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Mary Pulvermacher, a
Senior Principal Engineer with MITRE-Colorado Springs for
the past 16 years, shares her view of MITRE and the opportunities
available to research and explore new technologies for our
sponsors. |
MITRE Assists Sponsor in Using XML in the Military
Space Arena
Mary Pulvermacher
March 2002
Colorado Springs, one of MITRE's oldest sites, supports many of
our sponsors' programs and research initiatives. Recently, one group
investigated how Extensible Mark-up Language (XML) could be applied
to the military space domain.
Mary Pulvermacher, a Senior Principal Engineer with MITRE-Colorado
Springs for the past 16 years, shares her view of MITRE and the
opportunities available to research and explore new technologies
for our sponsors.
"The XML project was an initiative that grew out of a January
2000 MITRE workshop for the local Air Force officers. At the end
of the workshop, one of the attendees approached us and wanted to
know more about XML and how it could impact a future contract,"
says Pulvermacher.
"We focused on how XML could be applied to the military space
domain. The task had two parts: one was an effort to create a space
surveillance ontology and the other was to prototype the use of
XML to exchange space surveillance data with both sensors and forward
users. I led the ontology task," explains Pulvermacher. "As
it turned out, it was a relatively small project that had a much
larger impact. It resulted in a lot of technical exchange among
MITRE staff, as well as people from various branches of the military
and private contractors.
"This was a real cross-cutting task for MITRE," she
adds. "We drew on the experience of many experts throughout
the company. We then shared our results internally and externally.
Even now we're helping our sponsors and contractors move toward
a Web-based approach that includes XML. The best part is that XML
is not rocket science—it's actually very easy to do and can
be widely used. All the services are embracing this technology.
"This was a particularly exciting project for me because
it does all the things that MITRE is perfectly suited to do,"
continues Pulvermacher. "We were able to draw on so much technical
and domain knowledge across the corporation. We also benefited from
the significant internal and external resources of our customers
and sponsors. The end result—MITRE provided more capability
to our sponsors for very little money," she continued.
"From a personal perspective I think MITRE is a great place
to work. Five years ago I had the opportunity to go on a five-month
sabbatical. When I came back, I was refreshed and eager to take
on new challenges," says Pulvermacher. "Plus, I love working
with such bright and intelligent people. I've always found the level
of technical exchange among my peers invigorating. And the work
we do is so important. It feels good to be able to do the right
things for our sponsors and know that the work we are doing does
make a difference."
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