Cal State LA & Cerritos College
About
California State University, Los Angeles is partnering with Cerritos College to compete in the three-year Battery Workforce Challenge collegiate competition.
Mission
Our mission as the California State University, Los Angeles–Cerritos College Charging Eagles Battery Workforce Challenge team is to educate and train the next generation of engineers and vocational specialists in EV battery pack design, build, and maintenance. We are providing hands-on experience and cross-disciplinary collaboration through the designing, building, testing and integration of a battery pack into a production Stellantis vehicle. By building a partnership between Cal State LA and Cerritos College, we will create a lasting pipeline of EV workers in Southern California.
Goals
- Goal No. 1: Consolidate our team at Cerritos College by recruiting 10 new students and maintaining active engagement with at least 20 students. Through technical workshops and engagement campaigns each semester, we aim to showcase the team's projects, learning opportunities and benefits, fostering dedicated participation.
- Goal No. 2: Build a high-quality battery pack module by completing in-house software and hardware designs and contracting a specialist for cell welding. We aim to finalize the building and testing by the end of year two, achieving a technically robust module. Success will be measured by meeting performance benchmarks in durability, safety and efficiency, positioning us strongly in the competition.
- Goal No. 3: Achieve a 60 percent retention rate among internal volunteers by tracking each member's tasks, providing regular project updates and organizing technical and social events. Our team's Project Management swimlane will foster connection and commitment, ensuring consistent involvement and team satisfaction.
Team Members
Luis Arias
Vehicle Systems Integration Lead
Cal State LA
Isabel Builes
Project Manager
Cal State LA
Brian Castillo
Engineering Manager
Cal State LA
Ritchie Chavez
Vocational Deputy
Cerritos College
Arthur Espinoza
Thermal Lead
Cal State LA
Mario Medina
Lead Faculty Advisor
Cal State LA
Nidavone Niravanh
Lead Safety Advisor
Cal State LA
Barnabas Novak
Vocational Liaison
Cal State LA
Madison Reddy
Assistant Project Manager
Cal State LA
Masood Shahverdi
Faculty Advisor
Cal State LA
Nathaniel Tan
Battery Pack Software Lead
Cal State LA
Raymond Tran
Battery Pack Hardware Lead
Cal State LA
Get Involved
We have several opportunities for students to get more involved with our team including internships, paid positions and leadership roles. All opportunities and club meetings will be posted on Discord, Teams and our team’s social media pages, including Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. We also will send an email to interested students about general meetings and announcements. Explore more ways to get involved:
- Available positions:
- Battery electronics team member
- Instrumentation/software team member
- Thermal management team member
- Mechanical team member
- University liaison
- General meetings: General meetings are held every other Tuesday at
- Cal State LA: From 3-4 p.m. at the ECST B13 Garage
- Cerritos College: From 4-5 p.m. at the MESA Center LC 173
- Project-specific meetings:
- Project Management: Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to noon at Cal State LA’s ECST B13 Garage
- Thermal Management: Wednesdays from 2-3 p.m. at Cal State LA’s ECST B13 Garage
- Vehicle Integration Systems: Fridays from 9-10 a.m. at Cal State LA’s B13 Garage
- Battery Electrics/Hardware: Tuesdays from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Cal State LA’s ECST A209
- Instrumentation/Software: Fridays from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. at Cal State LA’s ECST B13 Garage.
- Cerritos College Events: Volunteer at Cerritos College’s recruitment event, present the BattChallenge opportunity to Cerritos College students, and join one of our five swimlanes, which include Hardware, Project Management, Software and Vehicle Systems Integration
- ECST Events: Volunteer at the ECST’s Charging Eagles table during ECST events and designated tabling times. Get insight on the outreach portion of the club and get some swag.
- Internships: Opportunities will be available in the spring 2025 semester and they include a Project Management internship, Engineering Management internship, Battery Pack Software internship and BattScholar internship.
- Paid Positions: In the fall 2025 semester, we will have a few available paid positions including an engineering manager, project manager, assistant project manager, vocational liaison and university liaison for Cerritos college.
- Workshops: We will provide various subdivision workshops and experiences compressing high voltage systems, battery cycling, battery thermal runaway, Matlab, Simulink, Solid Works, Siemens NX Software, Simscape, thermal analysis simulations, resumes and cover letters and much more.
