Chief Naval Engineer Charts New Course with National Science Board Appointment

“Building grand, exquisite things isn't solely the vision of engineers and physicists.

It takes the collective brilliance of a dedicated team,” says Sarah O’Donnell, MITRE engineer and new appointee to the National Science Board. 

That thinking drives a top goal for her 2024-2030 term: inspire young talent to enter the skilled technical workforce—as shipbuilders, welders, electricians, and more—and become part of ensuring U.S. security and stability. 

With more than two decades’ experience in national security, O’Donnell recently became one of the select 25 board members comprising the independent advisory body to the President and Congress on science and engineering policy matters. 

Her inspiration for expanding opportunities for the skilled trades comes from her upbringing. O’Donnell’s father was a master shipbuilder, her grandfather a welder. They passed down a fervor for nuts and bolts.

“Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always been a tinkerer,” she says.

Growing up in an ethnically and economically diverse community in the Virginia tidewater region gave her “a great respect for people’s varying capabilities and perspectives.” These early experiences shaped a desire to help others pursue their passions. 

Besides mentoring multiple protégés at MITRE, O’Donnell volunteers as a tutor for high school students and a judge for local science and technology competitions like the 2024 Innovation Challenge to foster opportunities in the science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM, fields.

Common Vision to Help Protect the Warfighter

O’Donnell’s own STEM-career journey is a diverse one. With a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in engineering physics from the University of Virginia, she joined our company in 2001. She started out in the federally funded R&D center MITRE operates for the Federal Aviation Administration before transitioning to defense and intelligence work. 

She’s led award-winning research in nanotechnology and holds a U.S. patent in that field. Additionally, her technical leadership and vision were key to creating MITRE’s Center for Strategic Competition in 2022. 

As chief engineer of our naval division in the National Security Engineering Center, she’s often the voice of the technical leader at senior military discussions. A driving force behind establishing MITRE’s first-ever Special Operations Community department, she brought together multidisciplinary experts from across the company to build up the new organization.

“I’m so proud of the work our disparate teams have done together under a common vision to reduce risk to missions and help protect our warfighters,” she says. “There’s no better feeling than that.”

Big-Risk, Big-Impact Engagement 

A self-labeled “adrenaline junkie,” O’Donnell’s engagement as a female in the male-dominated special-operations environment is perhaps unsurprising. She expresses a penchant for high-risk—and high-reward—activities, both professionally and personally. In years past, she raced super-stock motorcycles. Today, living near the ocean, she enjoys the thrills of surfing.

The rewards she appreciates most from her work at MITRE?

“Having immediate impact in national security and being surrounded by brilliant people working in the public interest to address challenges in a way you can’t do anywhere else,” she says.

As O’Donnell begins her National Science Board tenure, company leadership holds as much confidence in her as she holds in the teams she leads. 

“Sarah brings a unique combination of vision and technical skill, especially around maritime security,” says Dennis Gallagher, managing director of MITRE’s naval division. “Her knowledge of the relevant science and technology, as well as the social, economic, and political forces at play, will be key to help solve these hard national problems.”