Success is a way of life for both Dr. William F. Ballhaus, Jr., president and CEO of The Aerospace Corporation, and his staff, who exhibit an accomplished track record of scientific and engineering expertise. As the top executive of this world leader in the application of space technology, Dr. Ballhaus would be the first to tell you the diversity of his highly skilled technical staff is one of the driving forces behind the 42-year-old independent, nonprofit corporation’s success.

Headquartered in El Segundo, CA, The Aerospace Corporation operates a network of regional offices throughout America with fiscal year 2000 operations’ revenue amounting to $433.5 million. Of the roughly 3,250 employees on board, nearly 30 percent are minorities and/or women, and more than 21 percent of the technical staff is minority. The key mission of The Aerospace Corporation is to aid the U.S. Air Force in applying science and technology to advances in space systems for national security. Aerospace engages in space systems architecture, engineering, planning, analysis and research for programs managed primarily by the Space and Missile Systems Center of the Air Force Space Command and the National Reconnaissance Office. But technological expertise is also provided to other government agencies, such as NASA, in non-defense programs.

Dr. Ballhaus (left) joined Aerospace as president in September 2000 after an 11-year career with the Lockheed Martin Corporation, including service as a corporate officer and vice president of Engineering and Technology. The Ph.D. engineering graduate from the University of California at Berkeley gained the additional title of CEO at Aerospace last May. In a recent interview with THE BLACK COLLEGIAN, Dr. Ballhaus said Aerospace is very proactive in employee recruitment and advancement opportunities for minorities and seeks to be an employer of choice for technically competent people from all backgrounds. He also discussed other pressing issues.

TBC: What entry-level opportunities are available for college graduates at The Aerospace Corporation?

Ballhaus: We're very interested in attracting people with a high level of technical competence and people who have a passion for our mission, which is serving our national security space customer. We recruit selectively, hiring about 200 people a year. Since we proactively recruit minorities, there are great opportunities here for people from all backgrounds. The engineering disciplines—mechanical, aerospace, systems and electrical engineering—are integral to our mission. We are also very interested in those with physics, computer science, mathematics and chemistry backgrounds. We have a very exciting mission helping keep the country secure, and it's especially challenging since September 11. In my opinion, national security space is one of the most dynamic areas in the aerospace business, and our organization is directly involved.

TBC: Are there certain competencies besides core engineering entry-level competencies that you seek?

Ballhaus: There are several qualities we look for. First is integrity, which is more a value than a competency. And we view integrity as a prerequisite. Second, we're interested in technically competent people who are firmly grounded in their own discipline and in related disciplines. In addition to technical competencies, we're looking for people who can succeed in our environment. We seek people with a positive attitude who can learn quickly and adapt to new situations and programs. So there are qualities besides technical competence that are fundamental and important. The ability to meet commitments is important too. Much of the work we do is based on trust, and you build trust by demonstrating that you can meet commitments. Teamwork and communication also are important skills and they are related. Our technical people usually work as part of a team, so they must be able to interact effectively. They must be able to communicate effectively in order to motivate others and get their ideas across. Good technical ideas have little value if you can't convince somebody that they have merit. So, both oral and written communication are fundamentally important and promote teamwork.

TBC: In view of the downturn in the national economy, college students may be concerned about employment prospects with a major company such as The Aerospace Corporation. Please discuss.

Ballhaus: I think that’s a valid concern, but it’s hard to predict what the future will hold from one business area to another. We're a stable company and our contributions to the nation are as important as they have ever been. The increased emphasis on national security provides us with opportunities to find new ways to serve our customers, and the opportunities are significant. So I expect that we will be growing rather than declining. I would advise students to pick an area that they have a passion for. If it is aerospace, stick with it. Overall, I would advise students to enter with enthusiasm the area they have a passion for, sharpen their skills, and learn as much as they can—broaden themselves— because the field they start in may not be the one they retire from. People may go through several changes during a career in response to the opportunities presented. There will be peaks and valleys along the way.

TBC: What diversity and EEO initiatives have been undertaken at The Aerospace Corporation?

Ballhaus: I'd like to say first that we at Aerospace want to be recognized as an employer of choice for high performers who have a passion to serve the national security space customer and who are technically competent. We seek diversity, then, to enhance our business. In other words, we believe that diversity can be an advantage to the business if we focus diversity on the business objectives. So that's what we're trying to do, and one of the ways to do that is by enhancing communication. Over the last year, I've held brown-bag lunches with employee groups, and our senior managers have done the same, in an attempt to build better communication. We have five affinity groups at Aerospace for those of various gender and racial backgrounds. The groups represent Asians, blacks, Hispanics, and women. A fifth group, recently added, represents the gay and lesbian population. These groups really provide us a mechanism for communication. We can receive input and concerns from these diverse groups and act on the input we receive. The affinity groups also provide an opportunity for people who enter the organization to receive mentorship, not just professionally but socially as well. For example, imagine yourself coming from the East Coast into the Southern California area. When you don’t know the area, it's great to have people who instantly become your friends. They can give you options about where to live, which restaurants to frequent and where to go to church. The affinity groups make it much easier for the new employee to assimilate into communities where our major facilities are located, such as Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Colorado Springs. Our affinity groups help with that transition; that's one way of turning diversity into an advantage for the business. It broadens the aperture on the technical talent we can recruit, and it provides a nurturing environment for people who come into the organization. It absolutely makes good business sense.

TBC: What are the key advantages for corporate America in embracing diversity?

Ballhaus: First, a broader aperture, as I mentioned, in being able to recruit talent. I think the search for talent is going to get more and more intense, especially in aerospace engineering. We, across the industry, are very concerned about being able to attract the next generation of talent. Second, a wider range of perspectives and experiences is offered. Again, it's the challenge of turning diversity into an advantage for the business, and that's what we're trying to do.

TBC: What are the major challenges awaiting The Aerospace Corporation in advancing the nation's space exploration program?

Ballhaus: First, if I may, let me discuss national security space, because it’s a very exciting area, just as space exploration in the area of civil space is. The national security space infrastructure will be modernized in all of the key mission areas over the next decade, and that's one area of development that makes our mission so exciting at this time. Communications, navigation, surveillance, and weather satellites, even the launch vehicles that boost these satellites into space, all of these systems are being upgraded over the next decade. So there's a lot of action in national security space. We also work to support NASA in planetary exploration and human exploration. Currently we are supporting the Jet Propulsion Laboratory with the Mars Rover and Mars Reconnaissance missions in the areas of systems engineering and risk management. We also support the space shuttle and space station programs.

According to Dr. Ballhaus, Aerospace employs many minority employees with a broad range of professional disciplines and experience levels who are making a difference in the corporation’s success. He points out that the achievements of Dr. Wanda Austin, (right) recently named senior vice president of the Engineering and Technology Group, are especially noteworthy. After serving as a member of the company’s technical staff for 22 years, she has become the company’s first female senior vice president of a technical organization. She manages the largest of the firm’s three major organizational units and has responsibility for more than 1,000 engineers and scientists. We asked Dr. Austin, who earned her doctorate in systems engineering from the University of Southern California, about the nature of her noteworthy position.

TBC: What do your key responsibilities entail?

Austin: My principal responsibility is to lead the engineering arm of the corporation in providing support to our military, civil, and commercial customers and to a variety of other corporate projects. We have half of the company’s technical talent in my organization. We are equipped with state-of-the-art computing, diagnostic, testing, and research facilities. We also manage and develop the technical databases that provide the corporate history in space systems. This dates to when the space era began more than 40 years ago. Our engineers and scientists assess and evaluate space hardware and operational capabilities, provide insight on anomalies that occur, and provide critical input to the development decisions that are made along the way.

TBC: What career advice can you share with our minority collegiate readers?

Austin: I would say my career tips apply across the board. I don’t think minorities have any unique or special challenges except that we frequently don’t have role models in the community who can, from the time you are a child, ingrain in you that this is what you do, this is how you proceed, these are the things you need to do. You need to be able to envision yourself in those roles, possessing these capabilities. You need to have built into you an approach to problem-solving, and be able to interact with people who are working in the fields you choose, so that as part of your development you’re surrounded by examples of how to do things right.

TBC: What attributes and characteristics enabled you to become professionally successful that young people can benefit from?

Austin: I’ve always been results-oriented and that has served me well in a couple of areas. It’s how I chose my career field. I could measure my own progress and set new goals. The other thing is that you must have a strong technical expertise. You must put the time and hard work in so that you know you have the capabilities and training, the foundations you need to be successful. You must be willing to persevere. You must not be deterred when things get tough. And the other thing is to remember that this is a journey, so you must commit to continuous learning.

TBC: What role did mentors play in your professional development?

Austin: Mentors are very important. In growing up and selecting a career, I didn’t know any engineers and I didn’t know what engineering was. But I stumbled into it in the sense that I started off in mathematics and eventually, with the help of mentors, was exposed to the career of engineering. Mentors will give you the developmental assignments or tasks you need so that you will grow. Another thing mentors do, and we don’t always enjoy, is they give you honest feedback.

TBC: What motivates you now to be successful?

Austin: It’s certainly a combination of things that serve as motivators. Here at Aerospace, it’s the important mission we have and the feeling of being able to make a difference in national security. What we do is not something that someone takes and puts on a shelf and doesn’t get used. What we do, ultimately, is deployed in the field. There’s someone out there who says, “You know, I need to be able to rely on this system.”

TBC: What motivational advice can you share with young people who have stumbled in life and not gotten up?

Austin: Something that anchored me years ago and has always stuck with me is this: “Don’t let what you can’t do interfere with what you can.” You can’t do everything, so start with one step. Sometimes we become overwhelmed with how difficult the total task is without realizing that if we break that task into pieces it is achievable. You can eat a whole elephant a bite at a time. But if you try to accomplish this in one full swallow, you won’t get there. So for those who are struggling, I say to them, make some adjustments so that you can focus on what’s important. But get started. And seek help.

[Aerospace Role Models]

Robert G. Miller is the vice president of Editorial Administration for iMinorities, Inc. and editor of THE BLACK COLLEGIAN Magazine.