He was a student intern when Glosten let him work on the engineering analysis of a Scripps professor's ocean wave extraction project.

“To me that's an example of the kind of risks he was willing to take with what he obviously thought was a promising young engineer,” Hutchinson said.

For many years, Glosten was a guest lecturer and advisor to his alma mater, Webb Institute. In 1990, Webb recognized his service to the profession with the William Selkirk Owen Award, and in 1997 awarded him an honorary doctor of science degree.

Glosten was a life fellow of the Society of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. In 1988, SNAME awarded him the David W. Taylor Medal for notable achievement in naval architecture.

In 1990, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

Glosten President Bill Hurley said Larry Glosten was a technical pioneer who combined problem solving with a sense of service.

“His motto was ‘when a client comes to us with a problem it's no longer his problem, it's our problem” to solve, said Hurley.

Glosten is survived by his wife of 64 years, Lois Peterson “Pete” Glosten, three children, Lawrence Robert Glosten, Jr., Dr. Beth Glosten and Barbara Radovich, and three grandchildren.

Contributions in his name can be sent to the Kitsap Regional Library Foundation (1301 Sylvan Way, Bremerton, WA 98310, http://www.krl.org) or to the Glosten Scholars Endowment at Webb Institute of Naval Architecture (298 Crescent Beach Road, Glen Cove, N.Y. 11542-1398, http://www.webb-institute.edu).

 

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Lynn Porter can be reached by email or by phone at (206) 622-8272.