Many great engineers have started their careers in the Embry-Riddle EcoEagles Green Garage. Two of the finest, Brian Harries and Townsend Hyatt, set a high standard for their fellow EcoEagles engineers to uphold. “The team leads of yesteryear set a work ethic standard that has yet to be surpassed,” former team leader Ken Leslie said. “The team worked like a well-oiled (green!) machine.”
Townsend Hyatt poses with a check from General Motors for his EcoCAR teamHarries, the EcoEagles overall team leader during Year One of EcoCAR 2: Plugging In to the Future, joined the program as a senior design student in the winter of 2010. According to Harries, the experience he gained through his involvement in EcoCAR opened a lot of doors for him. “I got hands-on experience solving relevant real world problems while applying the latest engineering tools and industry practices. This allowed me to get involved in my job right away,” he said.
Hyatt first came into the program as a controls team member of EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge and moved up to become the mechanical team lead during EcoCAR 2 Year One. Like all students involved with the Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions, Hyatt gained real-world experience relevant to today’s auto industry. “I believe that EcoCAR is one of the main reasons I have my job today,” Hyatt said. “It taught me to not only how to be an engineer, but also how to be part of a team and have effective communication within that team.”
Brian Harries being interviewed during EcoCAR: The NeXt ChallengeSince the competition, both Harries and Hyatt have gone to use the skills they learned as members of the EcoEagles in their careers. Harries is currently an HIL Integration Engineer at General Motors‘ Advanced Technology Center in Torrance, California and Hyatt is a Systems Engineer at Sandia National Laboratories.
