Alumni Award Recipients

Brad Smith
Zia Award, 2010

Only the military can come up with job titles as long as Colonel Brad Smith’s was before he retired last June:

Commander, Phillips Research Site and Materiel Wing Director, Space Vehicles Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base.

It would be easier if we could just say proprietor, Brewsmith.com, which is Brad’s current career moniker.

But then we wouldn’t be talking about what qualified Brad for this award. Except that developing your own brew-making software and successful Internet marketing and sales plan takes creativity, independent thinking and organized work. Those are the same qualities that Professor Chaouki Abdallah found in Brad’s work as a PhD candidate in the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the early 90s.

Brad was a captain when he enrolled at UNM. He’d already completed a BS and MS in computer engineering, as well as an MBA.

At UNM Brad came up with a new way to search large data bases, pushing a limit that engineers had thought was finite for years and years. It was a groundbreaking discovery.

In his last Air Force Assignment, Brad led a team of nearly a thousand military and civilian employees working on space vehicle research and space-based command. The team comprised the nation’s Center of Excellence for military space science and technology, research and development.

Brad has led the effort to establish a collaborative space weather program between the Air Force Research Laboratory and the UNM School of Engineering. This effort will bring millions of research dollars and excellent job opportunities for School of Engineering grads.

We could stop here, praising Brad for his enormous accomplishments and his responsibilities well carried out. But I’d like to go further and talk about Brad as a person.

When Brad retired from the Air Force, a 3-star general flew in to commend him. His peers praised him. His subordinates raved about him.

“He’s a truly nice guy,” a buddy of his says. “Loyal to people, committed to his kids, his wife, and his work. A genuinely good friend. The kind you want to have…”

Brad has a mind that doesn’t stop and talents that don’t end. His quest to learn and contribute has taken him far. Most recently it’s taken him to the river bank as he learns to fly fish and creates the software to teach the rest of us . . . “I’m living the dream,” he says.

Brad, for your accomplishments, your contributions to your country and to learning, and the human qualities you’ve managed to keep and develop throughout, we’re honored to give you our Zia Award today.