RDECOM Aviation & Missile Center researcher earns prestigious award

By Kerensa Crum, RDECOM Aviation & Missile CenterJanuary 23, 2019

Aviation, Missile Center senior technologist earns prestigious award
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Dr. Mark B. Tischler, RDECOM Aviation & Missile Center senior technologist, poses next to a windsurf board in the summer of 2018 in Foster City, California. The renowned scientist and researcher said he enjoys windsurfing, hiking, and dancing in his ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Aviation, Missile Center senior technologist earns prestigious award
2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Dr. Mark B. Tischler, RDECOM Aviation & Missile Center senior technologist, still has the handwritten note his father left him after the younger Tischler had a flight demonstration at University of Maryland in 1978. Tischler, who has been with the RD... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Aviation, Missile Center senior technologist earns prestigious award
3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Dr. Mark B. Tischler, RDECOM Aviation & Missile Center senior technologist, poses for a photo at a book signing in May 2017 at the Vertical Flight Society's, formerly American Helicopter Society, 73rd Annual Forum & Technology Display in Fort Worth, ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. (Jan. 22, 2019) - A U.S. Army researcher has been named among the recipients of one of the highest awards the president of the United States can bestow - for the second time.

Dr. Mark B. Tischler, a senior technologist who has been with the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command Aviation & Missile Center since 1983, has been selected to receive the 2018 Distinguished Presidential Rank Award at a ceremony in mid-2019. He first earned this award in 2009.

"The Distinguished Senior Professional Rank Award ... represents total excellence in the individual's field of expertise," said Dr. Juanita M. Christensen, RDECOM Aviation & Missile Center executive director. "To have had this honor bestowed on one candidate within the organization is exceptional. To have this honor awarded a second time is phenomenal."

Tischler, who leads a team of more than a dozen full-time researchers and software developers, is one of 139 individuals across 29 agencies in the career senior executive service and senior professional arenas to receive this high honor. Only five percent can receive the meritorious rank award and one percent of SES and senior professionals earn the distinguished rank award.

"It is an incredible honor to be recognized with the rare distinction of having won the Distinguished PRA twice," Tischler said, who is based out of the RDECOM Aviation & Missile Center's Aviation Development Directorate in Moffett Field, California. "I have been extremely fortunate and thankful to have had a lifetime of opportunities as a U.S. Army civilian researcher."

Recognized as one of the Army's foremost subject matter experts in flight control technologies, the Baltimore native's interest in space and rockets piqued at an early age. His parents, both now deceased, were Tischler's earliest champions and encouraged all five of their children's ambitions however they could.

"When I was in grade school, my brothers and I stayed home from school to watch the NASA Gemini and Apollo launches in the 1960s," Tischler recalled. "Crowded around our tiny black and white TV, I was amazed and inspired."

That amazement and inspiration never wavered and, with encouragement from his parents, Tischler set off on a course that has taken him far.

"When I asked Dad what to do when applying for college, he advised, 'If you follow your passion, there will always be great opportunities.' So, I did," he remembered. "I never looked back, and Dad was right."

"I was so grateful that my dad lived to see me receive this prestigious award (the first time), and I reminded him that it was all due to his encouragement over the years starting with my parents buying me my first model rocket set in junior high school," Tischler said.

Nearly four decades after his journey began, Tischler has earned countless accolades, authored and edited books and made innumerable contributions to his field. Among his achievements is receiving the Department of the Army's highest research award for Research and Development Achievement (RDA) in 2007, 2002, 1997 and 1989.

"Dr. Tischler wrote the book, developed the solution methodology and solves the complex problems associated with aircraft control," said Dr. William D. Lewis, director of the RDECOM Aviation & Missile Center's Aviation Development Directorate. "He is a world-renowned scientist and researcher. He is an outstanding technical leader in government, academia and industry - the epitome of a research engineer."

In his role as a senior technologist, Tischler has maintained a focus on technical excellence and is an advocate for strong technical career paths for scientists and engineers. He said he is most proud of his mentorship of many young flight control engineers, many of whom have earned accolades and recognition in their own in rights in varying internal and national fields.

"Over the span of my career, our flight control technology team has developed and greatly advanced two key [RDECOM Aviation & Missile Center] tools for flight control system analysis, design, and simulation," Tischler said. CIFER� and CONDUIT� are the products of decades of research, algorithm development, and flight test validation that required overcoming tremendous technical challenges and maintaining the highest technical standards and focus.

"These tools are now standard in the flight-control community both in the United States and worldwide," the renowned researcher explained. "Our flight control team and its technologies has had an impact on the development of the flight control systems of nearly every military and civilian aircraft in the US in the last 30 years."

Arguably one of the Center's most-decorated civilians, Tischler's impact on the field is far-reaching and will live on through those he's taught, mentored and otherwise led throughout his extensive career.

"Dr. Tischler is the epitome of what the Army seeks and requires from its research scientists," Christensen said. "Our Soldiers deserve the very best, and the best is what Dr. Tischler continuously delivers."

Tischler, who is also an avid surfer and dancer, said he feels incredibly fortunate to have found a lifelong home and career in Army aviation and in the organization, now known as the RDECOM Aviation & Missile Center, which has supported and encouraged his passion for flight and allowed him to contribute to the Army and nation.

"I am a big believer that the capability of an organization is a sum of the individual capabilities of the workforce," Lewis said. "Dr. Tischler is a huge component of our capability. Obviously he is a fantastic, knowledgeable engineer, but he is also a tremendous team player who fosters an attitude of excellence wherever he goes."

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The Aviation & Missile Center is part of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, which has the mission to provide innovative research, development and engineering to produce capabilities that provide decisive overmatch to the Army against the complexities of the current and future operating environments in support of the joint Warfighter and the nation. RDECOM is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Materiel Command.

Related Links:

U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command

RDECOM Aviation & Missile Center