GE Global Research asked some of our interns to share why they wanted to work here and what they’ve learned during their experience. This is the first in a series of intern blogs, Here’s what Maya Nath had to say…
When writing this blog post, we were asked to keep a few questions in mind: Why GE/GRC? What did you hope to learn this summer? What did you work on, and how did it relate to school? Well, I’ll start off by saying, why not GE? Who wouldn’t want to experience working for a global leader across various industries, and to top it off, working at Global Research, a world-class research facility? As a rising graduate student, I was practically salivating at the thought of this internship, and was ecstatic when I received an offer! (I may or may not have danced around my house when I got the email!)
My past work experience includes a summer internship at the production facility of another big company and the world of academia. At Global Research, I was introduced to research, learned how to ask questions, developed hands-on skills, and interacted with professionals not only in the engineering discipline, but in business and finance. Coming into this internship, I was ready to see the life cycle of industrial research – how technology prompts applications and vice versa, how businesses interact with an R&D facility, and what contributes to the advancement of technology.
Let me say, GRC has not disappointed! I have been working on an Advanced Technology project – looking at metal structures built by Direct Metal Laser Melting, an additive manufacturing process. With my background in materials science and engineering, which is predicated on the “structure-properties-processing-performance” tetrahedron, I was excited to hit the ground running. I have been trying to understand the structures by using metallographic techniques and image analysis, and correlate them to laser processing parameters. To understand the material properties, I have been coordinating and facilitating chemical, thermal and surface analyses of the bulk powder we are using.
In addition to the technical work, I have had the opportunity to meet and interact with so many great people. From the team I work with daily, to others across the organizations, I have had some thought-provoking conversations. In addition to discussing work and career paths, people have shared their life experiences – from school, to family life, and major decisions they may have made. The people who work here and succeed have a passion for what they do. They are excited to come to work and tackle new problems. I have two weeks left of my internship and intend to enjoy every minute I have!
Maya Nath is a PhD pre-candidate studying Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan. She has been working as a 2014 summer intern in the High Temperature Alloys & Processing Lab at GE Global Research.
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