HEVT's Most Recent Grad heads to GM

Corey working with the battery pack from EcoCAR 1

Corey Robinson, HEVT’s most recent graduate, is now working at General Motors as a global lead design release engineer in the chassis electronics and controls group. Corey participated in both the EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge and the EcoCAR 2: Plugging In to the Future competitions. While with HEVT, he was a volunteer on the electrical subteam, and was one of the few electrical engineers on the team.

“I first got involved in Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions (AVTCs) after Lynn Gantt, one of the HEVT leaders from EcoCAR 1, told me about the program during our internships at GM,” Corey said. “He suggested that I get involved, so when I got back to school I began volunteering with the team.”

After he volunteered with the program, he decided to make it his senior design project for Virginia Tech. Corey was a team member when HEVT won first place in EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge. “It was really cool to see all the hard work and long hours pay off after we won,” Corey said. “I liked seeing all of the teams from around the country participating and working with one another.”

Corey (far right) with other EcoCAR 1 Year 3 members

Corey added, “A big part of the competition is learning from the mistakes the team made, those were some of the worst moments. When something destructive happened, the initial thought of ‘what do we do now’ was never good. It always ended with the team rallying together and fixing the problem.”

Corey acted as a mentor for the EcoCAR 2, Year 2 team during fall 2012. “His experience with building a car and participating in these kinds of competitions was very beneficial to the team,” said team leader Chris Manning. “We definitely miss him here, but know he’s doing great at GM.”

Corey (second from the left) at EcoCAR2 Year 1 competition

The AVTC program was very beneficial in preparing him for the real world and his current job. “By being exposed to many different environments and tasks while working with HEVT, I gained perspective for non-electrical thinking and problems,” Corey said. In addition to his time at HEVT Corey interned and did co-ops with General Motors for several summers before being hired.

Corey is living in Michigan now, and is adjusting to life after HEVT. In his spare time he wishes to start working on a power racing series with some other HEVT alumni at GM.