Rocket Science and Redemption: Dr. Joe Miller
In a quiet town just outside Dayton, Ohio — where the history of aviation runs deep — Dr. Joe Miller’s journey took flight with a love for airplanes and a desire to serve God. As a high school student, deeply moved by the courage of missionary aviators and the powerful message of Elisabeth Elliot’s Through Gates of Splendor, Joe began to ask a bold, life-shaping question: How can I use engineering to glorify Christ and serve the world?
That question became his compass, and God used it to guide him to Cedarville University — first as a student, then, years later, as a professor.
After nearly two decades in aerospace — collaborating with the U.S. Air Force on advanced innovations and leading elite engineering teams — Joe had no plans to leave the field he loved. But when Cedarville called and God stirred his heart, he recognized a higher calling.
“I had no desire to leave,” he recalls. “But I was called to something bigger — training the next generation of Christ-centered engineers.”
For Dr. Miller, teaching is more than a profession — it’s a mission. He sees engineering not just as a discipline of problem-solving but as a calling to serve people, protect life, and steward creation. His classroom hums with purpose: a place where technical rigor meets Gospel clarity.
His vision is clear: to mentor engineers who are technically excellent, spiritually grounded, and passionately committed to using their gifts for God’s glory. Through collaborations with organizations like Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dr. Miller helps students connect classroom theory to real-world innovation — always with Christ at the center.
“The Gospel,” Joe tells his students, “isn’t something we tack onto our careers — it’s the foundation. Everything flows from that.”
Dr. Miller isn’t just instructing engineers. On this week’s episode of the Cedarville Stories podcast, hear how he’s shaping disciples — leaders who will carry light into launchpads, boardrooms, and beyond.
https://share.transistor.fm/s/1a0ce2a2
https://youtu.be/KwporBWAamQ
What is Cedarville Stories?
Cedarville Stories podcast shares the stories of individuals who have been impacted from their experiences at Cedarville University, all for God's glory. Each week you’ll hear unique stories of how Cedarville’s mission of transforming lives through excellent education and intentional discipleship in submission to biblical authority is being lived out in the lives of faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of the University.
Listen in each Wednesday and be blessed by some of the amazing ways God is working in and through the lives of the Cedarville family.