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Opinion Open Access Scientific and associated engineering technology and technical excellence

Technical excellence is a requirement for good technology Volume 4 Issue 1 - 2020 development concerning all scientific and associated engineering disciplines, including for example Geoscience, Climate Studies, William W Vaughan Global Warming, Meteorology, Hydrology, Earth Science Research, NASA’s George C. Marshall Flight Center, USA Thermodynamics of Earth and Atmosphere, Natural and Man-Made Correspondence: William W Vaughan, George C. Marshall Hazards. It should be the goal of all scientific and engineering Space Flight Center, NASA Emeritus, , USA, organizations and individuals, whether in government or private Email industry, national or international. What do we mean by technical excellence? Most people have their own ideas and interpretation as to Received: February 13, 2020 | Published: April 30, 2020 what constitutes technical excellence.1 Since the intent of this article is to address the importance of technical excellence relative to the development of scientific and goals of any aerospace scientific or engineering organization. How associated engineering technology, it may be good to explore a few one achieves and maintains it is another question for which there is statements that have been made by some key individuals who were no simple answer. An organization with recognized scientific and in the aerospace community. One author, Teresa Vanhooser,2 defined associated engineering leaders who have vision, superior technical technical excellence as an effort to ensure that well-considered and and scientific competence, and the desire to excel will achieve sufficient technical thoroughness and rigor are applied to programs technical excellence. Thus, technical leadership is key for a scientific and under an uncompromising commitment to safety and and associated engineering organization’s success and the ability of mission success. A NASA Associate Administrator, Chris Scolese,3 the managers assigned to carry out the mission of the organization. identified four guiding principles to achieving technical excellence. Technical excellence is also related to the strategic management a. Clearly documented policies and procedures of an organization’s human capital. The technical excellence of its workforce is an organization’s most critical asset in accomplishing its b. Effective training and development mission. Therefore, continued development of scientific and associated c. Engineering excellence engineering expertise is necessary to preserve an organization’s and (in the case of a government organization) the nation’s role as a leader d. Continuous communications in scientific and engineering technology development. According to Scolese, two fundamental attributes must In an attempt to identify a few outstanding characteristics of be considered when pursuing technical excellence: personal managers or management approaches that would ensure a program’s accountability, whereby each individual must understand and believe success, NASA after completing the very successful — that he or she is responsible for the success of the organization’s program, undertook a research study in 1974. The study identified mission, and organizational responsibility, whereby the organization three “tall poles” important to program management. “Pay attention 4 provides the proper training, tools, and environment. to detail.” (By George M. Low); “Leave no stone unturned”, (By Louis Armstrong, a famous trumpet player, is understood to have ), and “Be aggressive.” (By Lee B. James) These remarked, “If you have to ask what jazz is, you will never know”. This characteristics create policies and management methods that are remark also applies to technical excellence when one tries to quantify highly conducive to a program’s scientific and engineering success 5 its meaning by producing metrics to establish whether a particular plus associated engineering or, in other words, successful 6 objective or goal has been achieved. For example, what provides a technology development and management. measure of the technical excellence achieved by an organization and its scientific and associated engineering staff? Number of patents Acknowledgments received? Number of professional scientific and associated engineering None. journal publications? Number of individuals with advanced degrees? Number of scientists and associated engineers versus non-scientists Conflicts of interest and associated engineers in an organization? Positive versus negative feedback on scientific and associated engineering staff publications? Author declares that there is no conflict of interest. Equipment, instruments or associated successes versus References failures? Profits a company makes? 1. Gill PS, Vaughan W. Technical Excellence: A Requirement for Good In the aerospace arena, one can certainly equate organizational Engineering. 46th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit: technical excellence, and thus good technology, with mission success, Reno, Nevada; 2008. at least in the eyes of the public and in the eyes of Congress. In the 2. Vanhooser T. MSFC Technical Excellence/Technical Authority. NASA final analysis, technical excellence is one of the most important Marshall Space Flight Center: Huntsville, AL; 2007.

Submit Manuscript | http://medcraveonline.com Aeron Aero Open Access J. 2020;4(1):40‒41. 40 ©2020 Vaughan. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially. Copyright: Scientific and associated engineering technology and technical excellence ©2020 Vaughan 41

3. Scolese C. Four Guiding Principles of Technical Excellence. ASK OCE 6. Dannenberg KK. Management Philosophies as Applied to Major . 2006;1(4). NASA Programs, N75-14633. University of Tennessee Space Institute: Tullahoma, TN; 1974. 4. Scolese C. Technical Excellence: Roles and Responsibilities. ASK OCE. 2006;1(5). 5. Vaughan W. . Journal of Aerospace Technology and Management. 2016;8(2):121.

Citation: Vaughan WW. Scientific and associated engineering technology and technical excellence.Aeron Aero Open Access J. 2020;4(1):40‒41. DOI: 10.15406/aaoaj.2020.04.00104