Michael Schleider takes the reins as AEDC's new director of engineering and technical management

  • Published
  • By Philip Lorenz III
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  AEDC's new director of engineering and technical management arrived earlier in December and is busy getting settled into his new position.

Prior to taking on his new job at Arnold, Michael Schleider was the director of engineering for the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center's Aerospace Sustainment Directorate at Robins AFB, Ga., providing support to more than 400 engineers.

"When I was the chief engineer over support equipment in early 2000 at Warner Robins AFB, Ga., we actually managed hush houses and test cells," he said. "We did manage some similar types of equipment as Arnold does as far as ground test [is concerned], but I've never had any specific [ties] with Arnold."

Speaking of his role at AEDC, Schleider said, "The primary function of my office is engineering force development - basically we want to make sure that the engineers who come on board here are taken care of professionally - making sure they have the requisite technical skills as well providing avenues to further develop those skills. [This may also include] some [additional] training or higher level education as well as making sure they understand what it takes to work their way up their chosen career track."

"A secondary mission running this office is also to define and provide oversight to engineering processes," he said. "This office is the technical authority over the engineering processes here at the center and right now that's being driven primarily by the systems engineering efforts that are currently underway."

Schleider acknowledged he is still in the process of learning what the engineering processes are for a test and evaluation center like AEDC. However, he said the different test area directors have been extremely helpful in getting him up to speed in their respective areas of expertise.

Schleider is also the lead on recruiting new engineers for AEDC through the PALACE Acquire program and the Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation (SMART) Education Program.

The purpose of SMART is to promote the education, recruitment and retention of outstanding undergraduate and graduate students in science, mathematics and engineering (SME). The government offers scholarships to individuals who have demonstrated the ability and special aptitude for training and education in SME.

Schleider will also support his new Technical Director in the EN office, Jerry Kitchens, in advocating a design of experiments (DOE) approach, where it is applicable, to testing at Arnold.

DOE can be applied to ground testing at AEDC and will enable engineers to determine simultaneously the individual and interactive effects of many factors which could affect the results in a given test, and therefore the effect those factors will have on the system being tested.

"Design of experiments is a statistically defensible methodology that supports the Secretary of the Air Force initiatives to improve our weapon system acquisition processes," Kitchen said. "DOE is the most effective and efficient test and evaluation tool I've used in my 27-plus years of test experience, bar none."

An Eagle Scout and outdoor enthusiast who has hiked all of the Appalachian Trail in Georgia, Schleider views his role at AEDC in much the same way as he did when embarking on the famed trail. He approaches his job as he does when tackling the miles of rugged terrain ahead on a hike - it is exciting and challenging.

"I think the biggest challenge for me is to really understand and appreciate the Arnold mission," he said. "Coming out of the logistics world, I can talk test, but to really understand what this center does, you have to first understand the history [of this place].

"It's an incredible history and I'm [still] trying to understand how the different organizations are set up, who all is coming aboard, what their skill sets are, [what skills they will] need, etc. I'm trying to take a lot of the experience that I [gained] in logistics and transfer what's relevant to what I'm doing here."