Women of Color STEM Conference Recognizes 18 Northrop Grumman Employees

FALLS CHURCH, Va., Oct. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Eighteen Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) employees received awards for their achievements at the 2013 Women of Color STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Conference in Dallas this weekend. The conference recognizes outstanding women in the STEM fields and provides opportunities for professional development, networking and recruiting.

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Camille D'Annunzio, manager of the Automated Sensor Exploitation Technology Center in Northrop Grumman's Electronic Systems sector was named the Technologist of the Year. Among her many achievements, she has received a U.S. patent, a Northrop Grumman invention disclosure, and has presented 17 papers and 36 technical reports. At Northrop Grumman, she has contributed to advancements in chemical/biological threat situational awareness, force protection and target recognition. She earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and chemistry from Cornell University and a doctorate in applied math from the University of Maryland.

Sonal Deshpande, vice president of Advanced Maritime and Integrated Air Missile Defense (IAMD) Systems, Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems sector, received special recognition for her leadership, problem-solving and technical prowess. Deshpande has had executive level responsibility for logistics, engineering and manufacturing and currently oversees solutions focused on innovation, affordability and open architecture for the maritime sensors and IAMD markets. She is actively involved in STEM education activities with middle and high school students. Deshpande earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland and her master's degree in electrical engineering from John Hopkins University.

Pamela Jones, software development analyst, Northrop Grumman Enterprise Shared Services sector, received special recognition for her professional achievements and contributions to STEM. She has been a web developer, project manager and currently leads software engineering supporting key business objectives. Jones has twice gone before Congress to promote the need for greater emphasis on initiatives that promote women and minorities in STEM and was invited to write a congressional bill mandating STEM-related curriculum for all K-12 schools. Jones earned bachelor's degrees in psychology and information systems management/computer science from the Johns Hopkins Kennedy Institute.

Northrop Grumman employees receiving Technology All-Star awards at the conference were Laura Fishman, Michelle Griggs, Debora Wright Henley, Noriene Jee and Angelique Le. Employees honored with Technology Rising Star awards were Andrea Adams, Brigette Blair, Michal Brown, Thalia Ellzey, Nikisa George, Shalini Gupta, Sudha Manimaran, Nefretiti Nassar, Iesha Pankey and Sharon Zhou.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems, cyber, C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit www.northropgrumman.com for more information.

SOURCE Northrop Grumman Corporation