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:: William High - Distinguished Service - 2006
 Science - 1991
Sports / Education - 1964
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Bill High is President of PSI, Inc., a training company for inspectors of high pressure cylinders. Located near Seattle, Washington, he began training cylinder inspectors in 1983 and set the SCUBA/SCBA industry standard for technical inspections. Presently Bill is the senior consultant to more than 70 cylinder inspector trainers in North America and at numerous international locations. Bill is a consultant to the NASA Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory.
Trained as a marine scientist, Bill worked for more than 37 years in the marine science field using scuba and advanced diving systems as essential research tools. In the late 1950's and early 1960's Bill introduced and promoted diving to numerous marine science agencies that had not yet learned of the merits and value of scuba as a research tool. He served as the national diving officer for both the US Bureau of Commercial Fisheries and the National Marine Fisheries Service as well as NOAA's first National Diving Coordinator. Bill wrote the first scientific diving regulations for each agency.
Bill led 4 first mission saturation scientific diving programs (Tektite, Hydrolab,
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Edalhab, and Helgoland) and directed 5 major deep submersible research expeditions in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. He served as a diving consultant to the United Nations.
Bill is a prolific writer with more than 160 articles and five books authored or co-authored. His latest book, BENEATH THE SEA- A Sampling of Diving and Other Adventures, recounts many of his technical diving experiences. His book INSPECTING CYLINDERS is the gas industry standard for cylinder safety inspections. The majority of his more than 160 published articles promoted dive industry safety. More than 200 of his photographs, both underwater and surface, have been published by National Geographic, Encyclopedia Britannica, Newsweek and other media to illustrate his published works and those of other writers.
Throughout his diving related career, beginning in 1955, he served as president of his diving club, President of the Washington State Council of Divers, Vice President of the Underwater Society of America, President of the Pacific Rim Underwater Federation, President of the National Association of Underwater Instructors and President of Professional Scuba Inspectors, Inc.
Certified as NAUI Instructor #175 in 1961, Bill went on to serve NAUI for many years as North Pacific Branch Manager (10 years), Member of the Board of Directors (8 years), President (4 years), Board of Advisors (10 years), Director of International Affairs (3 years) and other duties. He trained more than 8,000 basic, and advanced divers before focusing his efforts to promote cylinder safety through technical visual inspections. As an instructor trainer Bill always held to the highest standards and imparted his strong concerns about safety to all of the candidates. He has personally trained more than 3,000 professional cylinder inspectors and federal hydrostatic re-testers.
For many years Bill High was a hyperbaric chamber operator, inside medic or supervisor at the Pacific Northwest's regional chamber facility. He participated in the treatment of more than 100 patients for both diving and non-diving injuries.
Bill High is a genuine pioneer in the field international diving. His 50 year contribution to recreational diving, educational diving, scientific diving as well as technical diving support has the mark of excellence so badly needed in diving today. He continues as an active diving industry consultant today and is held in the highest esteem by his peers. His hundreds of lectures to audiences worldwide have carried his enthusiasm for diving to thousands of divers.
Bill's awards for service to diving have been many including lifetime achievement awards from both NAUI and PADI. He has been honored by inter-state safety agencies, state and community groups. He is the recipient of NOGI awards for Sports Education (1964), Science (1991) and Distinguished Service (2006), making him only the second person to ever receive three NOGI Awards.
As a lifetime Ambassador for diving Bill High has made a difference in the way diving safety is viewed and practiced.
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