Alison Brown

I run a small business developing advanced positioning, navigation and timing solutions for mainly defense contractors.  My job involved executive and management functions but I also still stay involved as principal investigator on some of our advanced development projects.

I always loved science but I was mainly drawn to the application of science.  Engineering has been for me the ultimate creative career.  I get to develop ideas, test them out and apply them in new areas in our society. Solutions I have developed is used in every cell phone today and an early prototype I built is now in the Smithsonian Museum. With new fields in engineering evolving all the time, the opportunity to start working and contributing in brand new applications of science and technology is always a blast!

I went to school in Edinburgh, Scotland, the birthplace of public schools.  Mary Erskines School was founded for "Merchant Maidens" in 1704 (before the United States was established!)  I wanted to go to Cambridge University and studied at Fettes College in my Sixth Form.  I was the only girl in all my science classes which gave me a good grounding for what to expect as an engineering student at Cambridge. I was accepted into the first year of girls at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge which (bragging rights) is arguably the best college for engineering tutoring. I was awarded a starred first at Cambridge for Engineering (top of my class) and was granted a scholarship to study Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT.  After getting an SM, I decided to take a job at Litton Aerospace in California who also gave me a scholarship for a PhD at UCLA.  There I built one of the first GPS receivers and took it all over the US and even to the Paris Air show for demonstrations.  After I got married I left Litton and moved with my husband to Colorado where I start my own company, NAVSYS.

I have to do a lot of the business development and executive management at NAVSYS as CEO.  However, the best part of my job is working with the other creative engineers, coming up with new ideas of products, and bringing them into reality.  I still stay very hands-on with algorithm development and concept testing of new capabilities.

I love taking a idea from a concept to reality.  It is like magic!

Best day ever was when the Smithsonian opened their PNT exhibit and I was there, with one of my early inventions being showcased.  Close seconds were being awarded an honorary Fellowship at Sidney Sussex College Cambridge (comes with the privilege of dining rights every Friday with the Master and other Fellows - when I am in the area which is not often) and being accepted into the National Academy of Engineering for my technology contributions.

Throughout my career as an engineer I have always been in the minority and have often faced discrimination as a woman. I had to develop a strong sense of self to deal with others perceptions of my capabilities and my strong sense of humor when faced with ridiculous (and humiliating) scenarios helped me persevere.  My motto was always, "if you underestimate me, you deserve what you get".  It served me well.  

My father was also an engineer.  I remember him driving me to school as a small girl and telling me stories of wonderful inventions he was making, moving maps, satellite terminals that could go on ships, navigation systems for rockets and supersonic aircraft.  I went to Buckingham Palace with him, my mother and brother to see him receiving the Order of the British Empire from the Queen.  He was horrified that I also wanted to be an engineer because he knew how hard it would be for me.  But he never sugar coated what I should expect, and always supported me when he could.  When I succeeded in my career he once visited a Conference that I was chairing.  My mother was horrified that people recognized him, not from his own eminent background as "Ken Brown", but as "oh - you are Alison Brown's father".  He could not have been prouder though that I had followed in his footsteps.

In the short term I am working on yet another ground breaking technology that I am developing to provide protection to military and critical domestic industries that are vulnerable to cyber attacks due to their dependency on the same GPS systems that I helped develop in my early career.  In the long term, as I look forward to "semi" retirement, I am excited about how I can contribute as a new member of the National Academy of Engineering, on studies that can shape our national strategy regarding engineering and also encourage more girls to take the wild ride with me and break new ground with the exciting new technology developments that open up new frontiers and opportunities each year.

I have been blessed throughout my career with so many great mentors that have encouraged my love of learning and given me confidence in my strength to succeed. These include my science teachers at my middle school and high school, my amazing Director of Studies Donald Green at Sidney Sussex College, the star team at MIT in the Astronautics department and my co-students who have broken ground with their own careers in so many areas, and UCLA Professor Tino Mingori and Litton Chief Scientist John Mark who jointly mentored me through my PhD which led, to my amazement, to me being considered an early expert in the evolving field of GPS technology.

Find an area of engineering that you can be passionate about, develop the skills, and experiment and have fun being creative.  Engineering in may ways is like baking a cake.  It takes understanding the science (mixology), being able to follow instructions (assembly and production), but the greatest fun is experimenting and developing your own creative solutions.  Plus what you do can have a real impact on the world and benefit people in the very near future from the application of your ideas.

I love animals and the outdoors.  One of the many other benefits of engineering is that it pays well enough that I have my own small ranch with horses, hounds and chickens, in the beautiful Rocky Mountains in Colorado. With remote working, many days I can work from my ranch and still stay connected through internet with my co-workers at NAVSYS.