It’s my job

Emily Johnson Zieman
’02, ’04, Aerospace Engineering
Lead Systems Engineer
Legacy HELLFIRE Missile Launcher U.S. Army, Redstone Arsenal,
Huntsville, Ala.

Typical day . . . troubleshooting components and engineering — designing, problem solving and testing the four-rail launcher that flies on the Apache helicopter

Engineering challenge . . . military systems require so much precision; it’s easy to get lost in the details, a specific problem or a part, and forget about the whole system

My Auburn Engineering . . . three years on the Baja SAE team taught me how to build things, not just to fabricate parts but make them work

Geek moment . . . .my husband Mike and I wrote a software program to control our Christmas lights ¬— sometimes they blink or fade or the colors vary and rotate — the control box is bigger than most computers

Early on . . . I learned to love mechanical things working on a twelfth-generation cattle farm in Southboro, Massachusetts

Turning point . . . in high school, I realized that physics made the world make sense to me

Sense of pride . . . realizing that what we work on everyday helps keep our nation safe and knowing that it is important to the defense of our country

Don’t let the hunk of metal fool you. Inside the launcher are circuits and computer cards and internal sensors. There are probes that “talk” and built-in tests that allow the launcher to check itself and transfer information to the pilot. A launcher must have a remarkable degree of compatibility with its missile. As one of the smaller guided missiles, the HELLFIRE continues to be refined to enhance performance characteristics and decrease the possibility of collateral damage. This launcher has seen a great deal of action in the Gulf War theater and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. “Even in nontraditional conditions, this missile still does what it needs to do,” says Zieman. “The technology behind it is incredible.”