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REDSTONE ARSENAL, Alabama – The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command not only grows technology, it also grows young engineers and scientists in its Technical Center’s Concepts Analysis Laboratory.
The CAL, established in 2004, provides a state-of-the-art laboratory environment where interns can experience practical applications and develop skill sets needed for current and future USASMDC programs.
The CAL exposes interns to various types of engineering through assigned technical projects that support the Technical Center and other command programs. After completing their internship, they transition to specific technology programs within USASMDC directorates to continue their technical growth.
“I have always been fascinated by computers and building things,” said Wezley Sherman, a general engineer with the USASMDC Ground Station Developer Space Directorate’s Communications, Command, Control and Intelligence, or C3I; Division. “I believe that the path to become an engineer chose me.”
Sherman graduated from Arizona State University in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in software engineering. Shortly thereafter, he joined the CAL through Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation, a scholarship for service program meant to bring science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors into Department of Defense positions.
Sherman said he learned about the program in 2017 from a friend in college. He said he was excited about opportunities to work with space systems and saw the program as the perfect segue into his desired career path.
“SMDC has been a great employer and has presented opportunities to work on incredible projects,” Sherman said. “All of the engineers at SMDC have been incredibly knowledgeable and great mentors throughout my career here. The CAL helped prepare me for my current career path as an engineer by providing an environment where I was able to explore my interests within the command.”
Another path to USASDMC for CAL engineers is through the University of Alabama in Huntsville’s Systems Management and Production Center. Their goal is to support other government agencies through assigning engineering interns to government facilities.
Kaylee Ray, a freshman at UAH, applied to the SMAP Center in spring 2021 to be a research aide in the Concepts Analysis Division, or CAD. She will graduate in 2025 with a degree in electrical engineering, a subject with which she said she has always been interested.
“My love of engineering began as a little girl, when I would work on projects with my great-grandfather,” Ray said. “We would build things together and he would tell me stories from when he was in the Army.”
Ray’s father is also an engineer who worked at USASMDC for 17 years.
“I saw that he was doing important work that would help a lot of people,” Ray said. “I became an engineer because I wanted to do work that I knew would help people.”
Ray said the CAL is instrumental in helping her prepare for a career in engineering.
“I have the best mentors who include me in the projects they are working on and help me understand their purpose,” she said. “I have been able to quickly learn a lot of technical skills that will put me ahead in my career.”
Mary Olivia Miller, a general engineer with the CAD on a SMART scholarship, learned of that program while serving as a SMAP intern with SMDC.
“SMAP allowed me to establish connections with people within the CAL and SMDC as a whole,” Miller said. “The financial support provided by the SMART program was a blessing that allowed for me to focus on my research and ultimately my career, without having to worry about student loans or a job search after graduation. I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending either program to future engineers based on the connections and experience I gained in both.”
Miller said she has always enjoyed building things, whether out of Lego sets or scrap wood and nails, in her grandparents’ workshop, and she enjoyed physics in high school.
“After visiting different organizations on Redstone Arsenal, I knew I wanted to pursue a degree in engineering and ultimately work to support the Department of Defense,” Miller said. “My grandfather was a Korean War Army veteran, and I knew how proud he was to have served his country. I attribute my desire to become an engineer largely to him, thanks to both his patriotism and his willingness to let his granddaughter play with a hammer and nails.”
Miller graduated from the University of Alabama with both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering.
“My time in the CAD has prepared me for the future by exposing me to missions and projects throughout the Technical Center,” Miller said. “Since the first summer I worked in the CAD, I have been given so many opportunities to work on projects that have a direct impact on the warfighter. I’ve collaborated with other young engineers of various disciplines to support Tech Center projects, as well as worked alongside seasoned Army civilians to whom I can always go for advice.”
Miller said while working in this environment, she has been able to see the work that goes into a research project from every discipline of engineering.
“One of the main reasons I have enjoyed working at SMDC is the fact that what we do here is truly meaningful,” she added. “Across the Technical Center, there are projects that are actively supporting the security of our Soldiers and of our nation as a whole. Being able to contribute to these missions has already given me a sense of fulfillment, and I hope to continue supporting in whatever way I can.”
| Date Taken: | 03.01.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 03.01.2022 13:22 |
| Story ID: | 415318 |
| Location: | REDSTONE ARSENAL, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 139 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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