sentences:  In 1868, he was appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury to serve on a commission with Prof. Joseph Henry and other scientific experts to examine the best meter devised for determining the products of distillation, to be subsequently adopted by the department.Gurley was a long-time trustee of Rensselaer, having been elected to that position in 1855.He was secretary of the institution from 1861 to 1872, vice-president from 1872 to 1887 and acting president from 1886 to 1887.