Member Spotlight - Bill Cowardin
I have lived in Northern Virginia almost my entire life and received a degree in Ocean Engineering from Virginia Tech. After graduation I began my career at John J. McMullen Associates. After a short stop at NAVSEA (which was curtailed by the “peace dividend”), I found myself a plank owner at the Marine Spill Response Corporation where I had the opportunity to get involved in parts of the industry that I never dreamed existed. Returning to the defense contracting world, I gradually grew into Systems Engineering and eventually became Vice President of System Engineering at JJMA (later Alion).
Before joining Gibbs & Cox, I was managing a specialty engineering department at Alion that performed advance hydro acoustics, topside design, and naval survivability analysis. Today I am Vice President for Gibbs & Cox’s Global Ship Design (GSD) organization where we are developing advanced naval ship designs for customers all over the world. Along the way I have held almost every level of role in SNAME from Secretary/Treasurer of the Va Tech Student Section to Functional VP for Planning and later Membership. I have a wonderful family that includes a wife who is an accountant (and complains when I don’t get my expense reports done on time), three great children, and the world’s best dog ever.
Questions:
1) At what point in your career did you join SNAME?
End of Freshman Year of College (I think). I recall someone calling me after I declared as an Ocean Engineering major at Va Tech and suggesting that I should join SNAME. When I asked “why?” he said “because it is the professional society for your degree and you should be a member of your profession.”
2) How has SNAME membership been of value to you in your career?
Five of my six jobs have been because of my SNAME network including my first job out of college and my present position. Quite simply, I would not be where I am today without SNAME.
3) When did you know you wanted to pursue a job in the maritime field?
My family says I was "born this way..." I was building ships out of Legos when I was six years old. Later I had an entire navy of plastic kit models and a library of books about various ship types.
4) What advice would you give to those entering the maritime field?
Pay attention to how diverse the maritime industry is. It is not just naval or cruise or offshore but dozens of markets that interplay together. And of course…Join (and be active in) your professional society.
5) What do you do in your spare time?
Carpentry, woodworking, and gardening are three of a vast number of hobbies and interests. And someday I will get back to building Lego ships.
6) What is your favorite book, movie or tv series?
The Simpsons have covered just about every aspect of life in an insightful and immensely funny way. Hardly a day goes by without an opportunity to quote a classic episode. On a more serious note, Anthem, the Ninth Configuration, and Lord of the Rings are all favorite reads as are Washington’s Crossing and “The British are Coming.” I love reading anything about history (especially maritime) and am currently halfway through "Six Frigates."
7) What is a fun fact about yourself?
I brew beer and make wine. The brewing goes back many years to when I was a bachelor. The winemaking is new and incorporates local wild fruit.