Meet Student Engineer Tom Gorgia
Meet Tom Gorgia, a student engineer at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Tom begins his junior year of school next month. I met Tom at the EcoCAR2 Year 2 Competition in May. He shares more about himself and his involvement with EcoCAR in this video and blog interview.
Tell us about yourself.
(When did you know you wanted to be an engineer? What got you interested in EcoCAR?)
“I became interested in engineering throughout high school while studying math and physics. I joined the Embry-Riddle EcoCAR team my freshman year from an informational meeting and have been very active ever since.”
Tell us about the EcoCAR2 project this year and your role on the team.
“This year for the Embry-Riddle EcoCAR team I had been responsible for developing mounts and working with the other students to get the Chevy Malibu CAD drawn as well as developed. I had assisted in fabrication as well as installation of mounts in both the CAD and the actual vehicle. I also developed a lift and procedure for our Energy Storage System.”
How did you use Siemens software on the project?
“Siemens software is used by the team on a daily basis. All the CAD is drawn in NX 7.5. Also in the third year of the EcoCAR program the Embry-Riddle EcoCAR team plans to utilized Teamcenter to allow for more CAD management within the team.”
Any lessons learned from EcoCAR2?
“I have learned plenty of lessons throughout the EcoCAR program. I have learned that engineering is not only problem solving but problem solving in a costly manner. I have learned also that there is more to development like weight management and making a vehicle that is a customer friendly vehicle.”
What advice would you give students considering engineering as a career?
“The biggest piece of advice for someone looking to get into engineering is to get active in a project to gain real world experience.”
Thanks Tom and good luck in year 3 of the competition!
Learn more about EcoCAR on the Green Garage blog. Check out more of these stories in our future engineer series.
– Dora
