In her nomination letter, the Augsburg Women Engaged (AWE) Council said, “Brynn’s accomplishments during her career at Lockheed Martin stand for themselves. We are so proud to see an Auggie woman pioneering for other women in STEM.”

Watson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, summa cum laude, in mathematics from Augsburg University and a Master of Science in applied mathematics from the University of California at Riverside.

In prior leadership roles at Lockheed Martin, Watson was vice president of Navigation Systems Operations and deputy for the Global Positioning System (GPS) III program for Lockheed Martin Space. GPS III is the U.S. Air Force’s next-generation program improving position, navigation, and timing services to all users.  Before that, she was vice president of an engineering organization in the Space line of business leading more than 5,300 engineers, responsible for personnel management and development, engineering and technology strategy, engineering processes, tools and training, and product technical validation. Prior to that assignment, she served as director of software engineering, responsible for the execution and strategic direction over 1,200 software engineers; leading a strategic initiative focused on maximizing digital integration and end-to-end system modeling. Additionally, she served as director of engineering, collaboration, and operations for Corporate Engineering and Technology, and deputy to the vice president of Engineering.

Watson began her aerospace career as an engineer at Aerojet Electronic Systems in Azusa, Calif., where she held positions in a variety of systems and software engineering areas.

Watson is a member of Women in Aerospace, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the Lockheed Martin Women’s Impact Network.

She has been recognized for her leadership, receiving the 2013 Lockheed Martin Space NOVA Full Spectrum Leadership Award; the 2012 Tribute to Women Honor by the YWCA of Silicon Valley; and the 2008 Lockheed Martin Space Ed Taft Diversity Leadership Award. In 2015, Watson’s essay, “A Look Inside Lockheed Martin’s Space-Age Operations,” was published by the Harvard Business Review.

Watson’s enterprising spirit and accomplishments mirror the tenacity of Auggies around the world, who, through study, experience, and hard work, ascend to prestigious positions among today’s leading companies.

Watson credits her time at Augsburg as helping her to think big and believe that she can accomplish anything with hard work and perseverance. She also feels that her strong advocacy for women was built by the dedicated women she interacted with during her time at the university.

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One day in her junior year of high school, Sherman heard a pitch about a program that tickled that love of science—a program that would lead her to the career of her dreams. The speaker was describing the STEP program, a science encouragement program sponsored by 3M, the global St. Paul-based company famous for innovations such as Scotch tape, Post-It Notes, and over 60,000 other products.

Sherman was told that, in a 3M classroom, she and other high school students would learn from 3M scientists about chemistry, math, and polymers; learn how to do research; and at the end of the sessions, have an opportunity to interview for a full-time paid summer job in the 3M laboratories.

Becky Kreckel, the woman introducing the STEP program, described the joy of cooking with chemicals and making new molecules, outlined the opportunities that science could offer, and—the clincher for Sherman—talked about the sports car she owned. Sherman liked the idea of making new things, and being rewarded for it, and she was hooked.

Not only did Kreckel end up being one of Sherman’s instructors in the 3M classes, as well as her supervisor for the summer lab position at 3M; she also provided rides to and from 3M (in the sports car, of course) since Sherman didn’t yet have a driver’s license. In her second year of the STEP program, Sherman was able to do a full research program.

After her senior year, and a second summer at 3M, she began college studies at the University of Minnesota, transferring two years later to Augsburg, where she earned her B.S. in Chemistry. While at the U, she applied to 3M for a full-time position as a chemical technician, which resulted in work under the supervision of Charlie Leir, a world-class organic chemist turned polymer chemist.

One day, she and Leir were struggling to isolate a compound, and Sherman suggested a solvent choice that she thought had all the necessary properties. Right away, Leir told her to write her idea down, and when they tried it, it worked. It “broke the whole area open,” Sherman said. And the best part of all for her: their work resulted in many new products that “people loved.” Her idea made it into the claims of the filing for a patent. At age 20, Sherman had become an inventor!

To date, Sherman is credited with nearly 80 patents, and the most recent one, which was among those that put 3M over the 100,000 mark, is for a material with fascinating versatility, including the potential to improve cosmetics, insulation wrapping, and electronics. Two of her favorite patents involve using pressure-sensitive adhesives to transport light, and making a solvent-free duct tape. She also helped discover a new solution for restickable diaper tape. Not easily discouraged by those who said an idea wouldn’t work, she would usually find a way.

Some of Sherman’s patents were filed with other Augsburg graduates who work at 3M. She is grateful that the attention she received from her Augsburg instructors was similar to her STEP training at 3M in that she was able to work elbow to elbow with professors. She also feels that her Augsburg minor in Art has been an important factor in pursuing her inventions, enabling her to blend creativity with her skills in chemistry.

Sherman has found ways to “give back” by mentoring St. Paul high school students interested in science, and by giving talks to junior-high and middle-school students about careers in science and technology. She has discovered she cannot always anticipate students’ questions and concerns, but she takes great satisfaction in having made a difference, addressing their concerns honestly and clearly, and helping them to discern if a science career is something they should pursue.

Sherman has been married to Frank Sherman for 31 years and is mother of three sons, James, Gregory, and Daniel. A Staff Scientist at 3M now, she hopes to soon become a Corporate Scientist there. She continues to work hard and is “almost there.”

—by Cheryl Crockett ‘89

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This year, Augsburg hosted 76 students and several alumni engaged as volunteers. Alumna Mary Ann Kinney MAN ’04, DNP ’11, a registered nurse at Mayo Clinic’s St. Mary‘s Hospital in Rochester, served as a keynote speaker and discussed her work in community building. Kinney has had extensive immersions through her graduate studies at Augsburg in Mexico and Guatemala and with homeless populations in Minneapolis and Rochester. She served as delegate to the first International Conference on Women’s Health in Beijing, China.

This camp provides a unique experience for metro-area students who otherwise might not have access to healthcare education. Last year, 70% of participants were students of color and 20% of campers were local to the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.

Scrubs Camp is made possible by generous support from corporations, foundations, and community members. For the third year, Boston Scientific employees volunteered at Scrubs Camp. Steve Oommen facilitated two engineering workshops for campers.

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