Automotive Engineering MEng Online & On Campus

I have an interesting path through the Automotive Industry so far. Through University teams (Solar Car and Hybrid Racing) I became connected with several OEMs and automotive suppliers. This led to my first of 2 internships with Toyota working on wiring harnesses and electronics strategy. These internships developed into a full time position working on electronics strategy and heads up displays. This position was instrumental in shaping how I view the engineering process as it gave me the opportunity to read through customer issues, preferences, and other comments in order to understand how they perceived and used the technology we were working on. Often an engineer’s perspective would be wildly different than that of their customer and understanding that gap can be a game changer. In 2015, I was approached by GM and offered an opportunity to work on the HD mapping system requirements for their SuperCruise Feature. This was a high paced wild-west setup where there were fewer rules of thumb for development than other areas of the vehicle. Being able to work with the best in the field with decades of experience in safety systems was eye opening and showed me how data matters above all when making technical decisions. From here I joined the Machine Vision Front Camera group at General Motors. This gave me the opportunity to work on technology related to Neural Networks and their troubleshooting. In addition, this was the time when I became deeply involved in the launching of products. This involved material handling, supply chains, software releases, and managing the integration of multiple tier 1 suppliers. Most recently, I have been promoted to the role of Business Architect for Electrical Components. This has allowed me to dig into components across the vehicle in every platform and work on business and cost strategies to return the most value to our customers. I’m very excited to be working on it and enjoy working on all of the vehicles at once as a single “big picture.” 

How does your Master’s degree differentiate you from others?

My Masters Degree through Michigan has been fantastic at giving me an incredibly broad view of multi-disciplinary engineering. By taking classes on multiple different technologies and strategies, from manufacturing, crash structures, and risk assessment, to systems engineering, emissions, and control strategies: I feel I have one of the broadest knowledge bases on the vehicle compared to my peers purely because of the University of Michigan. I am hoping to utilize this to my full advantage in my new role as Business Architect. 

Reflection on Time Spent at U-M

Working with the Wilson Center on several projects has been the cornerstone that pulled me into the ISD department and a Masters in Automotive Engineering. While working on vehicle projects for the Michigan Hybrid Racing Team (now Michigan Electric Racing) as well as the Solar Car Team, I got exposed to the true multidisciplinary engineering that I love and led me to my graduate degree. During my graduate coursework, I absolutely loved Auto 501 with Professor Bell for its breadth. Anyone considering being an engineer should investigate that course. It covers so many aspects of the vehicle that there’s something to touch on for each discipline. Additionally, I very much enjoyed Professor Peng’s class on Hybrid Control Theory and the classes on Systems Engineering with Professor Bordley and the various classes on vehicle simulation.

I was a part of Integrative Systems + Design (ISD) with a focus on the Controls System. After graduation, I joined Cummins Inc. as a controls engineer in emission controls. I worked there for six months and then moved back to Michigan and joined Ford Motor Company Product Development as a virtual verification and validation engineer for three and half years and recently moved to the Research team for Active Driver Assist Technology.   

How does your Master’s degree differentiate you from others?

One word answer will be Confidence! terminology used in classes is very close to the corporate world so it became a bit easier to take upon new challenges.

The embedded controls and advanced powertrain controls project work helped me a lot in my job at Ford. Matlab-Simulink modeling and Model-in-Loop, Software-in-Loop concepts were more relatable with my actual work which I learned during the assignments. The product development cycle was an essential part of the curriculum which was based on Ford’s process and that helped me during initial days to understand the workflow. Now as a research engineer, I use some concepts of vehicle dynamics taught in classes. Not just on the technical front but the Management and Human Factors credits I took are also important in my career to help me to get into a leadership position.

Reflection on Time Spent at U-M

MDP is a really great way to finish the capstone, work with companies and gain skills which will help to advance in career. A suggestion would be to take at least a few courses regarding hybrid electric vehicles and self-driving cars along with the advantage that M-city offers, will help increase industry awareness and latest trends in automotive technology.

How does your Master’s degree differentiate you from others?

By tailoring my Master’s program towards core engine features, I have definitely had an upper hand in my professional career when it comes to understanding and applying in-depth combustion analysis and engine control strategies.

Reflection on Time Spent at U-M

The M.Eng. in Automotive Engineering program has been one of the most valuable learning experiences in my academic life. All of the course material has been very relevant to the current requirements in the automotive industry.  In fact, four years after graduating, I still refer back to my course notes to brush up on several concepts when applying them at work. The program’s theoretical material coupled with the practical knowledge I gained at the Auto-Lab while completing my Capstone project gave me a very well-rounded knowledge base geared for the automotive industry.

For anyone interested in entering the automotive field, the M.Eng. Automotive Engineering program offers a wide variety of courses allowing you to structure the program to your interests. My personal favorite classes were ME438 – Internal Combustion Engines and ME569 – Advanced Powertrain Control, both of which I still refer back to even today.

During my time at the University of Michigan, I completed multiple internships at Ford in Powertrain Controls and Calibration and Electrified Powertrain Engineering. After my internships, I received a job offer from Ford approximately one year before graduation for a rotational program, which I happily accepted. Once a full-fledged Ford employee, I worked on many very interesting projects in many different rotations through multiple departments. During my time in Advanced Electrified Powertrain Systems Engineering, I submitted multiple inventions which are now being filed through the USPTO.  I worked on powertrain sizing, future vehicle target setting and cascading, cost save studies, and much more. 

My next rotation took me to Louisville, Kentucky to help launch the new 2020 Ford Super Duty in a Program Management role with a focus on powertrain and chassis systems. I worked long hours to solve production and quality issues before the vehicle was initiated into mass production. My third rotation consisted of calibration and control development for electric motors in which I worked in dynamometer cells to determine the optimal configuration from efficiency, durability, NVH, and performance perspectives. My current rotation is in Ford Performance, where I am working to develop future powertrains for performance vehicles. My final position will be back in Electrified Powertrain Engineering where I will perform a role in a model based calibration optimization group.

How does your Master’s degree differentiate you from others?

My Master’s degree helped me to understand automotive systems and vehicles from an engineering, manufacturing, and systems perspective at a much deeper level. I learned and developed my technical and problem solving skills while also learning about modeling general systems, powertrains, and complete vehicles. My Master’s also gave me hands on experience while performing engine emissions research under Professor Anna Stefanopoulou.  She guided my experimental mindset by teaching me how to design testing procedures, perform data analyses, experiment conclusions, and future research.  My U-M experience opened up doors to more technically challenging positions, provided with me considerable background knowledge in nearly every aspect of every position I have worked, provided additional benefits and compensation, and most importantly, it allowed me to develop the mindset and logic of an automotive/mechanical engineer. 

Advice to Students

Work hard and play hard. School can be very challenging and you need to work hard now to succeed when you graduate, but do not forget that college is where you develop lifelong relationships with friends and colleagues. While I was in school I did not join many clubs as I had my own car restorations and performance builds to attend to, but Formula SAE and Baja would be great ways to gain hands on experience and gain the attention of recruiters for internships. Lastly, make sure you take classes that interest you and that will guide your true passion!

I worked as a Calibration Optimization Intern in the Diesel team at IAV while I was studying at U-M and the analytical skills taught in ISD programs at U-M were directly applicable to the advanced calibration topics I was working on at IAV.

After graduating from U-M I started working full-time at IAV as a calibration engineer working on OBD systems calibration. Simulations, modeling and optimization techniques taught in various courses were invaluable and enabled me to be proficient at my work.

How does your Master’s degree differentiate you from others?

The Master’s degree from U-M gave me an edge over other engineers due to industry oriented focus of my graduate education.

Advice to Students

University life is meant to explore your personality and figure out a proper direction for your career so try to push yourself, do as many projects as you can, talk to your classmates and professors, do some volunteer work, work as hard as you can because nothing worth having comes easy. U-M gives you all the opportunities and avenues for this, make sure you make good use of it.