A Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division (NSWCPD) engineer received a Modern-Day Technology Leader Award at the 32nd Black Engineer of the Year Award Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics conference in Washington D.C., Feb. 9.

Jamie Gates, an In-Service Engineering Agent for the Life Support and Ventilation Systems branch, was recognized for her technical expertise and leadership, as well as devotion to local and regional STEM outreach programs.

BEYA honored Gates alongside women and minorities in a variety of STEM fields who have shown great promise at work and in their communities. Gates said she takes great pride in this award and the responsibility she has assumed as a mentor.

"This award is important because you've got to have people advocating for the younger generation and for STEM. They need a voice and they need guidance to make progress," Gates said. "I'm in a cool career field and I like to share my opportunities."

A chemical engineer by trade, Gates has been working for NSWCPD since she completed the competitive Naval Research Enterprising Interns Program (NREIP) in Philadelphia six years ago.

The time spent at NSWCPD has been eventful for Gates, both as an engineer responsible for oxygen generating systems on submarines and as a passionate STEM mentor.

Gates manages the upgrading of oxygen-generating systems on U.S. Navy submarines from an older technology system, the Electrolytic Oxygen Generator (EOG), to the new Low Pressure Electrolyzer (LPE) system. The LPE generates oxygen for life support by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. Gates said the LPE takes undue maintenance pressure off of sailors.

"I could see day-to-day how relieved the sailors were that they were going to have a system that had ease of maintenance, that was more reliable," Gates said of her time working onboard submarines to oversee installation of this piece of equipment. "They had one less piece of equipment that they constantly had to do maintenance on. Being able to interact with the sailors and see how my work directly affects their lives is extremely beneficial."

In addition to installations, Gates is able to use the land-based testing unit in Philadelphia to replicate problems a system may be experiencing in the fleet, in order to troubleshoot the problem and provide a solution to Sailors.

Aside from her NSWCPD engineering work, Gates has also been a long-time volunteer at Roberto Clemente Middle School in northeast Philadelphia, serving as their mentor for the yearly STEM competition, the Greater Philadelphia SeaPerch Challenge. Students competing in the challenge design and build their own underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) and share the solutions during a final presentation.

"By the time the third year came around, they (the Roberto Clemente students) ended up winning the entire championship," Gates said of her mentees. "It was just great seeing them expand. If you invest a little time towards students, they're going to be passionate."

"I'm very passionate about STEM," she continued. "I'm in the career field I am because of teachers and mentors. No one else in my family is very science driven, so it was my high school teachers who showed me the opportunity."

Gates said STEM mentorship is especially important when it comes to girls and young women, which is why she's affiliated with the Women's Employee Resources Group (WERG) at NSWCPD. The organization hosts events for interns and networking lunches during the summer, helping to pair interns with NSWCPD employees who can best help them grow into their potential.

Gates also served as the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE) Intelligent Ship Symposium (ISS) Student Outreach Chair in 2015 and 2017 respectively, and is currently a NSWCPD STAR (person with Skills That Achieve Results) representative.

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