Katherine Olives
The Electrical Engineering (EE) team is one of the 3 engineering pods here at the Zahn Center. EE is a subfield of engineering that works with electricity. Electrical engineers can work on a variety of things from circuit components, to different electrical control systems, to tiny microchips. Here at the Zahn Center, the electrical engineering pod focuses on both personal and client projects that involve electrical work. For example, theyre currently working on a life-sized replica of an R2D2 robot for a client that can be controlled through the voice controlled assistant Alexa, bluetooth, and remote control.
As a long running member of the Zahn Center team, Salam Elhabi, assistant engineer, is no stranger to daily life at Zahn. Shes been a part of the team since June of 2017. During her senior year at CCNY, she joined Zahn Center as an apprentice and quickly moved her way up to the position of senior apprentice. After graduation she took a small break and then came back to CCNY for a second degree, and now supports the Zahn Center as an assistant engineer. In her downtime she also enjoys making music, playing the trumpet, and being as involved as possible in campus affairs.
Zahn: What do you consider your specific responsibilities?
Salam: Im the assistant electrical engineer, but my apprentices do most of the hands on work. I help them mitigate problems, supervise when I need to, and if theres a problem, I give them hints to the solution. I feel like a doctor sometimes because they come to me with problems, and we have to figure out how to solve them.
Zahn: What does a typical day look like for your pod?
Salam: Were split into different groups, depending on the day Id oversee different tasks. Well spend a typical day tweaking issues and trying to google solutions to problems well have with projects. Well also brainstorm together to try to come up with solutions. For example, for our current R2D2 project. we wanted to install a personal assistant in-house. We had a lot of trouble using google assistant. As much as we tried to tweak some of the issues, we had to make the decision to switch to Alexa.
Zahn: What about your biggest accomplishment?
Salam: One of our favorite projects was when a client wanted a detachable light attachment for running shoes. The client wanted it to be detachable so that itd fit into almost all types of shoes. The product also had to be waterproof, and easily seen in the dark. It took us two semesters to complete it, but it was the first time ever that the designs were totally student made. Usually well show a client mockups and theyll choose a design. This time they completely designed it themselves and made it themselves. It was the best experience seeing how far theyve come.
In the future€¦
The Electrical Pod will take on more personal projects for clients and startups. They will also continue to use their innovation skills to complete more in-house projects. This will allow things to run smoother for both the Makerlab and Zahn Center. For its apprentices, the goal is to work on certification programs, licenses, and sponsorships that will give them a leg up in the professional engineering world.
Want to become an apprentice? Apply for the Spring 2020 Apprenticeship program and gain experience and skills in the electrical, manufacturing, CAD, or marketing pods.Applications are now open, and you can apply here: zahncenternyc.com/apprenticeship