2013 Convention - (Page 16)
Jerome Brown, Engineering Manager
Stoking the Engines at aerojet
By Siobhan Leftwich
J
erome Brown’s first memories are of the
late 1960s, when TV shows about astronauts and space exploration — not to mention space-related products such as Tang
— were as numerous as today’s reality shows.
There was I Dream of Jeannie, Lost in Space, Star
Trek, and Land of the Giants — not to mention
actual trips to the moon by astronauts. So maybe
it’s not surprising that Brown landed at Aerojet: a
major, Sacramento, Calif.-based space and defense
contractor that specializes in missile and space
propulsion, defense and armaments.
“I loved Star Trek when I was a kid,” says the
Concord, Calif., native, now 48. But this engineer
in the making had no desire to be the starship
captain. “I wanted to be Scotty, tinkering down in
the engine.”
Brown’s interest in all things technical came
“Our engineers have long tenures.
We truly believe in ongoing career
development here.”
naturally. His father, a computer scientist, brought
old computer tapes home for his kids to play with.
“I amused myself for hours with those tapes,”
he recalls. But it wasn’t until 8th grade that he
realized how much he enjoyed designing and
building things, from the ground up.
“I took drafting on a whim. And I was passionate about it. I did all my homework before I even
got out of school. I still have the triangle T-bar set
at my parent’s home,” he says, laughing.
Brown went on to earn an electrical engineering degree, with an emphasis on computer engineering, from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Today, he manages the engineering
design group responsible for creating Aerojet’s
machine intelligent control systems. He also
manages the engineering development laboratory
facility that produces electronic product prototype
development and test system manufacturing.
Brown says his college internships were gamechangers in his career.
“…I interned at Lockheed, thanks to a com16 •
nsbe magazine • convention 2013
puter engineering professor who recommended
me. I interned with them for two summers and
ended up working there for 18 years,” he says. “I
realize there is a lot of pressure (on) engineering
students to just get through school, but I advise
students to diversify — join a club, take a computer science class, get projects from companies,
and learn about product development before you
enter industry.”
He also urges college students to enroll in public speaking classes and take advantage of groups
like NSBE and IEEE.
“Aerojet hires interns every summer,” he says.
“We look for students who are inquisitive, confident, ambitious and who bring drive and passion
to their work.” In return, Aerojet interns can look
forward to working on real projects with seasoned
engineers. “Our interns definitely hit the ground
running,” he says.
Brown says Aerojet is also committed to growing its employees.
“Our engineers have long tenures. We truly
believe in ongoing career development here,” he
says, and notes that Aerojet engineers receive external and internal training, educational benefits
and other resources that will help them develop
and expand their skills. In addition, he says, the
company is committed to creating a friendly,
family-like environment.
Although he relishes serving as a mentor to
professional and student engineers, the father
of three is a hands-on guy at heart. Whether it’s
coaching his son’s basketball team, rafting beautiful Northern California rivers or going to the
ballpark with his wife to watch their beloved San
Francisco Giants, Brown likes to be at the center
of the action. And as an engineer at Aerojet, he’s
there.
“The most fulfilling part of my job is when
a rocket fires, and it works,” he says. “Nothing
compares to watching that rocket go off. There’s
that 20-second turn, and exhilaration. Yeah, test
completion is pretty nice.” ■
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2013 Convention
2013 Convention
Contents
Your 4.0…Guaranteed!
My Academic Comeback
THE PROGRAMS ZONE
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Inga Brathwaite: Empowered at Toyota
Jerome Brown: Stoking the Engines at Aerojet
Christina Barker: On Track at PGW
Leveling Up
SEEK 2013 Update!
Back to Indiana
NSBE Calendar
Honoring Our Past, Driving Our Community Forward
Passing the Golden Torch
The Professional’s Perspective
Trailblazers
Petroleum Engineering Digs Deep for Talent
Employer Profiles
Celebrating Academic Excellence
Advertisers Index
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