 |
Tom Carroll |
Finding the Strike Zone in a Different Arena
Tom Carroll
October 2005
For Tom Carroll, there was no better way to prepare for a career
with a high-tech company than a job with an organization known at
its peak as the "Big Red Machine."
For non-baseball fans, the "Big Red Machine" was the nickname sportswriters
gave to the Cincinnati Reds of the 1970s, and it was a fitting moniker.
The Reds dominated the National League through much of the decade,
won back-to-back World Series titles in 1975 and 1976 (only three
teams have done that since then), and produced three players—Johnny
Bench, Joe Morgan, and Tony Perez—who are now enshrined in
the Baseball Hall of Fame.
And in that mix for two of those years (1974 and 1975) was Carroll,
a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher who racked up an 8-4 record
in two seasons before arm problems ended his career. The baseball
stories flow freely—like the time Carroll, as a rookie, singled
off Bob Gibson when the Reds played St. Louis and thus avoided becoming
the future Hall of Famer's 3,000th strikeout victim. His memories
of his team flow generously as well. Carroll believes the qualities
that made the Reds successful—diverse talent, teamwork, intensive
preparation—also apply to MITRE, where he has worked since
1994.
"I always felt that we were a little better trained than other
teams," Carroll says. "When we got to the majors with the Reds,
we knew what to do. It was all like clockwork. In a way, there's
a similar feeling here. When we go to a sponsor organization, I
see the collective attributes of MITRE that we're able to bring
to bear. I feel lucky to be with MITRE, like I did with the Reds."
Carroll doesn't see himself as the typical MITRE employee, saying
at one point, "I'm surprised you're interviewing me. I'm not an
engineer. I'm not a scientist." But to Carroll's MITRE colleagues,
what matters more is what he is: a quick study whose modesty and
open mind enable him to bring together diverse people and find solutions
to sponsor problems that might elude others.
"Tom is modest—more modest than he has to be," says James
Ellenbogen, leader of MITRE's Nanosystems Group, who has collaborated
with Carroll on several projects. "He's learned a great deal about
the subject matter by being exposed to it, like I and many other
people at MITRE have, and has picked up a great deal of working
knowledge along the way. Tom is also a very agreeable person to
work with."
Building Strong Teams
Those traits have come in handy for Carroll in his work as a chief
analyst with MITRE's Center for Integrated Intelligence Systems
(CIIS). Since 2000, his work has focused on two important yet different
areas: nanotechnology and counterterrorism. One of his specialties
has been analyzing global research and development in the area of
nanotechnology; he's led seven nano-related studies over the past
five years. Carroll's studies of nanotechnology trends have drawn
on expertise from both inside and outside of MITRE. In addition
to Ellenbogen, Carroll has engaged leading scientists from U.S.
industry, academia, and government laboratories to participate in
the studies. Recent efforts include The Impact of Nanoelectronics
on the Semiconductor Industry, The Next Fifteen Years and Global
Research and Development in the Area of Nanotechnology; A Survey
of Patents, Research Fronts and Other Sources.
Carroll's most satisfying work by far has been in bringing analysts,
developers, methodologists, and integrators together with advanced
technology and a lot of data to solve hard problems. He has served
as a principal investigator on two multi-year research programs
within MITRE's internally funded research program, each addressing
asymmetric threats. His most recent effort set out to improve methods,
processes, and tools for indication and warning of terrorist attacks.
After a year and a half of in-house research, Carroll was able to
transition his approach into a sponsor environment. It's currently
an operational prototype and is being refined by Carroll and his
colleague Jerry Cogle, a CIIS principal information systems engineer.
Like many former athletes, Carroll had to search to find a new
calling after his playing days ended. He recalls "no great epiphany,"
but at some point, when attending Georgetown University, he discovered
an interest in public service. While at Georgetown, Carroll joined
a group of professors and former Washington Redskin Mark Murphy
as instructors in a special course called "The Athlete, Society
and Values," which was designed to help transition aging or injured
professional athletes from their sport to the working world or academia.
Carroll left school with a degree in international affairs, spent
some time in the private sector, added some math and science at
local universities, and applied to MITRE. While at MITRE, Carroll
took advantage of the company's tuition reimbursement program to
earn his master's degree in international affairs from Georgetown.
Carroll likes the collegiality and healthy competitiveness at MITRE.
He thinks the non-profit public service nature of our work attracts
people who are generally easy to work with. And MITRE's status as
a credible technology firm draws real technical talent. "There are
so many smart people here," says Carroll. "The interchange, the
learning, the variety of work, the stable of veteran engineers and
scientists makes for an incredibly rich learning environment. It's
been a great challenge and a lot of fun as a non-engineer to come
in and try to succeed in this environment."
In this way, Carroll keeps his competitive juices flowing and pursues
excellence with the help of talented, experienced teammates—just
like when he was part of the "Big Red Machine."
—by W. Russell Woolard
Related Information
Websites
|
