New SSP STEM Lead Builds Electrical Close Loop Circuit with Students in Montgomery County

10 June 2025

From Edvin Hernandez

Natasha Michaux, a nuclear safety engineer at Strategic Systems Programs (SSP) in Washington, D.C., traveled to A. Mario Loiederman Middle School in Montgomery County, Maryland, in March to introduce students to basic engineering principles.

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SSP’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Outreach Program has played a pivotal role in initiating STEM interest in the command’s local community, aiming to inspire young students to think about technical careers supporting the Department of Navy. Volunteers like Michaux are crucial to achieving this Navy and SSP recruitment goal and lend a guiding hand for classroom teachers and students.

Today, SSP is pioneering advanced capabilities to empower the nation’s strategic deterrence. In the last 70 years, the command has revolutionized credible sea-launched ballistic missiles, beginning with the Polaris A1 missile to the current Trident D5LE SWS. Vice Adm. Johnny Wolfe Jr., the Director for SSP, is a major advocate for recruiting the best and brightest professionals that can push SSP toward further innovation, and ultimately help the nation maintain its strategic dominance.

“Recruiting the right people for our no-fail mission is critical to our success,” Wolfe said. “Our highly talented and highly motivated workforce is a significant reason we – SSP – are entrusted by the Navy to develop, acquire, and maintain our sea-based nuclear assets. We have a proven history in delivering credible strategic deterrence capabilities, and with the addition of programs like the non-nuclear hypersonic conventional prompt strike or the Nuclear-Armed Sea Launched Cruise Missile, SSP is positioned to enable our fleet to have unparalleled maritime strength. That all starts with having the right people – the right experts – for each job.”

At Loiderman Middle School, Michaux used a command-specific culture video to introduce the students to SSP’s mission and major responsibilities. After that, she brought out simple-to-use, low-cost supplies and walked students through some electrical engineering principles.

“Once the video finished, we discussed the meaning of deterrence and how it applies to the SSP mission,” she said. “We moved the conversation to electrical engineering and I showed them an example of simple electric circuits using some LED lights, 20v batteries, a circuit board, and resistors. After explaining the directions, the kids were eager to jump in and try it out.”

As the students assembled their own circuit boards, Michaux engaged in a discussion with students about the importance of having a closed loop circuit to power devices.

“It was important for the kids to know why and how these things work,” she said. “We wanted them to understand how the closed loop circuit is essential to turning on power for light switches, for example. We discussed how a simple principle like this is applied across all engineering disciplines and leads to some of the equipment the Navy uses on its submarines and surface ships.”

SSP has recently supported schools in the D.C. metropolitan area with robotic equipment to compete in local competitions. The command’s active presence in its neighboring communities is an example of how the Navy, at large, is building an elite workforce ready to address tomorrow’s maritime challenges. While Loiderman’s middle school students are several years away from entering college, SSP’s STEM Outreach Program Director Dr. Greg Bouton said it is never too early to start. He added that local grassroots STEM activities and competitions have helped the command attract promising college students to SSP internship opportunities that support the development of the Navy’s unique warfighting capabilities.

“Many of the STEM students we engage with now will one day be those experts who propel SSP forward in the future,” Bouton said.

SSP is the Navy command that provides cradle-to-grave lifecycle support for the sea-based leg of the nation’s nuclear triad. This includes training, systems, equipment, facilities and personnel responsible for ensuring the safety, security, and effectiveness of the nation’s Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile Trident II D5LE Strategic Weapon System.

SSP is responsible for sustaining the SWS on the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) and supporting the integration of the D5LE weapon system on the new Columbia-class SSBNs. Looking to the future, SSP is actively modernizing the sea-based leg of the nuclear triad and creating regional strike capabilities of the future through development of the nuclear-armed sea launched cruise missile and the non-nuclear hypersonic conventional prompt strike system.

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New SSP STEM Lead Builds Electrical Close Loop Circuit with Students in Montgomery County

From Edvin Hernandez