Aviation Week & Space Technology
08/20/2007, page 94
Printed headline: Problem-Solving
Over the past four years, the trend has been for national laboratories and research centers to rank at or near the top in the Technological Challenge category of “Where A&D Professionals Want To Work.” This year was no different.
The Aerospace Corp., a nonprofit, U.S. federally funded research-and-development center, is number one. William F. Balhaus, the outgoing CEO, says the technical challenge is one that combines risk with creativity. “Space is about having one strike and being out of business,” he explains. That challenge alone captures the passion of many aerospace/defense engineers and scientists. He believes the nature of developing systems and vehicles in support of the U.S. space-defense mission continues to attract the sharpest minds. “I visit a lot of university campuses, and there still is a tremendous passion for aerospace systems,” says Balhaus. “To develop and fly such a system is a tremendous experience. What we need to do is improve the rapid cycle times so that instead of a person working on three or four projects over a career, there are many more.”
Currently, Aerospace is recapitalizing its technologies—GPS, weather/climate, reconnaissance and communication systems. The company develops space-based systems and the vehicles to orbit them. “That’s what excites me,” Balhaus says. “It’s what attracted me to The Aerospace Corp.”
The organization includes about 2,500 technology staff members. Of these, 1,200 are scientists and engineers, some 800 of whom are Ph.D.s. They must all complete the Aerospace Institute, a training program that helps new employees learn how space programs are executed. Employees are then assigned to internal research/development projects and later to federally funded projects. “You’re working with people who really are world-class in all aspects of space systems—that’s a major discriminator for us,” Balhaus says. “The old corporate R&D laboratories are for the most part gone. We value that role. We don’t outsource our technical work.”
As for diversity, Aerospace’s new CEO is an African-American woman, Wanda Austin, who graduated with a degree in mathematics from Franklin & Marshall University.
The Aerospace Corp. led A&D organizations in terms of offering technological challenge. It has locations nationwide, with almost 100% of its efforts going to science, research and technological advancement.Credit: AEROSPACE CORP. |
The Aerospace Corp. also was chosen by the American Productivity and Quality Center as one of the best organizations for knowledge transfer and retention. Balhaus describes the organization as the corporate memory for the U.S. military space program.
Aerospace’s leaders are particular about the skills they want: telemetry, software development, space power/propulsion, highly specialized computer skills and system engineering. Expertise and contribution are the watchwords.
“The field of electronics continues to advance, and we invest in research and development to selectively invent all-new capabilities,” Balhaus says. Aerospace’s leaders stress ownership of technical issues on programs. “We want accountability at the personal level for solving problems that impede our success. That accountability has paid off—without accountability, you have to question what value you really can add. And, we stay out of politics. We let the facts and our analysis speak for themselves. When we launch a rocket or space vehicle into orbit, there is detailed verification that assures the launch was successful and the vehicle works. We take organizational and individual accountability for every aspect. People who work here know that their work has meaning.” Indeed, Aerospace’s voluntary attrition rate is just under 2%.
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