NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

For Sam, Nathanael and John Miller, NASA is a family business.

During the summer of 2006, the three brothers all worked along the same hallway at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. All three have participated in LARSS, the Langley Aerospace Research Summer Scholars project.

Image to right: Sam (left) and Nathanael Miller pose with some of the robots that are involved in their project. Credit: NASA

Sam, the eldest of the three and the second of eight Miller siblings, began the brothers' relationship with NASA. During the summer following his freshman year at Old Dominion University, he participated in LARSS. Sam was the first of the brothers to participate, but there was already a family connection. "My uncle who worked out here at the time told me about LARSS and suggested that I apply," he said. He then became involved in another Langley education project, DEVELOP, an applied sciences activity that focuses on human capital development. Through DEVELOP, students initiate projects in response to challenges faced by communities.

"My experience with DEVELOP is undoubtedly one of the most positive enterprises I have ever embarked on: It resulted in many phenomenal opportunities, including a NASA co-op that this year was converted into a normal job," Sam said. Since completing his bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering at ODU, Sam now works full-time at Langley.

Nathanael, the middle of the three, followed a path much like that of his older brother. He is currently finishing up his bachelor's degree from Old Dominion -- in mechanical, rather than electrical, engineering. He participated in LARSS during two summers, and is now working as a co-op at Langley. Following the same path as his older brother has landed him in the same place, literally. The two are working together on a robotics project at the center.

After he completes his bachelor's degree, Nathanael plans to earn a master's in electrical engineering, and then hopes to continue to work in the field of spaceflight. "Long-term, in the end, I'm really intrigued by low-cost, fast-turn-around access to space," he said, explaining that he is interested in working on new launch technologies for placing satellites in orbit.

John is the newcomer of the group, having just participated in LARSS during the summer of 2006. "Sam and Nathanael had worked in the LARSS project previously and, from what they told me, the research being conducted at LaRC sounded very intriguing, so I applied." With additional funding provided by the DEVELOP project, John was awarded an internship in flight research at Langley. John recently completed his bachelor's in aerospace engineering at ODU, and has begun pursuing a master's in the same field. He hopes to continue in the LARSS project during the summer of 2007. "After I obtain my M.S. in aerospace engineering, I plan to obtain an officer's commission in the Air Force, where I would like to fly," he added.

Nathanael said that, while there have been obvious similarities in the brothers' paths, the differences have been fascinating, as well. "As each of us has gone along, it's been interesting to see the different perspectives of the various engineering disciplines," he said. "It's interesting to get the perspective of how they teach things in the different schools, and what it means to be in the different disciplines." He said that he plans to change from mechanical to electrical engineering for his master's, and then move into a space or aerospace field for his doctorate, to better interact with the different backgrounds that come together in project teams.

Image to left: John Miller's work at NASA has focused on unmanned aircraft. Credit: NASA

Sam and Nathanael began working together on a project to demonstrate how a particular computer technology could have applications for use in satellites. Since then, they've been involved in the development of a robotics technology demonstrator. "We've built two of these omnidirectional robots so far, and we're winding up to build a third," Nathanael said. "This next one will be an outdoor robot. We hope to involve more partners, and it will be on a larger scale."

When they were younger, Nathanael said, he and Sam would design projects they wanted to build, and it's been fun to use their technical training to do that again. "It's been interesting to come back on the other end with different backgrounds, working together in the same old ways."

While Sam and Nathanael have been working on space- and surface-based projects, John's work at Langley has been aimed toward the area in between space and the ground. During his internship, John assisted Mark Motter, who works on control systems for unmanned aerial vehicles. "I worked for Dr. Motter installing and debugging autonomous flight control hardware and software on a 1/4-scale Piper Cub," he said. "This included design and fabrication of mounting and sensor components, as well as conducting extensive simulations on the flight control algorithms."

Related Resources + Langley Aerospace Research Summer Scholars + DEVELOP + Langley Research Center + NASA Education Web Site

John said that his brothers were a big factor in his involvement with NASA. "I have a tremendous respect and admiration for the talents and abilities of my two older siblings, and if they had not encouraged me to apply to the LARSS project, I am not sure I would have," he said. "My older brother Sam also put me in contact with Dr. Motter and [DEVELOP's] Mike Ruiz."

Sam said he is pleased to have been able to help his brothers, and proud of the contributions they have made at Langley. "I probably paved the way for them to work here, in the sense that I was able to put them in contact with the people who could judge the merits of their skills and bring them into the NASA team. Certainly, I might have provided the initial contacts and the impetus for funding their research efforts here, but my brothers have certainly done me proud through their comportment, talent and work ethic. I'm proud to work on the same team with them, and look forward to an interesting future for our agency!"

Through student involvement projects like LARSS and DEVELOP, NASA continues its tradition of investing in the nation's education. It is directly tied to the agency's major education goal of attracting and retaining students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines. To compete effectively for the minds, imaginations and career ambitions of America's young people, NASA is focused on engaging and retaining students in education efforts that encourage their pursuit of disciplines critical to NASA's future engineering, scientific and technical missions.

David Hitt/NASA Educational Technology Services