Bio
Maj Daniel Miller is an Instructor of astronautical engineering at the United States Air Force Academy.
Maj Miller commissioned through ROTC as a graduate from The University of Virginia in 2011. As an Lt, he managed several space weather experiments at AFRL/RV. He then completed a Master’s Degree in Astronautical Engineering from AFIT in March 2016. From AFIT he worked on technology development for the SBIR satellite system at then LAAFB, culminating as the technical lead for the development of Next Generation OPIR payload. He left that assignment to get a Ph.D. in Astro Engineering before coming to USAFA. In June 2021, he separated from the Air Force to join the US Space Force.
Education
Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering, The University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia (2011)
Master of Science, Astronautical Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio (2016)
Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Alabama (2017)
Doctor of Philosophy, Astronautical Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio (2022)
Professional Experience
Sept 2022 – present, Instructor of Astronautical Engineering, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Aug 2019 – Sept 2022, Ph.D. Student in Astronautical Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
Apr 2018 – Aug 2019, Chief, Next Gen Payload, Remote Sensing Directorate Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles, California
Apr 2016 – Apr 2017, Lead Engineer, SBIRS Next-Gen Technology Development, Remote Sensing Directorate Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, California
Aug 2014 – Mar 2016, Masters Student in Astronautical Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
Aug 2011 – Aug 2014, Lead Space Surveillance Engineer, Air Force Research Lab, Space Vehicles, Kirtland AFB, New Mexico
Honors & Awards
Air and Space Commendation Medal
Air and Space Achievement Medal (1 Oak Leaf Cluster)
Air and Space Organizational Excellence Award
Research and Scholarly Interests
Space Structures
Additive Manufacturing (AM)
CubeSats
Publications
Journals
Miller, D., Kemnitz, R., Grandhi, R., & Sheridan, L. (2022). Toward digital twin development for additively manufactured turbine blades with experimental and analytical methods. Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, 65(8), 1-13.
Conferences
Miller, D., Kemnitz, R., Grandhi, R. V., & Sheridan, L. C. (2022). Fatigue Life Modeling and Experimental Validation of Additively Manufactured Turbine Blade with Respect to Defect Size and Location. In AIAA SCITECH 2022 Forum (p. 0671).
Miller, D., Kemnitz, R., Grandhi, R. V., & Sheridan, L. (2022). Fatigue Life Model Using Defect Size, Stress, and Life Validated by Tension and Vibration Testing. In AIAA AVIATION 2022 Forum (p. 4128).
Miller, D. G., Kemnitz, R. A., Grandhi, R. V., & Sheridan, L. C. (2022). Fatigue Life Predictions of Additively Manufactured Components for Satelite Structures.