While at SFSU, he earned an MBA degree in 1981, writing a thesis on the effect of differing leadership styles in higher education management.
When expansion of the institute, he pulled in scientists working on a wide range of projects including Kepler, SOFIA, and studies related to the atmospheres of Titan, Europa and Mars.
Under his direction in over 28 years, the Institute administered over $275 million in funded research and on average had 60 active Ph.D. level principal investigator scientists and projects annually.
In 2012 Franklin Antonio, co-founder and Chief Scientist of Qualcomm, donated $3.5 million for updates to more than double the sensitivity of the Allen Telescope Array.
[10] Pierson was an elected member of the International Academy of Astronautics and has received numerous recognitions, including an individual NASA Public Service Medal, and the NASA Public Service Group Award [11] given to the SETI Institute and all of its staff for excellence in carrying out research and education in the areas of life in the universe and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
In February 2014, Pierson received NASA's Distinguished Public Service Medal, the highest award for non-agency personnel.
The award recognized his"Distinguished Service to NASA and the scientific community through leadership of the SETI Institute, supporting basic research and education dealing with life in the universe.