According to MSU, the award honors individuals “who have distinguished themselves professionally and have a record of exemplary service to the community and/or Montana State University.” Lerner is one of only about four alumni selected for the prestigious academy each year.
Lerner earned her Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from MSU in 2010. She said she was excited and humbled when she first learned she had been selected for this honor.
“I was very honored and humbled that MSU chose to recognize me and the contributions that I’ve made throughout my community, to the college and to my profession as well,” said Lerner. “When you reflect on an award like this, it really [shows] how far you have come on your journey from your education to your profession and the industry that you continue to choose to serve.”
Lerner’s connection to MSU and engineering goes back to her childhood. She grew up in Bozeman after moving there at age nine when her father retired from the Navy. She was skilled in math and science from a young age, and in high school she took part in a shadowing program at MSU where she watched graduate students build circuit cards for satellites. This experience marked the beginning of a lifelong interest in electrical engineering.
While at MSU, Lerner worked in a research lab on optics and remote sensing projects using light detection and ranging technology. For her senior capstone project, she was part of a team that built a portable optical northern lights detector, which she traveled to northern Alaska to test in the field. Lerner credits this project with helping her develop critical thinking skills.
“To me, the engineering profession and the knowledge I gained in my education helped me to build that toolbox of skills, critical thinking and that mentality of perseverance of what do you do when the answer’s not right in front of you or things don’t work the first time,” said Lerner. “That is a huge foundation that I gained early in school and then have continued to be able to apply those same fundamental skills throughout my career journey at Keyport.”
NUWC Division, Keyport recruited Lerner straight out of MSU in 2010 through the Naval Acquisition Development Program. During her tenure at the command, she has worked as a member of the submarine countermeasures ISEA team and a deputy customer advocate for Submarine Platforms before beginning her current position in 2021. Today, she manages a large project portfolio that includes a variety of Unmanned Undersea Vehicles.
Lerner’s leadership earned her the command’s “Project Manager of the Year” award in 2022.
With Lerner’s induction into MSU’s Academy of Distinguished Alumni, there are now two NUWC Division, Keyport employees who have received this honor. The other employee is Libby Solomon, the department head for the command’s Test and Evaluation Department who was involved in originally recruiting and hiring Lerner.
“It was a fun thing to share with her. Libby was one of the people who hired me at Keyport, and now to be someone that is sharing this prestigious award with her was very special to get to reflect on together.”
Lerner continues to give back to her alma mater. She serves on the Industrial Advisory Board for the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, where she helps align the university curriculum with the needs of industry. She also regularly returns to MSU as a recruiter and guest lecturer.
“Nicole Lerner is incredibly deserving of this recognition,” said Solomon. “Her passion for her profession, the university and Keyport is clear. And the relationships she has forged at Montana State have directly supported our efforts to partner with the university and to recruit the best for Keyport.”
Looking ahead, Lerner said she’s excited about the future of unmanned systems and getting new technology into the hands of Sailors.
“We’re getting to do a lot of things that have never been done before with unmanned systems,” she said. “It’s very exciting to continue to get to see and to push the boundaries of what we can do to deliver and sustain new capability to the Fleet.”
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Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Keyport is headquartered in the state of Washington on the Puget Sound, about 10 miles west of Seattle. To provide ready support to Fleet operational forces at all major Navy homeports in the Pacific, NUWC Division, Keyport maintains detachments in San Diego, California and Honolulu, Hawaii, and remote operating sites in Guam; Japan; Hawthorne, Nevada; and Portsmouth, Virginia. At NUWC Division, Keyport, our diverse and highly skilled team of engineers, scientists, technicians, administrative professionals and industrial craftsmen work tirelessly to develop, maintain and sustain undersea warfare superiority for the United States.
