Faces of GM

Gery: Standardizing the Industry, One Charge at a Time

April 13, 2010 at 8:03 am

Gery Kissel, Engineering Specialist, Global Battery Systems Engineering

I’m an amateur: Amateur astronomer, that is! At the end of the day, there’s nothing I like more than looking up at the night sky and viewing the moon and planets with one of my telescopes.  I also observe objects such as the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle when they fly overhead.

I’m teaching my kids to fly: I like to go to the local park and fly battery-powered, radio-controlled airplanes.  This spring I plan to teach my kids how to keep them in the air longer between crashes!

Reading the fine print: I like to read anything related to astronomy, space or anything that flies!

I grew up in Dearborn, Mich., and, though I come from a family of autoworkers, I never planned on working in the industry. I obtained my bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan and my master’s in Engineering Science from Purdue University. Immediately after college, I went to work in the nuclear power field. Realizing it wasn’t for me, I went to work for a GM competitor within their electric vehicles program. The program ended up not working out, but I had gained enough experience that I was offered a position at GM in their EV1 program as a wiring engineer. I worked on high voltage wiring and electrical interface analysis. Basically, I was responsible for designing the high voltage wiring on the vehicle. Though the EV1 program was eventually dropped, it paved the way for future innovation at GM.

In the late 1990s, the government led a competition challenging automakers to create a vehicle that would achieve 80 miles-per-gallon. Not surprisingly, GM was the only company to succeed and accomplish its goal. The result? The two-electric-motor, one-diesel-engine, Precept Hybrid. I was fortunate enough to be on the team as an electrical systems manager.

Now I’m working on the Chevy Volt as a charging systems lead engineer where I’m writing codes and standards for the wiring and charging components of the vehicle. I was actually recognized recently with an SAE 2010 Technical Standards Board Outstanding Contribution Award for my work in the technical committee activities. Standards work is important because it makes the vehicle safer and it puts requirements in place for future trailblazing. In addition to standards writing, I also work with electric utilities and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to ensure we have all of the requirements necessary for the power grid to handle the charging capacity.

Throughout my time at GM I have been fortunate to have been inspired by some outstanding leaders and mentored by many great engineers.  I feel like I’m in a unique position because, after 14 years with the company, I’ve seen GM’s innovation evolve all the way from the EV1 to the 2011 Chevrolet Volt.