August 04, 2020
Automotive Graduate Student at University of Michigan Ann Arbor and Summer 2020 Battery Controls Intern at Rivian
MY STORY
Hometown: Chennai, India
The word adventurous has always had a special place in my dictionary. Adventure is to live, and I feel a new energy within myself every time I come back from a new place I have visited. My sense of adventure influences my decisions about where I should travel. After finishing my bachelor’s in electrical engineering, I started working as an electrical design engineer at Mahindra Research for three years, where I started to develop my passion for electric cars. I then chose to come to the University of Michigan for my master’s degree because it has been the motor capital of the world and is a hub for automotive research.
HOW I GOT STARTED
I have always been fascinated by EV technology. EV reduces the complexity of conventional vehicle systems. Over the years, many companies in California evolved EV battery technology. The main challenge with battery technology is increasing the range of use. Rivian has been doing exceptionally well in this area creating smaller, powerful battery packs. The courses I took during my master’s degree studies at U of M helped me understand the details of battery technology, learning about storage, modeling, and controls. These studies also helped lead me to my internship with Rivian.
One of the best things about U of M is its state-of-the-art technology courses. Most of the courses and the curriculum (GAME program) are totally updated as per the latest technology trends. This gives me confidence and hope when working at my internship with Rivian, where my work is focused on battery controls and I am able to apply the concepts from my courses daily.
MY INTERNSHIP AT RIVIAN
Since most of my internship involves simulation testing and coding, I haven’t missed much of an in-person internship experience. My team sits in California and I’m currently in Ann Arbor, so there is a time lag of three hours which gives me time to complete all my course work before I start my internship work for the day. My internship helps me further my career goals because I’m learning about real world design requirements, which includes testing and addressing variables such as weather, terrain and other dynamic factors. Even though I’m the only intern on my working team, Rivian connects all interns through its social network, keeping us busy and energetic by engaging us in fun team building activities. Other exciting ways Rivian engages its interns is through team huddles, where we get to know the leadership teams, learn more about their work experience, and the culture at Rivian. Their perspectives are really inspiring to me.
I recommend the internship experience at Rivian because the culture is collaborative and the team members are highly engaged. Rivian is also a great place for those who want to learn the nuts and bolts of automotive engineering because they are developing everything in house, building from a “clean sheet.”
Written by Priyanka Marudhavanan
