IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2010 - 34

WIE from Around the World

International Talent,
Global Solutions
Many influence the worldwide WIE movement

but Sherman lacked the foreign language requirements needed to get in
to most programs. He applied and was
accepted to Robert Maynard Hutchins'
controversial Great Books program at
the University of Chicago, which made
classical Western literature and philosophy the basis of undergraduate education. In his later years, he cited from
these books as if he had just read them.
"You should see his e-mails," says Connie Kelly, education chair for the IEEE
Chicago Section. "He was always quoting the Romans, Greeks, Nietzsche. It
was amazing to see how he structured
his arguments."
Sherman studied psychology and
physics as a graduate student at the
University of Connecticut, where he
worked on a number of engineering
problems, to the detriment of his classwork. Rather than study, he spent his
time building an apparatus for behavioral research into the learning abilities
of mentally disabled children. When he
became disenchanted with experimental psychology, he moved to the electronics industry.

For that, we owe much to people
In 1942, at the age of 17 and just out of
like Sherman, the Member Develophigh school, Jack Sherman volunteered
ment chair and Women in Engineerfor war service. He enlisted because he
ing (WIE) Affinity Group chair for the
wanted to join the U.S. Army Signal
Corps. This would mean training
ng
IEEE Chicago Section until his
sudden death in August 2009
at the Illinois Institute of Techsu
nology and the Metallurgical
aat the age of 85. Those who
knew him describe him
Laboratory at the University
a s extremely dedic ated,
of Chicago. At the Met Lab,
immensely energetic, and
Arthur Compton was coora spirited gadfly who never
dinating fission research.
shut up and prodded others
Enrico Fermi was developing
to step in and take action
the first nuclear reactor.
Jack Sherman
along with him. The IEEE
Sherman would work on
was an outlet for his boundless engiradar. He spent the war years stationed
neering enthusiasm, and "WIE was very
in Okinawa, Japan, where he was responspecial to him," his wife Mary
sible for trouble analysis and high-echesays. Adds David, "People think
lon repairs of antiaircraft gun radar sets.
WIE is just for women, but one of
After the atomic bomb was detonated in
his strong beliefs was that it was
1945, he taught his company the prin'WE' because it was important for
ciples of nuclear physics.
all engineers: Engineering talent
"The Army was vocational training
is hard to find, and it makes no
in a sense," says his oldest son, David.
sense to cut ourselves off from
"Here he was, a poor, young man with
half the potential talent."
talent, interested in radio. What do you
It was a belief that dated from
do to learn? He had to go the extra
the experiences of his youth.
mile to do what he wanted or he would
Sherman was born in Trenton, Jack and his wife Mary enjoying a family party
have sliced pastrami like his father. The
New Jersey, where his father ran a in 2007.
Army gave him access to learning he
delicatessen, meaning he had no
wouldn't have had sitting at home in
Over the course of his career, he
money or connections to help Sherman
New Jersey. Thankfully, we don't have
worked at several companies, includget ahead. In the postwar years, the
to send young women to war to learn
ing Nuclear Chicago, Elmenco, Corcom,
GI Bill provided funding for university
how to do engineering."
Abbott Laboratories, and Zenith Micro-and the chance to cut through
circuits, before joining Motorola in 1987
social and economic impediments-
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MWIE.2010.936184

IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

JUNE 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2010