Faces of GM

Jeff: Baby It’s Cold Outside. Really Cold!

March/3/2010 at 11:37 am

 Jeff Wolak, Controls Integration Engineer, Milford Proving Grounds

Ahoy Matey: When I’m not working, you’ll find me restoring one of my four boats. Right now, I’m working on a 1959 Carver Mahogany.
And the Emmy goes to: Law & Order and The Office. Love ‘em!
Break out the cowboy boots: Shooter Jennings is my all-time favorite musician, but I love all country and classic rock music.

A couple of weeks ago, I went up to Kapuskasing, Ontario, located nearly 750 miles north of Detroit. With temperatures regularly dropping as low as -30 degrees Celsius, I bet you’re wondering why on earth I would choose this frigid location for a winter getaway. First, let me give you some background on how I wound up here.

I grew up in Michigan, the son of a General Motors employee, and always knew I’d someday work at GM just like my dad. I’ve always had a fascination with cars and I thought my knack for tinkering with things made me a perfect fit for the industry. So I decided to attend Kettering University to study electrical engineering. While at Kettering, I completed a co-op at GM and I’ve been with the company ever since.

After 16 years, I’m now the Controls Integration Engineer for the Chevrolet Volt, the car that’s going to change driving as we know it. In this position, I make sure all of the controls and modules are functioning and working properly together, focusing mostly on the plug-in charging aspect of the vehicle. I’ll take the vehicle and drive it around until the battery is depleted and the engine generator kicks in. Then I’ll grab my laptop and record the charge process, looking at the AC energy from the wall,  temperature and voltage of the battery, and how long the whole process takes. If the system is not performing up to task, I’ll work with the appropriate engineers and make sure the issue is corrected so that we can meet our charging efficiency targets.

We test the Volt in all types of climates – from the extreme heat of Death Valley to the arctic conditions of Northern Canada – which is why I was in Kapuskasing recently.

It may sound like a winter vacation gone wrong to you, but for us, Kapuskasing is the ideal place to test the cold-weather durability of the Volt. Unlike other electric vehicles, the Volt is engineered for all seasons and all climates, and in the freezing temps of Kapuskasing, we monitor the battery’s performance and its ability to start, sustain a charge and maintain ideal temperature. There are 10 different engineers focused on specific areas of the battery systems –some work on the state of the charge determination, and others handle the thermal aspects of the battery. My job is to make sure all those pieces are functioning properly together and coordinate with the appropriate engineers when they’re not.

It’s an exciting time for me personally because the Volt is such a huge game-changer for GM and it’s important we get everything right the first time. We have a real team atmosphere, and everyone is willing to pitch in and help make sure we’re successful. It requires a lot of time and effort, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.