JANUS Team Member Mark Conner Celebrates 25 Years
04/10/2025
Principal Scientist, Cloud Remote Sensing and Deputy Program Manager, EO/IR Weather Satellite (EWS) Mission Data Management Mark Conner is celebrating 25 years with JANUS Research Group (JANUS) this month.
Mark first joined as a staff scientist for the AER and Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA) Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRDA). At the time, he was the sole Nebraska-based AER employee supporting Air Force weather programs at Offutt Air Force Base. His role under the CRDA was to bring cutting-edge satellite data processing techniques to AFWA and manage AER access to the unique weather satellite data sets available at AFWA. Later, Mark brought this expertise to the cloud analysis and forecast program in operations at AFWA (which later became the 557th Weather Wing) and became a subject matter expert for the users of this program.
In 2020, Mark was selected to lead the early phases of the Mission Data Management portions of the General Atomics EWS program. Mark provided his team and the General Atomics program management the domain expertise on DOD usage of weather satellite data and products, from weather centrals to forward deployed locations.
In 25 years, Mark has worked on many significant projects, most notably the USAF Cloud Depiction and Forecast System, Version II and the General Atomics EO/IR Weather Satellite Mission Data Management System. His contributions have been critical to mission success and the ongoing development of weather technology. Through his years of service, Mark has become the go-to person to help facilitate client knowledge and understanding. For the last five years, Mark has worked with a prime contractor new to the weather satellite field, helping this contractor gain familiarity with all the activities necessary before and after launch. This requires a high level of engagement with technical and program leaders to be successful and Mark is the definition of "the right person for the job," consistently improving the contractor's knowledge base and ensuring mission success.
Mark's work has not gone unnoticed or unappreciated. He was recognized for AER Outstanding Team Service for 2022, as part of the EO/IR Weather Satellite Team. A key part of that success is Mark's ability to develop relationships with customers and show them how our company can bring expertise to bear on difficult scientific challenges relative to understanding the atmosphere and how it affects DOD missions. Currently, Mark is looking forward to the launch of the EWS satellite near the end of 2025 and working with the team to begin bringing this data to DOD for operational use.
We understand that no one can have as successful and long a career as Mark has without the support of family. Mark is blessed to be in the process of building a new house with his wife in the city they have called home for years. He and his family are also planning to take a driving tour of Iceland in the early summer. Mark spends his down time working with Raspberry Pi single-board computers, creating weather camera time-lapse movies among other projects. He also enjoys using his 3D printer to create decorative and handy objects. When not actively involved with technology either at work or at home, Mark loves to spend time trapshooting, target shooting, and visiting Civil War battlefields.
Though many working in our industry come from military backgrounds, many may not know that while Mark was on active duty as a weather officer, he flew as an observer on more than a dozen KC-135 air refueling missions from Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane, Wash., refueling B-52 and B-1 bombers as well as F-15 and F-16 fighters.
It is rare these days to find an employee who dedicates themselves so selflessly to one company and one industry. Mark is the epitome of a dedicated, reliable, and successful employee who embodies the JANUS ethos in everything he does. We are so pleased to celebrate Mark's silver anniversary and hope he continues to call JANUS home for as long as he chooses to work.
