Gustavo Alvarez
B.S. 2017 Mechanical Engineering; Global Poverty and Practice minor
1st year Ph.D. student, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University
Hometown: Freeville, New York
Job description
In February 2021, I completed a three-year leadership development rotational program with a global power engineering company called Eaton. With Eaton I had the opportunity to work as an OPEX engineer in the San Francisco site; as a quality engineer in Raleigh, NC; and as a design engineer in Asheville, NC. A few of my responsibilities were to: design custom low-voltage switchgear components to improve productivity; develop comprehensive retro-fit installation guides for Eaton field service engineers; conduct containment, corrective, and preventative actions for major aerospace, military, and information technology companies; initiate various 8D problem-solving methodology reports with China and coordinate the transition of new production in the Philippines.
Current project that excites you
I have recently transitioned from working with Eaton and have started a Ph.D. program in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University. We are currently using a laser-based thermal diffusivity system that allows us to measure ultra-thin semiconductor samples of the order of nanometers. I am currently investigating the thickness dependence (ranging from 200nm-3microns) and the growth methods of aluminium nitride for thermal management and energy conversion applications. This is exciting because I have the opportunity to work with tools like atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopes to measure at the nanoscale and to visualize the individual atoms of our samples!
Skills learned at Cal
At Eaton we use Inventor, SOLIDWORKS, AutoCAD and a few other programs to design our switchgear; so I am extremely glad Cal provided me with a great foundation of these programs. At Cal I participated in LeaderShape and was a member of Hispanic Engineers and Scientists, which provided me with the leadership skills to lead meetings concerning product enhancements at Eaton, and now at Cornell, to formulate a plan of action and work with collaborators to grow our semiconductor samples.
Something few people know
I was born with one kidney.
Book or movie you loved
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
Current food obsession
Pad see ew. My wife and I studied abroad in Thailand and we have brought the Thai food obsession back to NY.
Favorite form of exercise
Skiing (lots of snow in NY)
Fondest memory from Cal
A group of Cal students and other UC students studied abroad in Thailand, and I remember we traveled to an island together. As we were having dinner with the sun setting over the ultra-clear blue water I could not help but think “wow aren’t we blessed, having the opportunity to experience a whole new culture, study their language and religion (Theravada Buddhism). This is what college is all about.”
Class or professor that changed your thinking
Dr. Khalid Kadir is one of the most down to earth professors I have ever had. We kept in touch after I graduated from UC Berkeley and during my three years at Eaton; he also guided me through the PhD application process. I remember asking him if we could meet for coffee at Café Milano, since I was having an existential crisis about enduring engineering. He helped me see that although engineering at Cal was exceptionally difficult, engineering was where my passions were. He helped me realize that I eventually wanted to start a lab with an emphasis on diversity.
Advice for your 20-year-old self
TAKE IT SLOW. There is so much time and no need to rush your education. Instead of taking four technical courses in one semester, take less and strive. Don’t overburden yourself with too many extracurricular activities, eventually finding that you don’t have time to enjoy those activities.
What keeps you enthusiastic about your job
My emphasis in research is sustainable energy, specifically optimizing solar cells to increase the production and implementation of solar energy. In our lab, the ZT Group, we focus on nano heat transfer and implement a laser based system to explore the thermal properties of thin films of the order of 200nm. I’m excited to investigate novel methods of growing these thin films and explore how they affect thermal transport, thereby, increasing the pool of knowledge to the point where we find a growth method or material combination which could alter solar energy or change the focus from Si in the semiconductor industry.
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