Joe Wimmer is the senior applications engineer of Electrical Systems at Gamma Technologies, a software provider for the automotive industry. GT builds software that allows original equipment manufacturers and suppliers to design, model and analyze their powertrain systems in a virtual environment, enabling them to reduce the total number of prototypes built and ultimately deliver better products to market faster.
Wimmer is also an EcoCAR 2 Challenge alumnus, representing the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology team. In this three-year collegiate engineering competition, spanning from 2011-14, students from 15 North American universities were tasked with reducing the environmental impact of the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu by improving its fuel efficiency and minimizing the vehicle’s emissions while retaining its performance and consumer appeal.
Let’s catch up with Wimmer in a Q&A
***
Q: How are you furthering the EV industry with your work in your role?
A: “In the age of electric vehicles, thermal management is crucial for success – not only are the powertrain components very temperature-sensitive, but heating and cooling the cabin can be energy-intensive. Maximizing EV range very quickly becomes a complex problem of energy and temperature management, requiring computer-aided engineering tools like GT-SUITE to run numerous what-if scenarios.”
Q: How do you hope Gamma Technologies’ sponsorship of the BattChallenge impacts not only the competition’s students but GT as a company for years to come?
A: “Today, training new engineers in GT software is often a part of the new employee onboarding at Gamma Technologies and (for) many of our customers. By providing our software for the Battery Workforce Challenge, we hope that the industry will be able to recruit young engineers out of college who already have GT experience and can hit the ground running day one in their career.”
Q: You’re an EcoCAR alumnus. In retrospect, how did your participation in EcoCAR help ready you for your current role at GT?
A: “While at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, I participated in years one and two of the EcoCAR 2 Challenge. Not only do I have very fond memories or that time, but it also helped me develop into a well-rounded engineer.
“One of the things that the Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions focus on is communication, both written and verbal, with written reports and presentations making up a huge portion of the competition scoring. I truly believe that communication skills are the difference between a good engineer and a great engineer, and I’m grateful that EcoCAR 2 gave me a space to develop these skills.”
Q: What legacy do you and GT hope to leave on the EV battery workforce?
A: “Trust. Trust in our models, trust in our people, trust that our software will continue to be best-in-class and push the boundaries of what’s possible with simulation.”
