Shawn W. Miller

Raytheon has built a broad foundation of capabilities in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) for an array of Department of Defense (DoD) and Intelligence Community (IC) applications. We are now actively exploring how those capabilities can be ported and adapted into the weather value chain, with particular emphasis on how to bring non-traditional types of data (social media, traffic patterns, etc.) together with weather data, to discover new applications and how to enhance existing weather enterprise endeavors. In this set of brief remarks, I will talk about how AI and ML are defined and what role they should play in any decision support application, the major categories of challenges in successfully utilizing AI and ML, examples of how Raytheon has addressed those challenges in the DoD and IC mission domains, and how similar solutions can translate into the weather mission, including better forecasts and nowcasts, watches and warnings, and interactions with industries affected by weather (aviation for example). The goal is to start a dialogue on how AI and ML can revolutionize the weather enterprise while still reserving ultimate decision authority for human experts.

Shawn Miller is an Engineering Fellow and Certified Architect with Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services (IIS). He is currently the Technical Director for Navigation and Environmental Solutions, overseeing current technical performance and planned capabilities and technological evolution of multiple programs in the weather, water and climate enterprise. He has been working in this domain at Raytheon for over 20 years after obtaining a PhD in Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado, Boulder, in 1995. He is also an AMS Fellow and the Past Chair of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) Board on Enterprise Economic Development (BEED). In his free time, he plays beer league hockey.