Justin Kern’s involvement with Advance Vehicle Technology Competitions (AVTCs) has come full circle since his start in 2002. After graduating from West Virginia University, in which he was involved with the FutureCar team, he began his career at Argonne National Laboratory.
Justin was a technical coordinator for both the General Motors and Ford FutureTruck programs. “I had experience as a mechanical engineer from my education, and helped administer all of the technical testing and vehicle tests in those programs,” he said.
Justin currently works for Bosch as a project lead engineer in the engineer calibration group. “My role at Bosch is largely keeping track of a customer project that we provide engine calibration support services to, administering a lot of technical testing and providing service to the customer,” he said.
Bosch, a sponsor of the EcoCAR 2, gives Justin the ability to participate in the AVTCs once more. He currently judges the mechanical design presentation and also reviews the teams’ presentation for the vehicle’s mechanical subsystems. “We’re happy to be back as a sponsor and to help develop future engineers with these same skills,” said Justin. He also added that Bosch’s sponsorship allows the company to recruit students in the competition that are ready to enter the job market.
“As a sponsor, we have the opportunity to interact with the students on each team and get a feel for where they are in their education,” said Justin.
Watch how Justin has evolved over the years since his days as a FutureCar student to sponsor:
