The challenge I currently face at my internship is keeping up with the requirements for documentation at GA. Writing this design document is proving to be quite a challenge due to its need for extreme specificity. A challenge faced a number of years ago by my mentors Co-Worker Ed Ortiz was working on a Hybrid DC (Direct Current) circuit breaker. The Navy was interested in putting a DC power distribution system on their ships, and the key component for power distribution is a circuit breaker. DC power has a problem with breakers. If the contact (switch) opens the electricity arcs across the contacts because of the high amperage going through it. The flow of electricity is so high that the electricity wants to jump the cables. They developed a system to redirect some of the electricity using electromagnets and a certain form of transistor. They succeeded in interrupting 25,000 amps in 500 microseconds (half of a millisecond). This had never been done before.
I've been looking around other peoples internship blogs for some time now but what I found interesting was how similar some other peoples work experiences have been. I commented on one of Joshua McCuin's posts, one of Udeema Shakya's posts, and one of Timothy Matista's posts. I think Tim had one of the closest experiences to mine, I know a solder station when I see one!
My role in General Atomics is very straight forward. I see how things have gone from me being introduced to their system and how they handle projects to handling my own engineering project and making sure everything is in order. I still shadow Justin and he takes me to see different facilities. On certain days I work with Justin's friends or meet someone new. I am still considered an intern but everyone is very friendly. Overall I have learned a lot and but there is still so much more for me to learn.
The social factor is very interesting at General Atomics. It's a unique combination of both isolated office setting and a friendly environment where everyone knows each other. Some people work in offices, while others have cubicles in a larger room. Co-workers generally stop by and say hello for a conversation. Sometimes it's work related and sometimes it's not. Generally the atmosphere is like any other office, but there is always someone stopping by to refresh the mood. Their work is impacted by this because it keeps the job from becoming over the top stressful. When someone stops by to say hello it takes away from monotany of some of the tasks required in the engineering field.
Its almost my second week of being here, and we've established the project I am going to be working on. General Atomics has alotted me $100 dollars to build anything I like (within logical boundaries of course), so we have decided to build a rocket launch controller modeled after a Titan III launch panel. It should look similar to this but inside a briefcase: The one catch to me building my own device with General Atomics' resources is that I must follow their procedures for designing and building it. This means I have to lay out a system design document and then work through the phases of what has to be done. I had to read General Atomics' manuals for designing and working through projects. This template is not an official General Atomics document, however it functions for what my requirements are: This project will require me to use my creative skills, technical skills which inclues meeting IPC (industrial) standards, design skills, and a lot of patience.
How this benefits the company is probably the most interesting response. If anything they have done an excellent job in outreach by getting their name out to our school. And by building a device with their name on it I am advertising their brands quality assurance standards. Additionally they have made me consider what a career at GA might be like, and in the future I know they will be looking for new members in their workforce. General Atomics does a lot of work in defense, so its easy to say that our military benefits from the work being done here. However General Atomics is not only beneficial to the Department of Defense, GA also works in the commercial side of the industry meaning companies who require reliable equipment can turn to them for certain services. For instance nuclear power plants often turn to General Atomics to calibrate and test their radiation monitoring equipment, or to handle work on electrical systems in older nuclear reactors. These are often TRIGA reactors which stands for Training Research Isotopes General Atomics, which were actually developed by GA in the 1950s and headed by famous physicist Freeman Dyson. They are also doing work in Nuclear Fusion which is the opposite of the principle used on traditional nuclear reactors. These fusion reactors have no possibility of melting down and are still in development. General Atomics operates one of the few fusion reactors in the world. Theirs is known as DIII-D or D3-D. They have also done work for the new ITER system being built in France. It is needless to say that their work in fusion technology is one that benefits the world as a whole., and in the future fusion may provide clean and safe power for the whole world. Here is a public photo of the winding process for the enormous electromagnetic coils used inside ITER or International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor.
In the office next to where I reside is a man named Gerald Silke. He is a Senior Staff Engineer here at General Atomics. He attended Oregon State, and a masters in mechanical engineering. General Atomics is the 4th company he's working for. He has worked at General Atomics for 30 years now. Gerald enjoys mechanical design. He's been an engineering manager, and worked in product development designing new products. He loves this company so much he refuses to retire and still works here part-time. Here are a few projects he's worked on: His first project was DEMIL: A robotic system for destroying obsolete munitions. Primarily chemical munitions (Sarin, Mustard Gas, Chlorine, Etc). The robotic system handles the munitions and puts them through an incinerator ultimately destroying the munition and the chemical agent. Left is a photo of a chemical munitions stockpile holding mustard gas artillery shells. These munitions would be similar to what the DEMIL program would have dismantled. Right is a photo of a modern robotic dismantlement robot. This robot also dismantles munitions and gives a look as to what the original machinery looked like. He also worked on a robotic system for cleaning engine parts for aircraft. Aircraft Engine Manifold Cleaning System/Cell. It was a robotic system with a conveyor belt and had different tanks for cleaning solutions. He showed me a photo of the robot cleaning a now retired F-111 Aardvark for the United States Air Force. This is a photo of an F-111 Aardvark, this is the type of aircraft that used General Atomics' fuel tank cleaning system. Though no longer used, it is interesting to think that GA developed robotic cleaning solutions to make servicing the aircraft more efficient.
As my first week of internship comes to a close I have seen quite a few things, I think what I found most surprising is the fact that I'm in the loop after just 3 days of being here. My mentor and his colleagues treat me very respectfully and almost as if I'm a full time employee. I'm very happy with how it's going and something that surprised me was what I got to see during my tours. I've been in laboratories storing radioactive materials, and been around machines that hold incredible amounts of electricity. These machines handle so much energy that they have to put a physical barrier between the two metal contacts to keep the electricity from arcing over. The fact that I get to see and hear about these things on a daily basis is what really surprises me.
Our mission is to develop transformational electromagnetic technologies and deliver products that exceed customer expectations. This mission statement is reflected everywhere around the building, especially when I see schematics that have been revised time and time again. The level of quality assurance is visible when I read about the steps they take when designing a product for customers. Everything from how it's conceptualized to how it's finalized is assessed critically. It shows the standards of quality their products uphold, so much so that the government entrusts them to do engineering work for them.
My mentor is Justin Stricula. He is an electrical engineer here at General Atomics: Electromagnetic Systems and is working on GA's Gulftronic program. Here is more about him: " I always knew I wanted to be an engineer. When I was in high school, my father spoke with someone at his office to help determine what type. They stated there would be a need for electrical engineers, so I went that route through Purdue University in Indiana. I also liked electronics, and audio. I figured I’d be an audio equipment designer. But as reality worked out, I ended up in the military/avionic industry designing brushless DC motor controllers. It turned out to be pretty good. My first year out of college landed me just outside of NYC for the summer of 2001, then Switzerland for a year, then northern Los Angeles to almost two years, then Charlotte, North Carolina for eight. After 9 years with that company, I moved over to retail security to improve my engineering skill sets faster. Two years after that I was offered a job at General Atomics, so I moved to San Diego in 2013. Always good to maintain relationships with colleagues. One main reason GA called me is because the guy who hired me went to school with someone who did contract work for my first company. He suggested me when his friend asked if he knew anyone with a skillset I just happened to have."
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Internship
I am an intern at General Atomics: Electromagnetic Systems. Author11th grade student pursuing a career in engineering Disclaimer
Due to the the level of security here cameras or recording devices are not authorized within the facility. No photographs, videos, or audio will be posted besides anything available publicly online. Archives
February 2017
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