What new skills have you learned since the beginning of your internship ?
During my 9 months internship at UPEL, I have acquired a diverse skill set including but not limited to:
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• Learned Altium Designer and assisted in viewing and modifying PCB and finding ways to enhance designs.
• Performed 3D low frequency electrostatic, eddy-current, magnetostatic simulations in Ansys Maxwell
• Used the spectrum analyzer NF-5035 to conduct a four points measurements in accordance to the ICNIRP standards related to magnetic field exposure to protect against adverse health effects.
• Modified a MATLAB code that calculates the magnetic-coupling between coils & self-inductance for a rectangular coil based on Nuemann's formula.
• Performing routine project tasks in support of the Electrical Engineering team: data analysis, order parts/materials
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How did people from diverse backgrounds work with each other? What did that teach you ?
Since most of my research assistant coworkers were international students who earned a scholarship to pursue a PhD at USU, I had a chance to interact with people from diverse nationalities ( Serbia, Iran , Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Turkey ). UPEL is an AAEO employer, an environment in which every individual has an opportunity to learn, work, and contribute, and where full coherence and respect for all people encourages creativity and productivity. This taught me being open to different ideas and approaches and appreciating the diversity and to always direct my efforts towards a common goal.
How does this internship relate to your long-term educational or career goals?
Although the internship was beneficial for me on both a personal and professional level where I achieved "impressive" results as my mentor and professor Dr. Pantic states in his recommendation, the nature of the job I held was research oriented whereas I am more interested in a position at an engineering firm whether it being an automotive, construction, power generation or electronics industry. I want to spend my career where the horizon is always expanding, and there is always new territory to cover.
How would you describe the culture at your internship site ?
Being successful goes beyond accomplishing the tasks you are assigned on time. A very important aspect of the job that is often overlooked is building relationships with people around you and respecting every individual. At UPEL, this not only helped me making a good impression, but I have also gained the respect of others. Everyone went out their way to help me and answer my questions. At UPEL, individuals who took initiative and were ready to accept new challenges and lead other members of the team were highly valued. Ryan Bohm, the lab manager always emphasized the importance of communication and speaking up with you see something wrong during the process. This environment made me comfortable at work and gave me a motivation to work harder and smarter.