Our Team

John Miller
Senior Systems Engineer

The newest addition to the Earth Turbines team has actually been around the longest. In 1981, John Miller was a graduate student in mechanical engineering at the University of Vermont and David Blittersdorf was a senior with a passion for wind. The two met through John’s graduate studies on the pollution of Lake Champlain and his work to measure wind speeds coming off the lake.

After UVM, John developed industrial controls and microprocessors for small companies, including his own, Senix, which he ran from 1991 until 1999. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s his relationship to NRG Systems grew stronger. He was the architect and original designer of NRG Systems’ early instruments, including its first data logger.

John’s technical, rational approach complements David’s zeal for experimentation and action. Both believe that simple is beautiful. In fact, NRG’s commitment to lean manufacturing can be traced back to David and John’s early work to design in usability and design out complexity throughout the value chain.

John embraces simplicity in his own life. He seeks happiness in everyday things: knowing where his food comes from, biking to work, voting at Town Meeting, or being an advocate for sustainable living. He’s dedicated to his work, and can’t believe he gets paid to have so much fun. In February 2008, he formally joined Earth Turbines as senior systems engineer. John holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Vermont. His master’s degree focused on control systems with a thesis on low power data acquisition for wind and meteorological data. He lives in Starksboro with his wife, Debbie, and their two children, Jake and Hannah.