Lauren Smith grew up listening to stories of her grandfather, who served as a pilot in World War II; these stories later inspired her to pursue a career in aeronautics. Today she is a Concept Development Engineer in Advanced Unmanned Systems at Northrup Grumman and believes that looking into the past is the key to creating a successful future.

“Innovation is a common thread in what we’ve been doing and what our future looks like,” she said. “Where we are at right now can really be explained best by where we came from.”

Smith explained that one of the most common misconceptions about the UAS industry is that it is a brand new field; in reality, it is a surging field with roots dating back to World War 2. Northrop Grumman’s history began in 1939, with the formation of Northrop Aircraft Incorporated.

Since then, nearly 20 companies have been integrated into a global security company with leading capabilities in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, strike, and logistics. In every one of these areas, Smith said, the company’s primary goal is “keeping our nation safe.”

While Northrop Grumman is no longer a startup, they are constantly working to innovate on their current products. Smith’s personal favorite example of this is the x-47B, the first UAV to achieve both carrier-based launches and recoveries and Autonomous Aerial Refueling.

Northrop Grumman is an anchor tenant at Grand Sky, the country’s first commercial UAS business and aviation park, which is located on the Grand Forks Air Force Base and serves as the home for Northrop Grumman’s Global Hawk UAV. Smith explained that the company hopes to become a part of the Grand Forks community, connecting with students, US airmen, and civilians alike to “bring this together as a hub for innovation.”

Northrop Grumman’s future is being built today through the company’s Innovation Challenge, of which Smith is the project manager. The Challenge is a quadcopter development and flight competition inspired by the fictional game of Quidditch (Smith’s favorite team name: Quaffles Get Waffles). It is a creative and exciting way to get representatives from every sector of the company and every level of experience with quadcoptors, from interns to VPs, working to create new technology.

“Whether it’s the Innovation Challenge or your day job working on Global Hawk, that’s what we do,” she said. “We solve hard problems.”