Dr. Al Koller, PresidentThe e3 Company of Florida, LLC
2645 Royal Oak Drive
Titusville, Fl 32780
Email: alkoller@gmail.com
Education:
D.B.A., Organizational Management, Florida State University, 1974
M.S., Systems Management, Florida State University,1967
B.A., Mathematics/Physics, Florida State University, 1963
Salutatorian, Titusville High School, Florida, 1959
Professional Experience:
In 2013, after 55 years in the aerospace industry, Dr. Koller retired as the Principal Investigator for SpaceTEC, the National Science Foundation’s National Aerospace Resource Center, and Managing Director of SpaceTEC Partners, Inc., overseeing operations of SpaceTEC® — the National Science Foundation’s National Center of Excellence for Aerospace Technical Education. He was a senior educational administrator at Brevard Community College (now Eastern Florida State College) for 21 years and was a NASA engineer and program manager at the Kennedy Space Center for more than 32 years. He remains active as president of the e3 Company of Florida, LLC.
NASA: He began his aerospace career directly out of Titusville High School in 1959 as a technician working summers in ground electrical networks for the Army Ballistic Missile Agency at its Missile Firing Lab on Cape Canaveral. When the ABMA team led by Dr. Wernher Von Braun was transferred to NASA in 1960, Dr. Koller was assigned to the Launch Vehicle Operations Directorate. He continued to return each summer while completing his BA degree in math and physics, then returned to KSC/LVO where he served throughout the Mercury, Apollo, Skylab, and ASTP programs. He earned his Master’s Degree in Systems Management from the Florida State University in residence at Patrick AFB and his Doctorate in Management and Quantitative Methods from FSU in Tallahassee.
While at NASA he initially worked under the direction of Ike Rigell and Dr. Hans Gruene, Director for Launch Vehicle Operations under Dr. Kurt Debus, NASA’s first Center Director of the Kennedy Space Center. During the 1970s he led the team of scientists and engineers developing the KSC Environmental Impact Statement for both the Space Shuttle at KSC and NASA’s expendable vehicles at the Cape. He also headed the Center’s first Environmental Management Staff. For nearly ten years he served as the Biomedical Program Manager and the Center’s Environmental Health Officer. In the late 1980s he developed the Center’s Total Quality Management (TQM) Program and was active in consulting on TQM implementation for both NASA and its contractors until he retired in 1992 to pursue a lifelong commitment to education.
BCC: During his 21 year career at Brevard Community College (BCC), Dr. Koller remained linked to aerospace, serving as President of the Titusville Campus; Associate Vice President for Advancement, Associate Vice President for International Education; and Executive Director of Community Colleges for International Development — a consortium of more than 100 colleges working worldwide in international education for developing countries. In 2001 he testified before the congressional Commission on the Future of the United States’ Aerospace Industry, and that year he also founded SpaceTEC, developing and implementing this country’s only national certification for aerospace technicians.
Before he retired, SpaceTEC had achieved acceptance of its Certified Aerospace Technician credential by NASA, the FAA, the Air Force, the Navy, the Veterans’ Administration, and the American Council on Education. The Certified Aerospace Technician credential was accepted by colleges nationwide for up to 74 credit hours of college work and is cited in the FAA’s Commercial Space Transportation’s “Guidelines for Operation and Maintenance of Reusable Launch Vehicles”.
Awards and Recognitions: Dr. Koller has taught at several universities, consults for private and public organizations, and is nationally published in the technical and management fields, as well as in international education. He is the 2001 recipient of the Florida Space Business Roundtable’s “Explorer Award” for his leadership in space-related education. He was awarded the National Space Club Florida Committee’s Lifetime Achievement Award in aerospace in August, 2008 and the Economic Development Commission of Central Florida’s Thomas E. Gamble Excellence in Education for Economic Development Award in October 2011.
Affiliations: Dr. Koller was the Founding Chair of the Brevard Nature Alliance; Founder of the Titusville Chamber of Commerce Business Education Support Board, Inc.; Past Board Chair and Director of the Titusville Area Chamber of Commerce; past member of the Jess Parrish Medical Foundation Board of Directors; and a Board member and webmaster of Titusville Sunrise Rotary Club where he was twice named Rotarian of the Year. He now serves as a member and webmaster for the Titusville Noon Rotary Club and remains active as a Paul Harris Fellow.
His professional affiliations have included the National Management Association, where he is credentialed as a Certified Professional Manager; the Brevard Nature Alliance; the National Space Club Florida Committee; the National Space Society; the Brevard County Civilian Military Community Relations Council; the Canaveral Council of Technical Societies (CCTS). He is a Life Member of the Missile, Space and Range Pioneers and a life member and webmaster for the NASA Alumni League Florida Chapter. He also serves as a Board member of the American Space Museum and Space Walk of Fame Museum.
Life Interests: Dr. Koller’s hobbies are kayaking, computers, reading, conservation, education, and IT. He serves as webmaster, operating and managing several websites pro bono. He has been a member of St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church in Titusville for more than 50 years, serving as Treasurer, Junior Warden, Senior Warden, Lay Reader, Search Committee Chair, and most recently as Advisor to the Vestry.
Family: Al is married to the former Carol Ann Knight of Jacksonville, Fl, and in their 60 years together they have raised three daughters and a son. They now have ten grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren – many of whom live close by in Florida. Carol taught school for 27 years, so both have been professionally active in education most of their lives.