Virtual Mentor Mixers

Emily asks:

1. How do you tackle a situation where someone is misinterpreting or misunderstanding what you're attempting to say?
2. What is one thing I can improve on with how I interact with my peers and my superiors?

Elana Chapman, PhD
Senior Fuels/Biofuels Engineer
GM Global Technical Center 

Dr. Chapman has been at General Motors for over 13 years. During that time, she has served the last 11 as a Senior Fuels/Biofuels Engineer and previous 2 years in the Advanced Engineering- Diesel group.  She supports the internal Advanced Engineering and Production Combustion groups with test fuels development and technical analysis, and leads projects related to fuels and engine performance to meet future vehicle emissions and performance standards. She graduated in 2008 with a PhD in Fuels Science from Penn State University, and an MS in Mechanical Engineering.  She also received the DOE Graduate Automotive Technology Engineering Certification in Advanced Energy Storage Technologies while at Penn State.  Dr. Chapman received the 2018 Forest R. McFarland award for service to SAE.

Dr. Chapman asks:

1. What are techniques to be more assertive and decisive in communications, especially around topics that one may not have complete technical knowledge about?
2. What is a safe way to ask for support or guidance from others while not appearing technically incapable or insecure?
3. What are some ways to lead a technically challenging project, and yet now know all the answers?  Is it ok to rely on team mates and lead by consensus?

Maura Chmielowiec
Design Release Engineer; High Voltage Hardware and EVSE
General Motors

In my current role as a Design Release Engineer, I get to be the Chief Engineer of the components I am in charge of. Managing everything from the technical aspects of the part to the project management and timing of the parts. In my previous roles with I have gotten to be a test and development engineer working on Tire and Wheels as well as an integration engineer in charge of the systems integration of all of the under hood components on a vehicle. Additionally, I have held various roles in a few different manufacturing plants where I was able to understand the importance of quality and design for manufacturing. Prior to entering the workforce full time, I started and acted as the Chief Engineer for an all-female Formula SAE Electric Team called “Hot Wheelz” which really helped me to launch my career as an engineer.

Maura asks:

1.  Have you faced any challenges where you felt that your work environment wasn’t conducive to speaking your mind freely? If so, was there any action you took to improve your work environment or connect with your colleagues?
2.  At my company, we have a resource group for women in the industry and their supporters, do you have any resource groups at your company that you are apart of or have considered joining? If so, how do you utilize these resources to overcome challenges in your work environment?

Kinsey Olson Sovern
Section Chair 
Dayton Section Board

Kinsey serves as Chair of the SAE Dayton Section Board, and started her mobility career with SAE over fifteen years ago at Iowa State University on the Baja Team and as Collegiate Chapter President. Her career has transitioned from its initial heading towards aero at ISU into ag with Deere and ultimately auto, having worked with Honda in multiple capacities through the full development cycle of fascias. 

Taking initiative, finding balance, keeping perspective, the fusion of ideas, and leadership growth are her focus areas. She is passionate about all things-that-go, and aiding the development of girls/young women in STEM fields through encouragement, empowerment, and simply being accessible. She was recognized in 2019 as a member of SAE's first-ever Top Contributor Class, and is currently available as a mentor, especially for CDS/YP members.

Kinsey asks:

1.  What actions, attitudes, and behaviors are critical to demonstrate as an engineer who is part of an under-represented demographic?
2.  What's YOUR story? Why are you an engineer, and how did you get there? What were the biggest hurdles in your path and how did you overcome them? 
3.  What age did you first consider STEM important to you and how so, and by contrast,  what age made the difference in ultimately choosing a STEM field, and why? 

Andrea Strzelec, PhD
Program Director, Master of Engineering in Engine Systems (MEES)
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Dr. Strzelec has been Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Mississippi State University and Texas A&M University, after post doctoral fellowships at Pacific Northwest and Oak Ridge National Laboratories. She received her Ph.D. in Combustion Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2009. She currently teaches graduate courses in Thermal Systems Engineering (Fall 2019), internal combustion engines, exhaust aftertreatment and combustion science. She has also taught undergraduate courses in automotive engineering, internal combustion engines, thermodynamics, heat transfer, thermal fluids analysis and design, and senior capstone design. She is the recipient of the 2015 SAE Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award and the Texas A&M Mechanical Engineering 2015 Brittian Undergraduate Teaching Award.

Dr. Strzelec asks:

1. What do you feel are the biggest challenges facing women in the automotive industry?
2. What kinds of things can one do to help promote women? (for example, why are there not more female SAE Fellows being inducted?)
3. What tips do you have for communicating in a professional setting? How do you avoid being talked over in meetings? Being ignored? Having your ideas credited to others?
4. How can we engage our male colleagues as advocates?

Cora Taylor
BS in Mechanical Engineering ; M.S. Student - expected Graduation Spring 2020
Michigan Technological University

Cora completed her BS in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Technological University in December of 2018 and jumped right into pursuing her MS in ME at MTU with a research focus in structural vibrations and dynamic environmental testing. During her undergraduate career she became heavily involved with SAE by being a member, and eventually president, of her FSAE team and a member of their SAE student chapter where she organized the groups plans for sending students to WCX. While on the FSAE team she also started the AWIM initiative, allowing many CDS students to participate in STEM outreach in local schools. In addition, Cora is the 2019 winner of the Rumbaugh Outstanding Student Leader Award, an honor she says she wouldn't have been able to achieve without phenomenal faculty and industry mentors.

Cora asks:

1. Unfortunately, women are often accused of being bossy when trying to lead a group or share an opinion, especially in a male dominated field (I had this experience at times while being president of my FSAE team). How do you handle these accusations and leading groups in order to maintain respect, and complete tasks at hand?
2. Are you ever uncomfortable or afraid to share your opinions or thoughts? How do you manage this fear and overcome it?
3. What is your favorite part of being an engineer? Even more specifically being a women engineer?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

JANUARY 30-31 MIXER

Theme: Time Management.  Watch this Career Counselor episode for background information and to generate ideas for questions. While the theme is Time Management, other questions can be asked as well!

Read the discussion here

Hosts:

Emily Anthony
Engineer II, Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas, Inc

Emily Anthony is currently an Engineer II at Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas, Inc in the ECU group and a student in the Masters of Mechatronics Systems Engineering program at Oakland University.

Emily has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and focused in Biomechanics. As a student, Emily was active in Formula SAE for 4 years and was the team captain of the 2016 team. After graduation, Emily continues to be involved in the program as an SES reviewer, technical inspector, and a Cost Auditor.

Mehar Bade
Doctoral Student, WVU

Mehar Bade is soon-to-graduate as a Doctoral student in Mechanical Engineering at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. His research at West Virginia University mainly focuses on the development and optimization of Free Piston Engine Generators as CHP systems at the residential level and also as range extenders for hybrid electric vehicles.  As a Ph.D. student, he is responsible for free piston engine numerical modeling, prototype testing, calibration, control systems development and performance gap identifications of an experimental prototype. At WVU, he led the FPEG team in laboratory bench studies and optimized the system performance through component selection, design of experiments and control strategies.  He was also part of the first class of winners for the Student and Young Professional Tech Paper Competition in 2019. Prior to joining West Virginia University, Mehar worked as a Plant Engineer at Sterlite Technologies, India and received his B.S degree in Mechanical Engineering at JNTU, India.

Maura Chmielowiec
Design Release Engineer; High Voltage Hardware and EVSE; General Motors

In my current role as a Design Release Engineer, I get to be the Chief Engineer of the components I am in charge of. Managing everything from the technical aspects of the part to the project management and timing of the parts. In my previous roles with I have gotten to be a test and development engineer working on Tire and Wheels as well as an integration engineer in charge of the systems integration of all of the under hood components on a vehicle. Additionally, I have held various roles in a few different manufacturing plants where I was able to understand the importance of quality and design for manufacturing. Prior to entering the workforce full time, I started and acted as the Chief Engineer for an all-female Formula SAE Electric Team called “Hot Wheelz” which really helped me to launch my career as an engineer.

Derek Donovan
Design Engineer, Electrical Design; General Motors 

Design Engineer and Talent Scout for General Motors specializing in designing electrical bracketry; which includes injection molded parts, stamped steel parts, and additive manufactured parts. Derek has a strong background in the automotive industry with experiences in automotive engineering and repair. He attended Central Michigan University and obtained a degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology while acting as lead engineer for CMU’s SAE Baja team. In addition, he is an avid motorsport enthusiast and dedicated SAE member.

Since joining Argonne in 2015, Simeon has worked on various projects including testing the fuel consumption benefits of active transmission warm-up, investigating the potential benefits of using high octane fuel, quantifying the fuel consumption benefits of eco-driving strategies on different powertrains, and implementation of cooperative adaptive cruise control for multi-car platoon testing. Outside of work, Simeon's personal interests don’t stray too far away and include working on his car, track day and autocross driving, go-kart racing, riding motorcycles, and waking up to watch Formula 1 racing at 6:30 am on Sunday.