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Tom Miers – Taking a Worldly View

It’s another sign of our rapidly-changing technology – taking for granted the ability to view the Earth in detail from space. But it took several decades of developments to achieve, and Tom Miers was in on that journey.

Tom, who received a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering at UT Arlington in 1977, is a senior manager for instrument systems at Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., the developer and builder of many of this nation’s most notable imaging satellites. During his 25-year career at Ball, Tom has had a hand in numerous governmental and commercial satellite projects.

For example, Tom was responsible for the delivery of two camera packages for the EarthWatch (now DigitalGlobe) QuickBird Program. This entailed the complete instrument design and build, including technical, cost and schedule management. He also served as the lead systems engineer and integration and test manager on the Quickbird Program. Launched in 2001, QuickBird provided commercially-available, high-resolution photos for geographic reference, agriculture, forestry, urban planning, disaster response and other uses.

“When I started working on QuickBird in 1995, I never dreamed that one day I would get on Google Earth and use the images from that system to map out my hiking and running trails,” he said reflectingly. “The new systems that we are launching now extend the capability to higher resolution and larger capacity of image collection. In the future, that data will become timelier and even higher resolution. Even now, I don’t think that we can even imagine the applications and impact that this will have on our society. I just pray that it is for good.”

Tom’s other assignments have included the DARPA/DoD MIMIC (Microwave and Millimeter Wave Integrated Circuit) program, DigitalGlobe’s NextView/WorldView and the Operational Land Imager, one in the series of LandSat imaging satellites.

Another of Tom’s projects is making headlines now – the upgrades to the Hubble Space Telescope. Now that the modifications are complete, every instrument on the Hubble has been built by Ball Aerospace. These new instruments greatly increase the telescope’s scientific capabilities and extend its operating life, hopefully until the launch of the Hubble’s replacement, the James Web Space Telescope, in 2014.

Earlier this year, Tom received the 2008 Follett Award at Ball Aerospace & Technologies. The award recognizes continuous outstanding professional contributions in an engineering technical field. In presenting the award, Ball’s vice president of engineering cited Tom as “… a major driver in our remote sensing instrument payload capability over his 25-year career at Ball Aerospace. Tom has been the architect for numerous programs, including the LandSat Operational Land Imager, QuickBird, WorldView-1 and WorldView-2. For each of these programs, Tom pulled together optical, electronics, mechanical, and thermal designs.”

To what does Tom credit his success? “You need to have fun in your job, he said. “I’ve also always felt like I should be constantly learning new things, and I’ve been lucky to have had the opportunities to push into various areas – technical, fabrication, production, etc. – and, as a result, gain a good overview of these disciplines, their importance, and how to best apply them to programs.”

What’s sight for Tom? “We’re presently working on high-accuracy laser Space Station docking systems for the Shuttle replacement (Orion). Oh, and I’m training for a marathon in Kauai!”

We asked Tom to share some of his thoughts about UT Arlington, the College of Engineering and what it means to be an engineer.

What do you know about UT Arlington that others may not?
UTA was considered a commuter school when I was a freshman, but the quality of the school and the faculty was well beyond that. It has grown into a fine university.

What is your fondest memory of your time on campus?
Some of my fondest memories revolve around the concerts at Texas Hall and the nearby building that we called the “Toilet Bowl.” Someone painted a handle on it one night and it truly looked like a toilet!

How has the College of Engineering changed since you were a student?
The College of Engineering has definitely grown and matured into a respected institution, not only in Texas, but throughout the nation.

What lessons of life have you discovered, before or since then?
When I graduated from UTA, I thought I knew it all! When I went to graduate school, I learned how much I didn’t know and when I started my career in industry, I learned that I didn’t even know how much that I didn’t know!

What is most interesting about being an engineer?
Engineers have a unique career in that we put science and technology into action. We produce hardware that benefits our quality of life and extends our knowledge of the world and the universe around us.

What do you want your legacy to be, both professionally and personally?
My legacy is my sons. I hope that I can have positive impacts on their lives. I have always told them that if I wasn’t having fun and learning new things, then I needed to move on to something else. I continue to learn and always want to be open about new ideas and ways of doing things. I like to think that I care for others and treat them with respect and dignity. One of my sons once asked me if I was more important than other people in my company. I thought for a moment and told him, “No, everyone is important in the job that they do, it’s just that some people have more responsibilities than others.” I hope, in all things, that I can act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with my God.