It is Rocket Science 
Brandon Wiese came to Doane to play basketball. When you're 18, 6'7" and a standout at a basketball powerhouse like Freeman High, college ball is a natural.
Wiese got his wish, becoming one of only two players in Doane's history to score more than 2,000 points and collect over 1,000 rebounds in his career. He was twice named to National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics All-American teams and was an NAIA All-American Scholar Athlete.
According to Doane's head men's basketball coach Ian Brown, Wiese had numerous opportunities to play professionally overseas after graduating in 2003, but chose engineering school instead.
If there was ever any doubts about the decision, they probably vanished at 2:48 a.m. on April 24, 2007, when Wiese watched the U.S. satellite he helped engineer launch into space from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Named the Near Field Infrared Experiment, the satellite observes the rocket plumes of military missiles, mapping and characterizing the brightness of the plumes to help the Pentagon design future guidance systems for anti-missile weapons.
"It was definitely the highlight of my career up to this point," Wiese said.
The launch culminated two-and-a-half years of engineering work and two months at the launch site in Virginia. When it blasted off, Wiese was one of two satellite operators in a bunker a mile from the pad.
Wiese is a Systems Integration and Test Engineer at General Dynamics Advanced Integration Systems (AIS), based in Gilbert, Ariz. His division builds satellites for a variety of government and commercial customers including NASA and the Department of Defense. The specific mission for each satellite varies, but has included surveillance, missile tracking, gamma ray burst detection (explosions on the sun), earth imaging and laser communication.
It's the kind of job one might expect to find at the middle or end of their careers. But at 26, Wiese has taken a surprisingly short road to get there.
"The road began at Doane," he said. After a few visits, the Crete campus and its facilities seemed like a perfect fit.
"The basketball program had a history of success in a tough conference, and the Field House was undergoing some major renovations. The Lied Science and Mathematics Building had just opened, and the Hansen Leadership hall was going to house its first students the following year."
Wiese took entry level math, physics, English and political science classes before realizing he enjoyed working with numbers more than books. He majored in math and physics with plans to transfer to another school for engineering. The science department helped him prepare. "The professors pushed a lot of material on you, but it was always obvious they wanted you to succeed."
Guidance from Doane professors, Doane math and physics courses and the liberal arts education prepared him to take on a heavy load at Washington University in St. Louis. Doane professors worked well with Washington University, making sure the curricula matched and courses would transfer. "That ultimately led me to graduate from Doane a semester early."
In St. Louis, he completed a mechanical and aerospace engineering degree. In his final semester, the senior design project involved the completion of a satellite as part of a nationwide nanosatellite design competition. "That opened my eyes to some areas of engineering that I hadn't really considered," Wiese recalled.
A conversation with a friend and recent graduate of the program led to an interview and then a job with General Dynamics Advanced Integration Systems. In his role as an Integration and Test Engineer at AIS, he helps to assemble the satellites, verify the functionality of satellite components, and troubleshoot any problems along the way. "The majority of our activities take place in a clean room environment, so we spend most of our time in a clean suit that covers everything but our eyes."
The satellite that consumed the first years of his career has been in orbit several months now and remains fully operational. Its first mission was successfully completed in August. Wiese is now working on another satellite -- Orbview 5 -- which has a three-foot diameter camera that will collect images of more than 250,000 square miles a day. It was scheduled to ship to a launch site in California early in 2008.
Wiese keeps close ties to home and to Doane. The farm boy from Adams spent a week at home after the April launch, and has paid visits to his alma mater on return trips to Nebraska. "The relationships and connections I built while attending Doane really stand out. I have a lot of great memories from Doane, and it's always fun getting together with friends to look back at them."
Wiese plans to remain in the aerospace industry for some time, although he might transition to other fields like mechanical design and structural analysis. Watching the satellite launch gave him a taste of the exciting part of his industry. Someday, he hopes he can say he's a part of the space shuttle program.