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.” ■ www.nsbe.org http://www.nsbe.org

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

2013 Convention

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