Raunak Chatterjee,
Process Engineer,
Freescale Semiconductor
Electricity has long been a source of fascination for people—some
more so than others. For Raunak Chatterjee that attraction dates back
to middle school. “My interest in studying electricity began with
a middle-school physics class, but it was my dad’s work in a research
and development department of a surface engineering firm in India that
sparked my choice of engineering as a career,” he remembers.
Recalling his father’s active involvement in the scientific community,
coupled with the many stories about engineering challenges his father
shared with the family, Chatterjee acknowledges that influence on his
life began at an early age. “Once I chose electrical engineering
as a major, I couldn’t wait to get started and I kept that major
as an undergraduate in India and when I transferred to Arizona State
University,” he comments. Recognized as an “Outstanding
Electrical Engineering Student” by Arizona State for his active
participation within and outside the classroom, he graduated in 1999.
Deciding to continue his education, Chatterjee enrolled in graduate
school. By the time he earned a master’s degree in electrical
engineering from the University of Texas, Austin, in 2001, he had successfully
completed a co-op with Freescale Semiconductor and was offered a full-time
position.
Explaining that Freescale Semiconductor (www.freescale.com),
headquartered in Austin, TX, manufacturers embedded processors for applications
in vehicles, computer networks, industrial equipment, mobile phones,
and numerous other consumer products for well-known consumer brand names,
Chatterjee began his tenure as a process engineer at the Oak Hill fabrication
facility. Three years later, he transferred to the Austin Technology
and Manufacturing Center, where he is currently a process engineer in
the etch group.
Ensuring that production devices meet or exceed customer expectations,
Chatterjee is further charged to make certain that needed machinery
runs properly and that processed materials meet quality standards. “On
a daily basis, my team and I strive to enhance quality, reduce operating
costs, improve processes, and make operations more efficient,”
says Chatterjee who, along with Freescale’s 23,000-person workforce,
enjoys the challenging environment in which they work.
According to Chatterjee, “One of the biggest work-related challenges
I and other engineers encounter is being able to communicate effectively
in a diverse environment. Although we are taught to work in teams as
students, the diversity in educational and cultural backgrounds is significantly
greater outside of school. It took me quite a while to adapt to this
environment, and to realize what it would take for me to deliver my
message effectively.”
His recommendation for encouraging members of minority groups to pursue
electrical engineering is clear. “Those who want to build the
next generation of technological devices must be convinced, early-on,
that they want to pursue a scientific profession. A college degree in
electrical engineering offers excellent prospects for employment, as
well as providing years of intensive and exciting learning as well,”
he states.
Stressing that learning for electrical engineers does not—and
should not—stop after graduation, Chatterjee applauds the many
opportunities Freescale provides for continuing education, including
online access to technical publications from the Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). “This information is highly
valuable to stay abreast of new developments,” he states. On the
cultural side, Chatterjee welcomes the company’s commitment to
inclusiveness. The Asian Cultural Team, of which he is a member, is
active at work and in the community. “I particularly enjoyed a
recent four-day group-sponsored Asian-American Film Festival that featured
Asian and Asian-American movies and documentaries,” he reports.
Active in the community at large as well, he participates in Freescale’s
annual build and launch a model rocket celebration at a local elementary
school. “It’s important to encourage students to keep things
in perspective. If they learn that lesson while they are young, they
have a better chance to maintain a proper work/life balance as they
grow into adulthood,” he concludes.
David Rene Olivencia,
Director, Enterprise Solutions Group (ESG),
Oracle Corporation
Born of Puerto Rican parents, David Rene Olivencia grew up on the South
Side of Chicago. “The inner city and urban environments are tough
places to grow up, but they give people of color an appreciation for
certain things and a perspective that can be a strength,” he remarks.
Recalling an early interest in math, science, and computers, he also
remembers his grandmother questioning his future aspirations and suggesting
professional careers. “With that expectation in mind, I focused
on engineering, especially when I learned that engineers, at the time,
earned $35,000.00 a year. That equaled the salaries of both my parents
combined,” says Olivencia, a 1994 electrical engineering graduate
of top ranked Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, IN.
In 2004, he earned an MBA from the University of Notre Dame, followed
by completing the Harvard Business School/HACR, Corporate Governance
Program two years later.
Joining 75,000-employee, Redwood Shores, CA-headquartered Oracle Corporation
(www.oracle.com) in 2005, one of the leading technology companies in
the world, Olivencia brought with him several years of previous experience
in enterprise architecture and strategy leadership at major companies.
Today, he is director, enterprise solutions group (ESG). “I relish
the challenge to support sales enhancement, strategy and value generation
for Oracle’s Fortune 500 and higher education customers,”
says Olivencia, who is also involved with training support teams on
the value of Oracle solutions.
With his position affording him the opportunity to leverage his business
and technical acumen, Olivencia and his team develop and carry out solutions
that effectively cut costs, secure data, increase process efficiency,
and simplify information technology (IT) for Oracle customers. “I
also get to work with the best sales representatives on the planet,
in addition to helping some of the world’s best companies leverage
technology to solve their business problems,” he comments, adding,
“My job is truly rewarding.”
According to Olivencia, engineers should consistently identify trend
lines to best position their companies, and themselves, for the future.
Citing trends such as the growth of digital data, the Internet, and
the need to secure data to ensure that the right people have access
to the right information, he adds, “Software and technology enable
these trends to be managed efficiently.” He is further of the
opinion that in these current economic times, as well as in the foreseeable
future, companies will continue to seek more efficient ways of conducting
business. They will increasingly use technology to gain competitive
advantage, revenue, and market share.
Citing Oracle’s growth objectives over the next five years to
help accelerate the company’s position as the world’s largest
enterprise software company, Olivencia explains “My biggest challenge
is to make the greatest contribution I can to achieve this goal.”
Along with the ESG Team, Olivencia works to drive internal efficiencies
and scale best practices. “Doing so illustrates engineering problem-solving
at work. It also demonstrates how an engineering background can be utilized
to accomplish corporate goals,” he remarks.
Olivencia’s suggestion, among others, for encouraging more members
of minority groups to seek out careers in electrical engineering is
to set realistic goals without setting limits, increase government investment
in STEM education, and focus skills and energy on pertinent problems.
Among the skills he identifies as vital are passion and attitude, integrity,
strong competency in diverse technologies, business and leadership acumen,
strong communications skills, willingness to travel, and a love of change.
A mentor to several Oracle employees, as well as to young professionals
outside the company, Olivencia thanks those who have mentored him. He
praises the company s many diversity organizations saying, “I’m
proud of the diversity team’s leadership and results.” He
further encourages engineers to contribute to non-engineering segments
of the business. “The company has a great public policy team,
from which I have learned a great deal. It’s been of paramount
value to me as I work to accomplish goals for Oracle, its customers,
and the country’s competitiveness,” says Olivencia. “Working
at Oracle is clearly a joy. With most of the world’s digital data
residing and processed within Oracle software, I’m pleased to
work for an industry leader that powers the information age and one
that always looks for great talent,” he comments.
Carl Garcia,
Electrical Engineer, V/Project Manager,
Reliant Energy
Along with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from
Prairie View A&M University in Texas and a master’s degree
in electrical engineering from the University of Houston, Carl Garcia
brought with him a wealth of public- and private-sector experience when
he joined Houston, TX-headquartered Reliant Energy (www.reliant.com),
and its workforce of 3,800, in 2007. “I wanted to be an engineer
ever since I was in the fourth grade and read in the World Book Encyclopedia
that engineers could earn $40,000 a year,” recalls Garcia. With
a smile, he further recounts a childhood fondness for taking things
apart. Having an uncle who was a graduate of Prairie View A&M and
a successful engineer with the Army Corp of Engineers made a strong
impression as well.
Starting as a chemical engineering major during the 1980s, when chemical
engineering jobs were hard to find, Garcia took his uncle’s advice
and switched to electrical engineering in his junior year. Quite certain
this was the right move, he is today electrical engineer V/project manager
at Reliant, a company involved in retail and wholesale sales with plants
located in several states. “My primary duties include managing
electrical projects but I am additionally involved in root cause analysis
when power failures occur at plant sites,” explains Garcia who,
as the only electrical engineer in his project group, jokes about being
“a minority minority.”
With an identifiable need for skilled labor in the power industry, Garcia
rues the lack of university power programs. “The attraction of
young engineers to the telecom and computer industries left the power
industry with a shortage of qualified engineers,” he declares,
adding that the advance of green power technologies is certain to generate
many more opportunities in the power industry.
Identifying attributes needed for success in his field, Garcia cites
passion for learning, a questioning attitude, and good people and communication
skills. He enjoys having the opportunity to enhance his own skills via
training as well as being able to work on a variety of projects ranging
from control system installations to installing transmission lines.
“But most of all,” he says, “I love the sound of turbines
starting up, the hum of power transformers, and the crackling of electricity
when switches are opened in switchyards.”
Although not currently involved with mentoring or diversity programs,
Garcia praises Reliant for encouraging young engineers to shadow those
more experienced. In past years, he served as a mentor to middle-school
students. Mentioning a newly formed African-American Diversity program,
he believes that when it comes to interesting more minorities in engineering,
exposure must start early. “Young minorities need to see engineers
who look like them and who are successful in the corporate world. With
my uncle being an engineer, I had the advantage of not having to go
far to see a successful engineer who happened to be African American,”
he concludes.
