The College of Engineering - 2010 Celebration

Catherine Jeffries-Ni

Mechanical Engineering, Class of 2000

Rowan University engineering alumna continues to contribute to college

From her earliest days as a student in Rowan Engineering’s first class until today as a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board, Catherine “Cat” Jeffries-Ni has been an avid supporter of the College of Engineering.

Ni entered Rowan in 1996 and jumped right into classroom work, clinic projects and extracurricular activities. She helped establish the Society of Women Engineers and American Society of Mechanical Engineers student chapters at Rowan and interned for Sony Music and Kimble Glass, learning that project management and leadership were her calling rather than design.

One of her fondest memories is of an ASME regional competition, for which Ni and her peers drove to Cornell University after some unusual preparation for the event.

“We ate a lot of Taco Bell and went sleepless many nights to build a contraption that would move soda from Bottle A to Bottle B, fill it, then cap it,” said Ni. “The kicker was it had to fit in a small box. So, after we built it, we had to saw stuff off to make it fit. We were recharging our drills and saws at the rest stops. What a memory!”

After graduating from Rowan in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, Ni went on to earn a master’s from Drexel after three years of part-time study.

“I would not have been able to survive and succeed in the curriculum without a basis in mechanical engineering from Rowan,” said Ni. “I also think that our clinic experiences, including presenting and teamwork, made projects at work and in my master’s program easier than for others at Drexel.”

Ni also entered Lockheed-Martin Corp.’s Operation Leadership Development Program (OLDP) after gradating from Rowan. In the first two years of the program, she rotated through four six-month assignments that addressed quality, sourcing and, program management and supervision on the shop floor.

Following that post, Ni joined the company’s Maritime Systems and Sensors (MS2) group, providing management and marketing skills as a new product support program manager. A year later, a promotion to supply services manager brought Ni new responsibilities, including supervising a staff, managing a $6-million annual budget and executing various objectives and strategies for the company.

Enjoying the experience, Ni further climbed the ladder, branching into technical sales as a business development manager for Coast Guard & Homeland Security under MS2 in the Deepwater program at Lockheed Martin Corp. in Moorestown.

After her nomination into the company’s Executive Rotation program, Ni made her way into Corporate Business Development, moving from New Jersey to Washington D.C. Today she deals with electro-optic infrared sensors as part of the Missiles and Fire Control group in Orlando.

“We sell highly complicated U.S. government-regulated technologies that assist foreign militaries during their defining moments,” said Ni. “I specifically work in countries like Turkey, Israel, Japan, Korea and India. I am all over the world at any given time.”

Ni uses her extensive work experience to give back to Rowan through her membership on the Dean’s Advisory Board for Rowan’s College of Engineering. The advisory board provides academic guidance, advice and corporate outreach in support of College initiatives.

She’s glad to be a part of the University that meant so much to her.

“I am amazed and proud of the growth at Rowan,” said Ni. “I always hang my Rowan University banner in my office and proudly tell people the story and evolution of our college.”