Brian D. Gurney
Experience
Montana State University-Billings
Principal Investigator, Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Demonstration, Billings Armed Forces Reserve Center. October 2003 to present.
Lead Researcher, “Investigation of Regulatory and Business Process Barriers for Emerging Residential and Commercial Distributed Energy Technologies in Montana.” September 2002 to May 2004.
Lecturer, College of Business, July 1999 to present
Instruct numerous classes in the areas of Management, Operations and Economics. Designed four online classes and serve as instructor for three. Co-authored Mission/Vision Statement and authored Core Values for the College in support of advanced accreditation.
Project Manager, September 1999 to present
Specified the energy technology, successfully solicited the monetary support and assembled the team to carry out a 4-year demonstration project for small-scale distributed generation of electricity utilizing Solid Oxide Fuel Cells in residential and rural/remote applications.
General Manager/Industrial Development, May 1996 - January 1999
Responsible for all phases of daily operations. Managed 30+ employees including engineers, estimators, drafting personnel and production managers. Established a new market and obtained the contract with the highest profit in division history. Instituted a rigorous preventive maintenance program and updated/replaced numerous pieces of capital equipment. Increased lift capacity by 6X and fabrication space by 3X. Successfully handled all personnel issues, including writing job descriptions, interviewing and hiring. Established good working relationships with vendors, customers and various State and Federal regulatory agencies.
Gurney Consulting Services, Eugene, OR April 1994 – March 1996
Provided market planning and penetration strategies for Federal laboratories and university systems involved in basic and applied research. Worked with various patent/intellectual property offices to assess technical competency and financial assistance needs of small business partners.
University of Colorado, Colorado Institute For Technology Transfer and Implementation, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Research Associate, August 1993 - March 1994
Appointed to a position to develop a set of “Best Practices” that facilitate the transfer of technology from public sector institutions to private sector businesses. Results define successful practices, methodologies, procedures and policies, coupled with evaluation mechanisms for National and Federal laboratories and the University of Colorado system.
University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Honorarium Instructor, 1989 - 1993
Instructed all class levels including MBA in the areas of Purchasing, Materials Management, Project Management, Production and Operations Management and Quality Management. Developed and instructed a new course entitled “Service Operations.”
Systems Engineer, 1989 - 1991
Networked CNC machines to optimize material flow and minimize W-I-P. Performed system analysis, design and implementation of shop-floor bar code systems. Provided research and recommendations on CAD modernization and EDI linkages to customers.
Education
University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. M.B.A., Management Information Systems, 1989.
Computer Systems Management, Systems Analysis and Design, Database Management, Prism and Excelerator (CASE tools) and IFPS Programming. Emphasis on collection, organization, accessing, and analysis of information for planning and control of business operations.
University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, B.S., Production and Operations Management, 1987.
Production Strategy and Planning, Integration of Technology and Automation, Forecasting and Scheduling, Purchasing and Negotiation, Just-In-Time Strategies, Inventory Planning and Control, Cost Analysis, Material Requirements Planning (MRP), and Total Quality Management (TQM) in business operations.
Academic Appointments
Visiting Researcher, University of Oregon, Technology Transfer Office, Riverfront Research Park, Eugene, Oregon, September 1993 to August 1994.
Professional Activities and Consulting
Center for Applied Economic Research, Montana State University-Billings. 1999 – 2000. Provide technical and market research for the Fuel Cell Development Program at the Big Sky Economic Development Authority.
Organized, presented and moderated “The Business of Energy” seminar for the College of Business; over 80 attendees, 2001.
Presented “The Operations of Coalbed Methane” at Rocky Mountain College for the annual January Thaw conference, 2001 and 2002.
Served as business/energy committee member for the Campus Utility Energy Study, resulting in the installation of a propane air system which allows the university to lower its utility costs, 2001-2002.
Panel moderator and speaker at the International Business Conference, Montana State University-Billings. “Leveraging Emerging Energy Technologies to Lessen Dependency on Hydrocarbon Imports,” 2003.
Presented “Methane and Microturbines” at the Winter ’04 Meeting of the Association of State Energy Research and Technology Transfer Institutions (ASERTTI) in Washington D.C.
National Steering Committee Member, Distributed Generation/Combined Heat and Power. Charged with selection of performance parameters and establishment of long term monitoring protocols for fuel cells of less than 25 kW. Data will populate a database for the Dept. of Energy at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). 12/04
Publications and Presentations
Benchmarking Best Practices in Technology Transfer, by Brian Gurney, MBA, Lawrence Anderson, Ph.D. Colorado Institute for Technology Transfer and Implementation, March 1994. Practices, policies and procedures to facilitate the transfer of technology.
Presented analysis and conclusions of Best Practices in Technology Transfer study to the Association of University Technology Managers at the annual meeting, March, 1994, Phoenix, AZ.
Presented interim findings of Best Practices in Technology Transfer study to the Technology Transfer Society annual meeting, June 1993, Ann Arbor, M
Bar Coding for Small Manufacturers by Brian Gurney, MBA, Richard Discenza, Ph.D., CPIM. Production and Inventory Management Journal, Volume 33, Number 4, pp. 1-5. Fourth Quarter, 1993. American Production and Inventory Control Society. Gaining control of material/shop floor operations.
Evaluating Capital Equipment Purchases by Richard Discenza, Ph.D., CPIM, Brian Gurney, MBA. Production and Inventory Management Journal, Volume 31, Number 2, pp. 33-37, Second Quarter, 1990. American Production and Inventory Control Society. Consideration of intangibles in the capital equipment acquisition process.
Pursue Quality Armed with Tools and a Plan by Brian Gurney, MBA. Western Business Journal, Volume 4, Number 7, p.6, December 1999. Implementing quality programs utilizing both qualitative and quantitative approaches.
Coalbed Methane: Considerations for the Development of a Montana Resource by Brian Gurney, MBA, Mary McNally, Ph.D., Montana Business Quarterly, August 2001. Resource examination and value-added technology applications.
Distributive Energy: Montana’s New Frontier by Brian Gurney, MBA, Mary McNally, Ph.D. and Monte Smith, MS, Montana Business Quarterly, January 2004. Linking Montana’s energy resource base with small, leading-edge generation technologies.