"How many of you have wanted your thumbprint in space?" This is the opening question Stanford University's Consulting Professor Robert J. Twiggs poses to potential students of Stanford's four course Spacecraft Design and Operation Proficiency graduate certificate program.

This question has hooked scores of industry engineers, physicists and technical professionals from Lockheed Martin, NASA -Ames and other organizations to complete a program that has been described as a "wild ride." Twiggs is the 2004 recipient of the Dean's Award for Industry Education Innovation from Stanford's School of Engineering. In a nutshell, the course allows teams of employees to design, build and launch fully functional "CubeSats"—cube-shaped satellites that measure only ten centimeters—using off-the-shelf parts found primarily in hardware and electronics stores.

Twiggs has a special affinity for the needs of industry students. In 1964, he completed his Master's in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University as an Honors Cooperative Student. "I was married and had a child," he recalls. "We were living in Idaho and I had offers to go to get a Ph.D. in Missouri, and to go to Bell Labs in NJ, among others. I chose to work at Varian Associates because they offered the provision to pursue my master's at Stanford."

When Stanford's Aeronautics and Astronautics Department approached him in 1994, Twiggs was teaching at Weaver University in Utah, working with students to launch satellites. "Stanford's mission was different, however. The school wanted me to teach systems engineering," recalls Twiggs. "They wanted me to teach the whole life cycle: design, costs, time lines, operation. These students really are becoming systems engineers."

QuakeSat: the Program's First Success Story
Lockheed Martin's Chief Engineer, John Snyder, agrees. "It can take ten years to create a systems engineer," he says. "The program allows industry engineers to participate in every aspect of the life cycle of a satellite in about a year, giving them valuable systems experience. There is no other program like it in the world."

A Lockheed team was the first to complete the Spacecraft Design and Operation Proficiency graduate certificate program, with the launch in June of 2003 of QuakeSat, a small, fully operational satellite they built for QuakeFinder. More than a year later, QuakeSat continues to send valuable data on ultra low frequency sound waves to QuakeFinder, even though the batteries have died and the tiny satellite must recharge in full sunlight and reboot to send its data.

Paving the Way for Future Research
These relatively inexpensive "proof of concept" research missions have far-reaching importance for space research. Today, QuakeFinder is building a more robust and far more expensive satellite, with active consultation from Twiggs. "You have to prove your results before they will fund your more sophisticated research," says Tom Bleier, QuakeFinder's chief technology officer. "To Bob's credit and his vision, the development of small satellites like CubeSat and this program have fundamentally changed attitudes to launching student satellites. People are more of a mind to trust it now."

"Bob's a treasure not only in his enthusiasm but his vision as well," concludes Bleier. "He's also a master of all trades, doing anything for his programs, from setting up tables to marketing, teaching and problem solving."

Twiggs recognizes that his focus and intensity are reflected in the program itself. "I tell my students that of course when you take my program there is no other course but this. You will have no time for family, for weekends or for anything else." However, his enthusiasm for working with industry students is equally clear. He describes the newest group of Lockheed teams. "I have all graduate students, and they are really excited. They are jumping right in—totally self-motivated."

Program teams meet at the Space Technology Center (STC) at NASA-Ames Research Park. In fact, Twiggs was a "driving force" behind the creation of STC, according to Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics Chair, Brian Cantwell. A CubeSat scheduled to be launched in 2005 will contain experiments that are precursors to the study of the effects of zero gravity on genetic material. "In their status presentations to us, the students' respect and genuine affection for Bob is very obvious," says David Engelbert, Director of the STC.

Twiggs is also working with NASA Goddard to develop rovers that will explore the Antarctic, in particular, icebergs. He says the challenges of experimentation in this extreme environment are remarkably similar to those in space. No matter how the program and its technology are applied, Twiggs' purpose remains clear. "I think the Spacecraft Design and Operation Proficiency graduate certificate program ties in with what marks the most successful professors who teach students in industry—there is benefit for both education and industry, a creative partnership between the two."