Energy Systems Engineering MEng Online & On Campus

I joined the ESE program in 2008 as I was graduating with my BSE and it was through the internship program that I was able to kick off my career working as an engineer at General Motors. I had the unique opportunity to work as an engineer on electric vehicle charging just as EVs were becoming a more interesting area of vehicle development. I worked as an engineer on the power electronics and grid connection which meant I was doing a lot more than just standard parts engineering. In that role I had the chance to work with the policy team to look at what charging infrastructure for the new vehicle should look like and with people in the electrical utility industry to better understand the potential impact to the grid. That multidisciplinary experience is what drove me to always want to learn more about the “how” and the “why” that new technology is adopted, which eventually drove me into a position with GM’s corporate venture investment team. This experience opened me up to a whole new world of startups and new technology which eventually led me to leave GM and co-found a startup called May Mobility. While I was at May Mobility as COO I formed the teams that worked on the business – from operations to sales and marketing. This role put me in contact much more with cities and transit agencies, which deepened my interest in broader transportation. When I decided to step down as COO, it was in part so that I could look at ways to continue to impact the industry more broadly and help it move forward, which is what led me to my current role leading the commission.

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

Interdisciplinary skillsets are becoming more and more important as technology changes so rapidly, and the Energy Systems Master’s degree definitely helped me to stand out by providing a well rounded view of new trends in energy from clean sources to EV batteries, that really helps to drive a more holistic approach to thinking about how to grow those industries.

Reflection on Time Spent at U-M

I participated in the program on-line while working full time on the technology I was learning about, which was a really fulfilling experience. So, if you decide to do this degree part time, know that you can have a great experience, even if it is different than your full time counterparts.

With the availability of the capstone project included in the degree, I was able to apply the knowledge learned from lectures outside of class. By having had the opportunity to perform my assignment at a large company, I was able to grow my network and ask detailed insider questions, such as what locations across the world are involved in which kind of manufacturing and development projects. After my return home to Germany, I knew exactly at what plant I wanted to apply. Checking the job openings, I was excited to find a position in systems engineering within a prominent, global energy firm, which I applied to and successfully secured.

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

Since energy systems engineering is a strong interdisciplinary field, the availability of choice for the courses in my masters degree helped me diversify my skill set. Having to work with colleagues from functional safety, test, software, hardware, mechanical engineering (and more) I was able to carry conversation from very early on in my career. On top of that, lectures also consisted of a multitude of students from different degree programs. Therefore, I was able to learn further and broaden my horizon through exchange in conversation with fellow classmates during projects and class assignments.

Advice to Students

I wish I would have stayed for a PhD. Since the Master’s degree was only a year, time passed very quickly for me, and by the time I had the chance to adapt to the multitude of opportunities and possibilities, it was already time to leave. I would like to recommend Michigan Electric Racing, and Blueprint, both of which I have ardently attended. Another piece of advice I would like to offer by sharing a memory and a joke: in the first week of classes my professor told me, after discovering my passion to write in ink, to make sure to get freeze-resistant ink – it does get really cold in winter.

I interned at an automotive supplier in my undergrad years in Indiana. After finishing my BSE, that company offered me a full time position as a quality engineer. Shortly thereafter, I applied and was selected to work at General Motors (GM) pickup truck assembly plant in Indiana as a body shop dimensional engineer. Over the next eight years, I switched roles in the same location to manufacturing engineer before volunteering to take a lateral position at a car assembly plant near Cleveland, Ohio. After spending half a year in Ohio, I was interviewed and selected to be a development engineer in Warren, Michigan at the  Tech Center to work on the Chevy Volt battery project in 2009. While working on electrification projects for the Volt and other mild hybrids and fuel cell systems, I decided to pursue the Energy Systems Engineering MEng program at University of Michigan. Now I am helping launch electrification in China for GM global operations in the worlds’ largest electric car market. 

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

This Master’s degree has helped me in my career in multiple ways. In addition to being recognized as a technical expert in my work, I was given more challenging work assignments in a global work environment. I relocated to Shanghai, China shortly after completion of this degree to help develop the electrification team and launch the electric car portfolios there. I routinely visit and am engaged in the supplier selection process for cells, power electronics and other components of electric and hybrid vehicles. I am able to ask critical questions and make sound decisions based on the knowledge gained through the course work for this degree. 

Reflection on Time Spent at U-M

This program helped me bring depth to my understanding of batteries that I was working on in my day job. It also helped me understand the economics of energy systems as well as introduce me to electro-chemistry of cells, power electronics and electrical aspects of various types of energy conversion systems. The program challenged me to learn and grow in many areas during the projects along with my classmates, many of whom were also my co-workers. 

Advice to Students

I joined the Order of The Engineer; I am an avid football fan and try to watch all U-M football games even in China along with my fellow U-M alumni in Shanghai;   My advice to students pursuing this degree is to try and work on projects alongside the classroom learning, which helps grasp the concepts better and also provide hands-on opportunities to see how things work while understanding the theory behind it. Find and reach out to your mentors to help you gain more experience and apply what you are learning.

After completing my undergraduate education, I started working at Consumers Energy in electric supply planning. I worked in that team for five years,during which I had the opportunity to lead the modeling team responsible for electric supply planning. This role (along with my MEng completed at the same time) gave me deep knowledge of the electricity industry, including current trends and issues. After that, I worked in IT for a short time, which broadened my mindset to understand how corporate functions support large utilities and businesses. I also got exposure to Lean, performance management, and budgeting in this role – all necessary tools when working in corporate environments. Currently, I work in regulatory policy which requires an overarching understanding of the utility industry, and part of my work is in developing and executing on the regulatory component of the long-term company strategy, as well as issue management for policy developments at the state and federal level. 

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

I was able to apply my Master’s capstone project to my role in 2015. The project focused on evaluation of storage resources in wholesale markets. This gave me the exposure to company subject-matter experts and leadership that were also interested in this area and established me as an expert in the space. More broadly, the Master’s helped with my overall understanding of the energy industry and how to best operate in the current environment including an understanding of where the industry is going.

Reflection on Time Spent at U-M

As an undergrad, I loved being a part of the Women’s Glee Club but wish I had also gotten more involved in engineering extracurricular project teams (e.g. BLUElab). 

Advice to Students

Don’t be afraid of failure (you’ll have at least one class that’s REALLY hard) – try, try again – I had to take Organic Chemistry 2 twice! Still made it!