A System of Success
Suzanne Beers
March 2010
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Suzanne Beers |
MITRE's Suzanne Beers has achieved high academic honors, with no less than five degrees to her name: an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from Ohio State University as well as a a physics degree from Miami University in Ohio; MBA and master's degrees from New Mexico Highlands and New Mexico State Universities; and a doctorate in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech.
But her most recent distinction was her selection as a Fellow in the Military Operations Research Society (MORS), a professional organization. MORS continually strives to educate members on new techniques and approaches to analysis, and despite a busy work docket, Beers has remained active with the organization throughout her 16 years of membership.
"I'm currently working on a primer that outlines what operations research is all about and what MORS can offer to prospective members," she says.
In her role at MITRE, Beers supports the Office of the Secretary of Defense's Director of Operational Test and Evaluation. "We provide technical and policy support focused on integrated testing for space systems," she says. "It's about understanding how to test specific systems, such as the Global Positioning System, to ensure the operational mission can be accomplished."
Testing, Testing
Suzanne Beers' path to MITRE began two years ago when she gave a presentation at a military testing and evaluation conference in Huntsville, Ala. "My superior at the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center [AFOTEC] was supposed to speak about a new model we had developed for testing space systems, but he was suddenly unable to attend," she recalls. "So in my supporting role, I gave the briefing instead. My current MITRE group leader was in the audience, and afterwards we started chatting."
At the time, Beers was preparing to retire from her three-decade stint in the Air Force and was reviewing job offers in the civilian sector. Her accomplishments—including hands-on experience in operational testing and evaluation of space, missile, and missile defense acquisition programs—was of interest to several potential employers, including MITRE.
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Suzanne Beers (left), in her role as MORS President, presents a distinguished service award at a 2006 MORS Symposium held at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. |
One discussion led to another, and upon Beers' retirement from the Air Force in 2008 she elected to join MITRE's Colorado Springs location as a principal network and distributed system engineer. "I've been able to directly apply the technical background I gained through my Air Force career and education to the MITRE mission," she says.
In her visible role with MORS, Beers has helped organize and make presentations at MORS' annual symposium, where over 30 working groups come together to exchange information about hot topics in the field. She is a past president of the society, and has held several other leadership positions over the past decade. "I hope through my participation and leadership that I've helped make the organization better in a number of ways," she says.
She is quick to emphasize, however, that her role in MORS goes beyond personal accomplishment. "The society offers a huge professional network for me to tap into, and I have been bringing that exponential knowledge, as well as my Air Force experience in space systems' operations, analysis, and testing, back to MITRE sponsors."
Chilling Out and Going Green
Although Beers just recently joined MITRE, she and her husband have lived in Colorado for eleven years (she originally moved there to work at the Space Warfare Center, located at Schriever Air Force Base). The Ohio native says they enjoy the Rocky Mountain climate.
"The great thing about this region is that the sun often shines in winter, unlike other places where it can be gray all season long," she points out. "When the wind doesn't blow, it's actually quite warm in the Colorado sun, so we'll often sit outdoors and read with a glass of wine."
They are currently in the middle of building a new house in Colorado Springs that incorporates many energy-efficient features, including the ability to harness the power of that bright sun. "We're installing solar panels, which we hope will provide all the energy we need for heating our water and generating electricity," she says. "It will include a system connected to the city's power grid, so if we don't use all the energy we generate, we can flow it back to the municipal grid for others to use, while we get energy credits."
The house will also feature stained concrete floors with an in-floor heating system. "It's very efficient—when we lived in Albuquerque, we remodeled our house, almost doubling its size, yet we cut our heating bill by half with this kind of system," she says.
Beers says that she appreciates MITRE's workplace flexibility as she and her husband complete their new home. "My husband is acting as the general contractor, so he's always at the site," she explains. "I'll call him at midday to see how many workers are there, and then I'll drop off lunch for them during my own lunch hour."
With any luck, transitioning to a new home will go as smoothly for Beers as her transition from an Air Force career to a MITRE career has gone.
—by Cheryl Scaparotta
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