Nick Goberville recently joined Argonne National Laboratory as the AVTC Connected & Automated Vehicle (CAV) Research Engineer to lead the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge CAV teams for the remainder of the series.
Goberville is a graduate from Western Michigan University with a Ph.D. and B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. Goberville’s primary research interest is on automated driving perception & controls, CAVs energy analysis, and automated systems.
Goberville grew up just one hour south of Argonne. As a child, he was interested in math and science and fascinated by space. Nick would often spend his evenings sitting outside and looking at the stars. Because of these nights stargazing, Goberville began listening to podcasts about space and science, which sparked his interest in mechanical engineering.
While at Western Michigan University, Goberville was involved in multiple projects and research areas as a member of the Energy Efficient and Autonomous Vehicles (EEAVs) Lab. He participated in the 2019 Michigan Mobility Challenge titled New Autonomous Mobility Vision for Michigan, which challenged students to deploy two autonomous electric shuttles to fill a mobility gap for individuals with disabilities on Western Michigan University’s campus.
The following year, Goberville continued participation in the next Michigan Mobility Challenge, where students developed a vehicle to navigate from the Detroit airport to the Cobo Center in downtown Detroit for the North American International Auto show in 2020. Goberville developed a low-cost mapping solution that was needed for driving autonomously on the highway. Goberville co-led the integration of all sensors onto the vehicle and developed the sensor fusion algorithm for detecting an in-lane vehicle ahead. Additionally, he led his own research project which involved commercialization goals of a computer vision algorithm that he developed for improving perception of automated driving systems in snow-covered road conditions.
Goberville is excited to take on new research projects at Argonne and work with students involved in the EcoCAR program.
When asked why he chose to begin his career with Argonne, with AVTCs specifically, Goberville said, “I chose Argonne because of the strong foundation in science and research that occurs here.” He added, “I have always been passionate in trying to understand our world and to develop advanced technology based on these understandings.”
With a strong desire to teach and inspire students, Goberville is looking forward to the educational environment that AVTCs provide.
“After recently graduating and participating in various hands-on research projects, I see how impactful student-led competitions like AVTCs can be for education, experience, and to develop a passion for what you do.” He added, “With the AVTC team, I am able to be a mentor to students, do foundational research to advance mobility technology, and be around some of the smartest and most talented engineers and scientists in the world.”
The recent CAV Testing Event at TRC was Goberville’s first in-person event for EcoCAR. This proved to be an excellent learning experience for both him and teams as it was a step to ensure success at final competition in May.
“It was exciting to see team vehicles in action at the latest EcoCAR CAV Testing Event at TRC,” said Goberville. “I was impressed with how much progress each team has made on their vehicle and the outcome of the test runs of competition events. Going forward, my main priority is to prepare our teams with their CAV capabilities for the Year 4 Competition next month,” he added.
Goberville’s passion for advanced mobility research and education has made him an excellent addition to the EcoCAR AVTC team. Since joining AVTCs, he has been able to learn and understand more about the CAV technology that teams use for their own vehicles and is excited to see their technology deployed at competition.
