Meeting the technology challenge

The electrification of the vehicle is boosting demand for engineers with new competencies and skill sets. In Part 1 of this special two-part feature series, AEI examines why the industry needs to encourage and develop its most critical resource-people.

JB Straubel wanted to learn about electric propulsion, but he had to invent his own curriculum to do it. As a standout physics major during his freshman year at Stanford University, Straubel brought with him a keen interest in energy storage and power control. Since childhood he'd been obsessed with electric drives and, in high school, he cut his teeth juicing up an old golf cart. Once in college he began designing an electric bike.

But this was the 1990s and Stanford had little to offer the future Chief Technology Officer of Tesla Motors in terms of a formal study path. “They didn't have a single class in electric motors,” Straubel recalled.