Projects and Papers

Glenn Miller Projects and Papers Bio

Professional Interests: I am an astronomer with an interest in applying advanced computer and information techniques to scientific problems. Some papers of interest include: "A Career in Astronomy, or You Want to be a Rocket Scientist?", an informal article I presented to students during a visiting lectureship at my alma mater. "Efficient Management of Information Technology for Multi-Mission Organizations", presented at the SpaceOps Conference in Montreal. "Applying the Lessons Learned from HST Operations to New Missions", presented at SPIE's International Symposium Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation "Proposal Solicitation and Selection for the 21st Century", also presented at SPIE's International Symposium Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation "Portable Astronomical Scheduling Tools" presented at the ADASS V Conference "A System for Long-Term Scheduling of Ground-Based Observatories" (html, postscript) presented at the Conference on New Observing Modes My technical papers, as well as those by STScI colleagues are available on-line. Information Technology I've got a lead role in applying ITIL processes to improve operations and development in support of STScI's mission. Astronomical Research My astronomical research includes stellar birthrate and initial mass function (the "Miller-Scalo IMF"), peculiar red giants and galaxy clusters. The Miller-Scalo IMF paper is frequently cited, with over 1,000 citations in refereed publications. Observatory Operations The STScI has pioneered the use of several innovative observing techniques which have contributed to the high scientific quality, high observing efficiency and user satisfaction of HST. Projects that I've played a key role in include: Spike planning and scheduling system. This is a general framework for planning and scheduling which is used by more astronomical observatories than any other system. Spike is used by HST, FUSE, ESO VLT, Subaru, Chandra, and others. The Project to Re-Engineer Space Telescope Observing. This process improvement project has been recognized by NASA and the astronomical community for increasing the efficiency of HST observing while simultaneously increasing the participation and satisfaction of astronomers using HST. I lead of the Vision 2000 Planning and Scheduling Product Development Team. Vision 2000 is a NASA/contractor initiative to streamline and modernize HST operations by the year 2000. Fielding the Scientist's Expert Assistant technology in HST observing tools. Re-engineering the Transformation observing system. The graphical Remote Proposal Submission System (RPS2) HST Proposal Forms and Proposal Processing System Proposal submission and selection process Software Development I have worked both as a developer and a manager of developers, including STScI's Advance Software Planning Branch. I've used many languages, but I'm most accomplished in Lisp. In addition to the technical aspects of software development, I'm interested in process an project management in order to develop better software, on schedule and within budget. In the TransVerse project, I had the chance to apply quantitative project management to a large re-engineering project. ADASS I was a member of the Program Organizing Committee for the ADASS (Astronomical Data Analysis and Software Systems) Conferences from ADASS VII through ADASS XVII. Data Reduction Expert Assistant (Draco) I was PI on the NASA-sponsored Draco project which developed an expert assistant for scientific data reduction. Community Involvement I'm a member of the American Astronomical Society and I have served on review committees for NASA and NSF, including the EVLA (Extended Very Large Array) Advisory Committee for NRAO. I have also given popular talks on astronomy and the Hubble Space Telescope at schools and universities.

Glenn Miller | | Projects and Papers | Bio