My name is Sara James. I attended Stevens Institute of Technology for my undergraduate Bachelor’s of Engineering (BE) in Electrical Engineering. In recognition of my undergraduate work experience and my potential as an engineer, I received the Paul M. Chirlian Award, which is awarded to a Stevens graduating senior in electrical engineering or computer engineering who shows the most promise for pursuing a productive professional career. In May of 2009, I graduated fourth in my class from Stevens Institute of Technology and first in my department, and I became the first member of my family to obtain a college degree. 

 

In 2009, I began work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory (MIT LL) in the Air Defense Techniques group. During a 2013 reorganization, I transitioned to the Advanced Sensor Systems and Test Beds group. Throughout my time at the Laboratory, my work fell under an air defense portfolio, and I was able to work on a wide array of projects both individually and as a part of a team. I was able to gain experience with electronic warfare (EW), radar signal processing, detection and parameter estimation, tracking, antenna design, and radar and electromagnetic simulations. While at the Laboratory, I was able to pursue a graduate degree, and I obtained a Master’s of Science from Northeastern University in 2014 with a concentration in Electromagnetics, Photonics, and Plasmonics. From 2014-2018, I was a technical lead for a team developing algorithms for next generation long-range airborne surveillance radars.

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I left MIT Lincoln Laboratory in June of 2018 to explore industry. In July of 2018, I began work at MathWorks as a software developer in the Signal and Array Processing group. My work there has focused on extending radar and signal processing capabilities within the Phased Array System Toolbox, Sensor Fusion and Tracking Toolbox, and Signal Processing Toolbox. The code I have created was developed using object oriented MATLAB and supports code generation and Simulink workflows.

 

Over the years, I have been actively involved in community outreach and have been able to support various mentoring and teaching efforts. It has been a great passion of mine to be involved in programs that encourage young students to seek education and persist in their studies in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. I have organized and supported the creation of various interactive demos for young adults to stimulate interest in engineering and science. The demos focused on various topics such as Doppler radar, acoustic beamforming, antenna gain, ballistic missile defense, and robotics. In addition to demo development, I have been active in college recruiting efforts, mentoring summer students and co-ops, speaking to groups of high school and college-age students about my experience as an engineer, and providing interviewing and resume workshops. In 2016, I received a Division 3 award for my community outreach and improvement efforts, and in 2018, I received an award from the Director of the Laboratory for my dedication and contributions to MIT Lincoln Laboratory over my 9 years of service there.