SPIE Member David W. Miller named NASA chief technologist
SPIE Member David W. Miller, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Mass., was recently named the new chief technologist of NASA, the agency announced.
NASA administrator Charles Bolden announced the appointment on 27 March. As chief technologist, Miller will be Bolden's principal adviser and advocate on matter concerning agency-wide technology policy and programs.
"David's passion for discovery and innovation is a valuable asset as we move forward into exploring new frontiers," Bolden said.
"He has challenged his students to create new ways to operate in space. I expect he will challenge us to do the same. His experience in engineering space systems, small satellites, and long-duration microgravity platforms will allow him to offer the kind of expert advice I have learned to expect from my chief technologists," Bolden said.
Miller has served on program committees and as session chair at several SPIE events and has published several papers in the SPIE journal, Optical Engineering.
He is a co-author of several papers to be presented at SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation in June, including "Engineering design of the Regolith x-ray imaging spectrometer (REXIS) instrument: an OSIRIS-REx student collaboration."
Miller held various positions on NASA projects prior to his appointment, including principal investigator for the Regolith X-ray Imaging Spectrometer for the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission planned for launch in 2016.
He was also the principal investigator for the Synchronized Position, Hold, Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellites (SPHERES), project on the International Space Station, and recently served as the vice chair of the US Air Force Scientific Advisory Board.
