Gerd F. Glang is a former

NOAA Corps The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps, known informally as the NOAA Corps, is one of eight federal uniformed services of the United States, and operates under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administ ...

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

who last served as the director of the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

Office of Coast Survey The Office of Coast Survey is the official chartmaker of the United States. It is an element of the National Ocean Service in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is part of the United States Department of Commerce. Mission ...

. In this position, he also concurrently served as the U.S. National Hydrographer and as one of the commissioners of the Mississippi River Commission. He was appointed by Acting

Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

Rebecca Blank Rebecca Margaret Blank (born September 19, 1955) is an American economist and academic administrator. The Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 2013 to 2022, Blank has also served in various roles in the United States Departmen ...

on August 13, 2012, after nomination by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

, and confirmation by the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

. He retired from the NOAA Corps on August 26, 2016 after over 32 years of combined uniformed service. The

is the Nation's nautical chartmaker. With a history stretching back to 1807, when President

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

asked for a survey of the young Nation's coast, the office serves America's maritime trade, fishing fleets, and recreational sailors. Responsible for surveying and charting America's coastal and territorial waters as well as the Great Lakes, Coast Survey's hydrographic data, nautical products, research, and navigational services form an essential foundation for ocean transportation and the maritime economy.

Career

officer since 1989, RDML Glang is a professional mariner, specializing in hydrographic surveying and seafloor mapping sciences. RDML Glang served aboard four NOAA ships. On the NOAAS ''Rainier'', his first experiences in hydrography took him to the largely uncharted coastal waters of Alaska's southwest peninsula. He also served as the executive officer of NOAAS ''Heck''. RDML Glang was commanding officer of NOAAS ''Whiting'' in 1999, when the ship responded to the seafloor search for

John F. Kennedy, Jr. John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. (November 25, 1960 – July 16, 1999), often referred to as John-John or JFK Jr., was an American lawyer, journalist, and magazine publisher. He was a son of the 35th president of the United States, John F. Kenn ...

's, downed aircraft. Just three months later, he led the NOAAS ''Whiting'' to the first discovery of the seafloor debris fields from

EgyptAir Flight 990 EgyptAir Flight 990 (MS990/MSR990) was a regularly scheduled flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Cairo International Airport, with a stop at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City. On October 31, 1999, the Boeing 767-3 ...

. From 2008 to 2009, RDML Glang served as commanding officer of NOAA's largest ship, NOAAS ''Ronald H. Brown'', with oceanographic and atmospheric research operations from the South Pacific to the Atlantic Coast. Projects included servicing oceanographic buoys in support of weather and atmospheric research, ocean mapping in support of tsunami modeling, and remotely operated vehicle exploration of deep-water corals. Ashore, RDML Glang has served in various operational, technical, and leadership assignments. His prior assignments in the Office of Coast Survey include chief of the Hydrographic Surveys Division, chief of the Hydrographic Systems and Technology Programs; Northeast Regional Navigation Manager; chief of the Systems Support Branch; and chief of the Pacific Hydrographic Party. RDML Glang also served as the deputy lead of strategic planning for NOAA's

National Ocean Service The National Ocean Service (NOS) is an office within the U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It is responsible for preserving and enhancing the nation's coastal resources and ecosystems along the of ...

. RDML Glang has been recognized on numerous occasions for outstanding service and leadership. His awards include the Department of Commerce Silver Medal, two Department of Commerce Bronze Medals, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Coast Guard Commendation Medal, and two NOAA Corps Commendation Medals. In 2019, RDML Glang took up the position of Director of Operations at HYPACK, a software company that is a division of Xylem Inc. He has oversight of all operations, which includes project management, sales, customer support, and software development.

Education

RDML Glang graduated in 1984 from the

State University of New York Maritime College State University of New York Maritime College (SUNY Maritime College) is a public maritime college in the Bronx, New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Founded in 1874, the SUNY Maritime College was the fir ...

with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, and a

U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...

Deck Officer license. In 2004, he completed the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...

graduate certificate program in advanced ocean mapping. RDML Glang is a 2012 graduate of the

Federal Executive Institute The Federal Executive Institute (FEI) is an executive and management development and training center for governmental leaders located on a campus near the center of Charlottesville, Virginia, less than a mile from University of Virginia. FEI of ...

’s Leadership for a Democratic Society program, and is a 2006 graduate of the

Harvard Kennedy School The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

Senior Executive Fellows program. Following graduation from New York Maritime College, RDML Glang completed

Officer Training School Officer Training School (OTS) is a United States Air Force and United States Space Force commissioning program located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. Overview Officer Training School is a part of the Jeanne M. Holm Center fo ...

and was commissioned in the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

before coming to NOAA in 1989. RDML Glang lives in Maryland with his wife Cheryl and their two children.

References

Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glang, Gerd F. State University of New York Maritime College alumni Living people National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps admirals Recipients of the Department of Commerce Silver Medal Recipients of the Department of Commerce Bronze Medal Year of birth missing (living people)