- Coalition of Minority Professional Engineering Societies -
Professional Development Conference
Breakout Session #1
Cybersecurity and the Connected Vehicle
Ron Gaynier
Company: University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute
Title: Senior Research Engineer
Ron began his career in 1981 at Bell Labs and the last 35 years has taken him around the world and back again. It has included software and hardware design engineer, lecturing at the University of Southern Queensland, and publishing research in Artificial Neural Networks. Ron spent 20 years working within the auto industry and In May of 2015 accepted a position as Senior Research Engineer with the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute working on vehicle cyber security.
Communication Skills for a Successful Career
Larry Castleberry
Company: Ford Motor Company
Title: Fuel System Development Supervisor
Larry Castleberry has been employed by Ford Motor Company for 28 years. He is a student and teacher of the martial art of Aikido for 29 years. He is both a motivational speaker and story teller. The communication skills that he discusses are lessons he’s learned through his varied career. Come spend time with this dynamic speaker and learn how to improve your communication skills for a more fulfilling career!
Panel: HR Secrets - Boost Your Application
Moderated by Alicia Harris, Manager, Employment Strategy & Compliance, DTE Energy
A panel of human resource representatives and engineers will share their experiences with the hiring process. Come hear their advice on how to get your application to the top of the file, and the steps you can take to ace the interview, and land the job!
Alicia R. Harris
Company: DTE Energy
Title: Manager - Employment Strategies
Alicia Harris is manager of Employment Strategies and Compliance for DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE), a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide. DTE Energy’s operating units include an electric utility serving 2.1 million customers in Southeastern Michigan and a natural gas utility serving 1.2 million customers in Michigan. The DTE Energy portfolio also includes non-utility energy businesses focused on power and industrial projects, natural gas pipelines, gathering and storage, and energy marketing and trading. As one of Michigan's leading corporate citizens, DTE Energy is a force for growth and prosperity in the 450 Michigan communities it serves in a variety of ways, including philanthropy, volunteerism and economic progress.
Harris is responsible for targeted sourcing, recruiting, staffing and compliance for DTE Energy. She works with internal business units to establish objectives and develop recruiting strategies. Harris also works closely with external professionals in building relationships with professional development organizations to attract, recruit and retain talent.
Harris joined DTE Energy in 2005 as a specialist in HR Processes and Technologies. She has worked on special projects as a functional expert on PeopleSoft and SAP implementations. In addition, she has also worked in the role of Continuous Improvement Expert. Prior to joining DTE Energy, Harris was employed by PeopleSoft, an Enterprise Resource Planning software company.
Harris earned a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University and a master’s degree from Walsh College.
Harris is active in the community and was previously a board member of Friends School in Detroit.
Will Hill
Company: SMK Electronics
Title: Account Manager
Will Hill is a computer engineer, intrapreneur, and consultative sales professional who has generated multimillion dollar revenue streams for multinational technology manufacturers. He has been a candidate in over 100 job interviews, attended 5 colleges, and held over 30 jobs since starting work at the age of 14. He is a mentor to aspiring and professional engineers. He is passionate about helping engineers achieve the success they desire.
Leon Wyszewianski
Title: Career Counselor in Private Practice
Leon Wyszewianski is a career counselor in private practice. He provides individual, strength-based career counseling and coaching and is a National Board Certified Counselor. From 1978 to 2014 he was on the faculty of the department of Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health. One of his roles as a faculty member was to provide career counseling to students enrolled in professional master’s degree programs. Much of the focus of his counseling was on how to successfully obtain a job matching the individual student’s needs and preferences. Leon Wyszewianski holds a Master of Hospital Administration and a Ph.D. in Medical Care Organization, both from the University of Michigan, as well as a Master of Arts in Community Counseling from Eastern Michigan University.
Patents: Offensive and Defensive Strategies for Engineers
Kimberly Slaven
Company: Dickinson Wright PLLC
Title: Patent Attorney
Kimberly Slaven is a patent attorney and partner at the law firm of Dickinson Wright PLLC. She earned a Chemical Engineering degree at the University of Notre Dame, and her law degree at Michigan State University. She focuses her practice on preparing and prosecuting patent applications at the U.S. Patent Office, particularly for inventions in the field of chemical engineering, materials science, and chemistry. She also has significant experience assisting inventors in the mechanical and electrical arts, particularly inventors in the automotive industry. On behalf of her clients, she prepares and files patent applications, responses to Office Actions, appeals, oppositions, reexaminations, and reissue applications. She conducts patentability and clearance searches, and provides patentability opinions, patent infringement opinions, freedom to operate opinions, intellectual property litigation support, and patent portfolio management. She also prepares patent license agreements and non-disclosure agreements.
Throughout her career, Ms. Slaven has voluntarily lectured on patent-related topics to engineers, entrepreneurs, and students at the University of Notre Dame, Michigan State University, University of Michigan, Kettering University, and Wayne State University. She has also volunteered to serve in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s pro bono program.
Ms. Slaven is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and serves as the Young Professional Directory Coordinator. She is also a member of the Michigan Intellectual Property Law Association, the Annular Meeting Committee for the State Bar of Michigan, the Society of Women Engineers of Detroit, and the Notre Dame Alumni Club of Detroit.
Distribution Management System Implementation
Heather Storey
Company: DTE Energy
Title: Manager, Operational Engineering Support
Heather Storey, is Manager, Operational Engineering Support. Heather has a Bachaleor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Michigan Technological University. Heather was the project team lead for smart circuit, where she was responsible for implementing the smart circuit piece of Detroit Edison’s SmartCurrents program. Detroit Edison’s SmartCurrents program was partially funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Smart Grid Investment Grant. The Smart Circuit team was responsible for implementing DMS. In addition, Heather is leading reliability strategic efforts in Distribution Operations.
Breakout Session #2
Harness Your AMPS
Feras Al-Hourani
Company: Yazaki North America
Title: Wiring Engineer
Feras Al-Hourani is an Engineer at Yazaki North America in Canton, MI. He received his B.S from The University of Michigan – Dearborn studying Mechanical Engineering where he was awarded The Sharpe Scholarship while working full/part time at Yazaki. He has had internships in three departments before getting hired full time as a Resident Engineer during his last year at The University of Michigan – Dearborn. During his time at Yazaki, he has completed projects that include The Leaf Integration Project in which he worked with a team to investigate and fix an issue seen with a prototype product. After receiving an engineering degree, Feras accepted a Mechanical Engineering position in the Power Distribution department in Yazaki.
Harness Your AMPS
Rich White
Company: Yazaki North America
Title: Engineering Training Specialist
Rich White is Yazaki’s Engineering Training Specialist with 30 years of experience in electronics and technical education. He has worked as a Chair of the College of Electrical Engineering at ITT and has developed industrial training in areas of automation and programmable logic controllers (PLC’s) for Ford and GM. Rich has worked as a Quality Engineer for Sanyo Automotive and has a background in manufacturing systems with the integration of manufacturing processes for Chrysler powertrain.
Persuading Others
Siraj Mumin
Company: DTE Energy
Title: Supervisor of Belle River Mills of Gas Transmission and Storage Operations
Siraj Mumin is Supervisor of Belle River Mills of DTE Gas Transmission and Storage Operations where he is responsible for leading the day-to-day mechanical and heavy equipment operations. He has over 10 years of utility experience, gas distribution and transmission and storage.
Belle River Mills is a natural gas compression station with approximately 100 billion cubic feet (bcf) of natural gas storage and capable of peak deliveries around 3.0 bcf daily during winter withdrawal season.
Mumin earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Oakland University.
Mumin serves as Treasurer for the American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE) – Michigan Chapter. He supports AABE at the National level in the National Conference Planning Committee, Legislative Issues and Public Policy Committee and Resource Development Committee. He is a member of the Engineering Society of Detroit and was active in the Young Engineer’s Council. Mumin was recognized by the Engineering Society of Detroit for “Outstanding Leadership."
Panel: Alternative Energy
Moderated by Silvia Karlsson, General Motors
A diverse panel of engineers will share their experiences on alternative energy and how it will shape the energy grid going forward. They will also discuss the roadblocks, such as low oil prices, state federal regulations, and community perceptions, to implementing and introducing alternative energies into the distribution system.
Silvia Karlsson, P.E.
Company: General Motors
Title: Lead Advanced Thermal Engineer - Airflow Strategy
Silvia Karlsson, P.E. is a fellow member of SWE. She has been an active SWE member since her undergrad years. She is involved with SWE at the local section, national and corporate level. She has a BS Degree in Mechanical Engineering from California State University, an MS Degree in Mechanical Engineering from UCLA and an MS Degree in Management of Technology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In the technical fields, Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer are her passion and expertise. They are the common thread that runs across her diverse work assignments in the automotive, aerospace, business, quality and instructional areas, including an international assignment with GM de Mexico in Toluca, Mexico.
She works for General Motors where she is currently the Lead Advance Thermal Engineer for Airflow Integration. Her variety of assignments has allowed her to see different parts of the vehicle development process, as well as to cultivate a passion for innovation and looking for new solutions. In addition to her technical assignments, she serves as the SWE-GM Liaison and Lead Talent Scout.
Birgit Sorgenfrei, P.E.
Company: Ford Motor Company
Title: Electrified Powertrain Engineering Lincoln Systems Manager
Birgit Sorgenfrei is the Electrified Powertrain Engineering Lincoln Systems Manager at Ford Motor Company, based in Dearborn, Michigan. Her 20-year career at Ford has included research for electrical power assist steering systems, component and system radio design, vehicle planning, fuel cell technology development, and hybrid vehicle development. Previously, she worked for General Electric, Johnson Controls Inc., IBM, and General Motors, and internationally for Schlumberger Industries in France, the University of Hanover in Germany, and Ford Motor Company in England and Germany. She earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from Michigan Tech., an M.S.E.E. from M.I.T., and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan.
Birgit has been awarded Ford’s Powertrain Engineering Achievement Award, a FIRST (For Inspiration & Recognition of Science & Technology) Robotics Appreciation Award, and is a Michigan Technological University Electrical and Computer Engineering Academy Member. Birgit has been active in SWE serving in various positions at the student and professional levels, including president of the Michigan Tech. and Detroit Sections and was awarded the SWE Distinguished New Engineer Award 2000. Birgit enjoys extensive travel abroad with daughters Rebecca (18) and Evelyn (15).
Samual R. Barnes, P.E.
Company: Commonwealth Associates. Inc.
Title: Vice President, Power Generation and Energy
SAMUEL R. BARNES, P.E., serves on the Board of Directors and as Vice President of Power Generation & Energy for Commonwealth Associates, Inc., an EC&M Magazine 2014 U.S. Top 10 Design Firm. Mr. Barnes has over 24 years of experience in the power generation industry, including 5 years with a regulated utility on the staff of a nuclear power plant and 5 years with a global EPC firm in power generation. He received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from the University of Michigan. Sam’s community involvement includes service as: Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Jackson College; Board Member of The Dahlem Conservancy; Member and Past President of Cascades Lions Club; and Jackson Anchor Initiative participant. Additionally, Sam regularly volunteers his time to serve on industry planning committees. He lives in Jackson, Michigan, with his wife, Jamie, and has three children and two grandchildren.
Thomas Reeves, P.E.
Company: HDR
Title: Project Manager
THOMAS L. REEVES, P.E., is a Project Manager with HDR. Mr. Reeves has over 25 years of experience in the energy industry serving the utility, independent energy, captive energy, and process markets on a global basis. Over the course of his career he has worked within start-up companies, international independent energy development companies, and large engineering consulting firms with worldwide client bases to evaluate, select, and implement energy projects. He received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and Master of Mechanical Engineering from Rice University in Houston, Texas. Tom, an Eagle Scout, currently serves as the Advisor to Venture Crew 4, a co-ed branch of the Boy Scouts of America, and is active in the local rowing community. He lives in Ann Arbor Michigan, with his wife, Stephanie, and daughter, Libby.
Terrell VanCleef Lockhart
Company: DTE Energy
Title: Principal Analyst - Renewable Energy
Terrell Lockhart is a Principal Analyst in Renewable Energy at DTE Energy. He received his BSEE from Morgan State University in Baltimore, Md, where he attended on a football scholarship. He received his JD from Wayne State University Law School. Before joining Renewables, Mr. Lockhart worked in the Fossil Generation business unit at DTE where he held several rolls including continuous improvement project lead at Belle River Power Plant, as well as site electrical engineer and capital project engineer at Trenton channel power plant. When away from the job Mr. Lockhart enjoys working with his hands on electrical, plumbing, and carpentry improvement projects, spending time with his family - three beautiful children and lovely wife, and reading non-fiction.
Wendy Eckman
Company: General Motors
Title: Assistant Chief Engineer - Global FWD Electric Propulsion
Wendy Eckman has been immersed in the automotive industry for 25 years, with the last six years focusing on the hybrid electric sector within General Motors. Her career has included roles in trim design, program management, ride & handling, vehicle integration, vehicle durability, quality, and calibration, with stretch assignments in product planning and finance. While the heart of the US automotive business is in Detroit, her work has included a foreign service assignment to England and presently a project dedicated to the Chinese market.
She graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering from Missouri S&T (aka University of Missouri-Rolla) before joining Ford Motor Company, and then went on to earn her MBA from the Michigan Business School in Ann Arbor. She gained a strong foundation in total vehicle development and integration at Ford, and architected the Core Vehicle Integration & Drive Team enginering department per brand to facilitate consistency with target-setting, vehicle evaluation, efficient DV plans and fleet sizes, and cross-functional issue management. In 2007, she continued with her focus on engineering processes as the Global Director of Process Excellence at ArvinMeritor. With a passion for total vehicle development, she returned to the world of automotive OEMs by joining GM Powertrain in 2010. She has well-rounded hybrid electric experience through working as a calibrator, high-voltage battery program manager and electrification CFO on the Chevy Volt, Cadillac ELR, and Chevy Bolt.
Outside of work, Wendy enjoys working as a National Ski Patroller, running/racing, boating, leading Bible studies and being an active Mom for Anna and Lexi.
Leveraging Mentoring to Develop Your Career
Shannon Dare
Company: Ford Motor Company
Title: Supervisor, Global Product Planning & Strategy
Shannon Dare has worked for Ford Motor Company for 18 years. She is currently a Supervisor in Global Product Planning & Strategy for Middle East & Africa region. Prior, she had responsibility for Export Quality including North American built vehicles shipped globally. Shannon completed Ford’s Manufacturing Leadership Program with rotations including: Production Line Supervisor, Process Engineer, Industrial Engineer, Product Development Plant Resident Engineer, and 2007 National UAW – Ford Negotiations team.
Employee recruitment and mentoring is important to Shannon. She co-chairs Ford’s Women in Product Development Mentoring Circles and has supported Ford’s Women in Manufacturing Mentoring programs for 15 years. Additionally, she is a lead campus recruiter securing interns and new college hires from Lawrence Technological University.
Shannon holds a BS in Industrial Management & MS Industrial Operations, both from Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, Michigan. Additionally, she is currently pursuing her PhD in Industrial Engineering at Wayne State University in Detroit.
Elevate Your Energy and Engagement (by changing the stories you tell)
Nan Reed Twiss, ACC, CPC, ELI-MP
Company: Coach for Higher
Title: Owner
As a Certified Professional Coach, Nan helps clients find the clarity, courage and motivation to step into their next big thing. Whether it's a professional or personal shift (usually one requires the other), she offers the support and accountability to help clients move joyfully into what's next. A graduate of Princeton University, she has more than twenty years of experience as a coach, educator, trainer, consultant, and facilitator.
Breakout Session #3
SAE On-Road Automated Vehicle Reference Architecture & Interface Task Force Overview
Steve Underwood, Ph.D.
Company: University of Michigan-Dearborn
Title: Director Connected Vehicle Proving Center (CVPC)
Dr. Underwood is Director of Technology Planning and Assessment and the ConnectedVehicle Proving Center in the College of Engineering at the Institute for Advanced Vehicle Systems (IAVS) at the University of Michigan – Dearborn. For the last five years Dr. Underwood has been under contract to TARDEC for various projects in the automated and connected vehicle area providing research support specifically for CAST, AMAS, and performing outreach to the automotive industry. He has a continuing contract with TARDEC to develop and evaluate the reference architecture for automated trucks. Dr. Underwood is uniquely connected to and engaged in projects with representatives of the automotive industry, federal agencies including US DOT and DOD, and MDOT, MEDC and other state and local agencies in Michigan.
Dr. Underwood is currently Chair of the SAE On-Road Automated Vehicle Systems (ORAVS) technical committee is liaison with Functional Safety (ISO 26262). The is SAE Chair of the Task Force in the Reference Architecture and interfaces for Automated Vehicle Systems where he is transitioning the TARDEC’s Interoperability Profile (IOP) activities on heavy automated vehicle architecture to a broader standards committee effort on the architecture and interfaces of automated vehicles. His is also the working with MDOT and TARDEC to the freight and automated truck driving along the I69 corridor and is advancing the adoption of platooning and other automated and connected technologies. Dr. Underwood gave a keynote address at the SAE Convergence conference in 2015 on the future of automated vehicles. He presented the ORAVS strategy at CES in January 2016. He is a former President of ITS Michigan.
Dr. Underwood is an urban transportation planner and has a Ph.D. in Urban, Technological, and Environmental Planning from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. He has been Director of several university research centers since 1991 with a focus on vehicle communications, vehicle automation, and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) including the Connected Vehicle Proving Center (CVPC) at the University of Michigan - Dearborn, Transportation and Information Systems Planning (TISP) at the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), and the ITS Research Center of Excellence (RCE) at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI. Dr. Underwood research has centered on the design and evaluation of connected and automated vehicle systems and is a leading researcher in the following areas:
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Testing and evaluation of connected and automated vehicle systems that has involved the operational testing of advanced vehicle systems for the USDOT andMDOT including the Directing the FAST-TRAC and DIRECT operational field tests in Michigan
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Developing the national systems architecture for the US DOT program in Intelligent Transportation Systems
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Developing and testing automated vehicles systems for TARDEC and selected automotive companies
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Forecasting automated and connected vehicle technologies
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Directing affiliates programs at the University of Michigan and the Center Automotive Research
Electrify Your Elevator Speech: Pitching Yourself for Your Next Career
Roselyn Gaudet McKay
Company: Ford Motor Company
Title: Electrical Quality Engineer
Roselyn joined Ford Motor Company more than 30 years ago and has served as process, reliability implementation and product development coach. As a Quality Engineer she work closely with Ford engineers in the analysis and identification of design and process improvement actions to mitigate system failures. In her spare time Roselyn enjoys career & life coaching and speaking at various forums where her goal is to encourage participants to explore issues and develop actionable outcome that will achieve or exceed their career and personal goals.
Panel: Courageous Risks for Amping Up Your Career
Moderated by Jessica Mattis, General Motors
A panel of diverse speakers will address how they have taken risks in their career, what they learned from these risks, and how they plan on continuing to take risks. Additionally we hope to address how diversity can be used as an advantage in developing your career, and how the Harvard Business Review describes “courage as being a skill.”.
Jessica Mattis
Company: General Motors
Title: Pre-Production Operations (PPO) Material and Production Control Manager
Jessica Mattis has demonstrated outstanding technical performance, as well as leadership in professional organizations (SWE) and the community, in the first 10+ years of her career.
Jessica has been active in Society of Women Engineers since she joined at University of Michigan-Ann Arbor in 2000 while completing her Bachelor's in Chemical Engineering. She completed her MBA in 2008 with honors at University of Michigan-Flint. She was a SWE nominee in the E-week competition for the 2009 “New Faces in Engineering”. She previously held several elected SWE-Detroit positions, has been a part of the professional development conference planning committee since 2005, and also volunteered for the SWE National Financeand Awards Committees. She is involved in General Motors’ Women In Manufacturing (WIM) where she was co-chair of the Pontiac Assembly chapter from 2007-2009, initiated re-starting the Orion Assembly chapter in 2010, and currently serves on the WIM Steering Committee for North America.
Due to these contributions Jessica has received the national SWE Distinguished New Engineer Award and the Region H Emerging Leader award in 2013. Her technical results and leadership capability have resulted in a series of promotions to be a successful production shift leader in manufacturing since 2011 and now materials manager in Pre-Production Operations at General Motors. Her energy comes from being grounded through church including being a Dynamic Catholic Ambassador.
Joan M. Hart
Company: ZF TRW - Active and Passive Safety Technology
Title: Vice President, Program Management
Joan Hart has been involved in engineering, program management and continuous improvement activities for more than 25 years. Currently, she is ZF TRW's Vice President of Program Management. In this role, Hart provides a central focus on the deployment of standard training, processes, tools and metrics for program management activities throughout the $13 billion automotive company division. Supported by functionally integrated project teams, which includes a global team of over 450 Program Managers, Hart is responsible for improving activities related to the product launch process.
Hart joined TRW in 2005 and has held several management roles in Business Excellence, Value Management, Cost Engineering and Program Management for the company’s Occupant Safety Systems, North American Steering and Central Quality organizations. She started her career at Honeywell Aerospace, where she worked for 16 years and held positions of increasing responsibility in Systems Engineering, New Business Development and Program Management.
Hart holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Chemical Engineering from Michigan Technological University and the University of Virginia. She also holds a Master's degree in Business Administration (Finance and Marketing) from Loyola Marymount University. Hart is an ASQ-Certified Black Belt and a PMI-Certified Project Management Professional.
Cheryl Thompson
Company: Ford Motor Company
Title: Global Prototype Manager for Powertrain Manufacturing Engineering
Cheryl joined Ford’s Food Service department in 1986. She completed a tool and die apprenticeship, later transitioning into Manufacturing Engineering. She continued her education, most recently receiving her MBA at MSU. Cheryl held various engineering and leadership positions in Stamping, Vehicle Operations, and is currently the Global Prototype Manager for Powertrain Manufacturing Engineering.
Sharon Pfeuffer
Company: DTE Energy
Title: Director of Engineering for Fossil Generation
Sharon has 30 years of power generation experience at 3 utilities. In her current role as Director and Chief Engineer, Fossil Generation, she oversees a team of 160 employees providing technical, project management, and laboratory support to the DTE generation fleet. She has also had many power plant technical and operational roles throughout her career. A graduate of the University of Michigan and the University of South Florida, she has degrees in Chemical Engineering and Engineering Management, is a PE, as well as a Blackbelt. She is on a non-profit Board and also supports several technical advisory groups.
Diana Ortega
Company: General Motors
Title: Quality Launch Manager - Chevrolet Volt
A native of Detroit, Michigan, Diana E. Ortega is currently the Quality Launch Manager for the Chevrolet Volt at the Detroit Hamtramck Assembly Center. In this role she is responsible for achieving quality targets and leads a quality team. She holds a Bachelors of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Detroit Mercy, and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Michigan-Flint. Additional to her role in quality she is an Executive Board Member of the GM Employee Resource Group, “GM HIT”. In the fall of 2014 she became the President of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Detroit Professional Chapter . Diana E. Ortega is a mother of two children and resides with her husband and family in Allen Park, MI.
Michael D. Walker
Company: DTE Energy
Title: Manager - Gas Operations
Michael has worked at DTE Energy for 10 1/2 years, he started in the First Line Leader program under Fossil Generation at Belle River Power Plant. Michael spent his first three years as a reliability supervisor before taking a one year assignment with the Strategy Group. He later worked as part of the Beachhead team on a Continuous Improvement project before returning to Belle River as a Fuel Supply and Unit Engineer. Michael also spent two years with Corporate Fuel Supply before transitioning to Gas Operations as a Manager. Michael earned a Bachelors in Electronics and Computer Technology, a Masters in Engineering Management, and a Masters of Business Administration.
Challenges Across Cultures: Effectively Completing a Project Outside the US
Claire Bourseleth
Company: TMB Consulting LLC
Title: President
Claire graduated from Wayne State University with both a Bachelors and Masters in Civil & Environmental Engineering. She has worked as a consultant for the last 15 years in various fields of construction and engineering. Since 2008, Claire has been a consultant to disaster recovery work with FEMA, City of New York and the City of New Orleans. Claire was a Peace Corps Volunteer serving as an engineer in Jamaica for two years. She has been active with EWB projects since 2013 and has traveled to El Salvador and Nicaragua.
Smooth Transmission: Optimal Load Management for Power Grids
Zhongyang (Joe) Zhao
Company: Wayne State University
Title: PhD Candidate
Joe is a PhD Candidate in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Wayne State. He received his Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Information Engineering in 2002 from South China University of Technology. Joe recieved the Honor award: The Summer Social Practice Award, The Advanced Personal of Guangzhou Asian Games (2011).
Joe is an active member of IEEE.