During my time at CU-ICAR I was able to grow intellectually and as a person. I was able to pursue topics that were of interest to me and was given many opportunities to improve my knowledge through projects both big and small. Throughout my entire time at CU-ICAR I was able to work with external companies such as BMW and Michelin, through both internships and projects. CU-ICAR’s hosted many presentations with industry and academic leaders and provided several opportunities for me to attend technical conferences around the US. All of these opportunities allowed me to develop my personal networks to a level that wouldn’t have been achievable without their support. It was these networks that undoubtedly led me to career with Michelin that I have today.

CU-ICAR has been instrumental in helping me pursue my professional goals and preparing me for the challenging career in the field of automobiles. Specifically, the systems approach that I developed while working on the Deep Orange project played a key role in my hiring at a major global OEM, FIAT Chrysler Automobiles. The diverse group of students from around the world and a great faculty and staff provided an atmosphere conducive for learning and developing new ideas and concepts. With the experience and skillsets I accumulated during my time at CU-ICAR, I can honestly say that choosing CU-ICAR was the best career decision I have ever made.

The primary reason I chose CU-ICAR to pursue my career goal was because of its collaboration with the automotive industry and the industry focused research projects driven by the automotive engineering faculty members. My entire research project was based at the BMW manufacturing plant and the research was directly applicable to the manufacturing processes upon completion. The facilities at CU-ICAR were industry standard and the transition to an industry role became seamless for that very reason. After working for 11 years after the Master’s degree program, I could not have chosen a better program to pursue an industry relevant Ph.D. in Automotive Engineering.