Uma Bruegman is the assistant general manager for the Strategic Assessments, Studies, and Projects Division within The Aerospace Corporation’s Civil Systems Group. She is responsible for leadership and management of independent, technical, and programmatic assessments, as well as special studies to support decision-making by senior leaders in various government agencies. She also currently serves as the lead for the Space Safety Institute, a cross-enterprise team that provides thought leadership to meet growing federal government, commercial, and international space safety needs.

Bruegman joined The Aerospace Corporation in 2011 as a senior project engineer, supporting the acquisition of new civil and commercial programs. She received a promotion to systems director in 2015. In that role she established the Spectrum Center of Expertise. In 2018, Bruegman assumed principal director responsibilities for Strategic Assessments and Studies, leading support to NASA headquarters and National Science Foundations senior leadership and delivering decadal surveys for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Prior to joining Aerospace, Bruegman founded and served as president of International Technology Management Inc., a small business she grew to support NASA and commercial programs. She also provided project management and consulting for the National Institute of Standards and Technology in its Advanced Technology Program.

Bruegman provides mentorship, advocacy, and networking opportunities through various programs within Aerospace and with external organizations. She initiated Aerospace’s Career Re-entry Program, a joint initiative with the Society of Women Engineers and iRelaunch that helps STEM workers rejoin the workforce following an extended career break. She also served as the program’s senior sponsor for four cohorts over the last three years. She mentored early- to mid-career engineers and summer student interns at Aerospace through group and one-on-one sessions. Additionally, she coaches international cohorts of women in STEM fields through the reacHIRE Aurora Development Program, an interactive community dedicated to advancing women and empowering them to lead with confidence.

Bruegman has shared her personal career and leadership experiences as a panelist and workshop facilitator at various events, including the Society’s WE22 and WE23 conferences and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ 2023 ASCEND conference, speaking on “The unexpected impact of unconventional career paths to space.”

Bruegman is the recipient of a 2022 Hero pin for excellence in alignment with Aerospace’s corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy. As the daughter of a mechanical engineering professor, she was always encouraged to pursue a technical degree. She holds a B.S. and an M.S. in physics from the University of Mumbai and an MBA from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Bruegman enjoys painting, gathering mushrooms, hiking, traveling with her husband, and spending time with their three sons.