Tell us about your career.
I studied for my bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in Turkey. I have always had an interest in electric cars. I founded a team for the Formula Student competition, where students build and race small electric and internal combustion cars; a highly complex and disciplined engineering competition. This inspired me to pursue a career in battery and energy storage engineering rather than microelectronics, which I had been interested in up to that point. I studied for my master's degree in Aachen, and while studying, I took part in work experience at UL Solutions. After this, I pursued an internship here, wrote my thesis while working here and finally took a full-time job. I haven’t looked back since.
What is your proudest moment at UL Solutions?
Overcoming problems for customers always makes me proud. There are times when a customer has a very specific requirement. My proudest achievement was developing new technical methods for certification, which had been causing difficulties. The customer reached out afterwards to tell me that I was the only person who had come up with a solution to that particular problem, which was a great feeling.
Why is creating a safer world important to you?
Creating a safer world is exciting, and I think you need to be excited and enjoy yourself to deliver your best work. Being in a testing team is a direct contribution to our mission of building a safer world. But safety starts with us, and we must also always be on the lookout for risks that could affect our own safety or the safety of our colleagues in and out of the lab; especially for our non-technical colleagues who are less aware of the risks our work can entail. You never know what is going to happen when you are testing energy storage systems, so it is so important for us to always be looking for safer ways to deliver certification services and build a safer world.
What is the coolest thing you have been a part of during your time with UL Solutions?
The coolest thing I have worked on was developing a new way of testing lithium-ion batteries to safely test alternating current and direct current at the same time. This is a critical test as it can be quite dangerous if a battery is exposed to both AC and DC but is not prepared for it. I had to combine several devices and tests to run this at the same time; it was quite fun to develop. It is also a great feeling that I have developed a process that other engineers use.
How do you use technology in your day-to-day role?
Technology plays a major role in my role. We are always working to improve our processes and safety in the labs. We have also started using AI to support early failure detection from live data during battery tests. AI can interpret live data much faster than a human can and can therefore detect failures earlier. We test every day and being able to detect a test failure early saves us time and also improves our own personal safety in the lab.
What has changed the most about you since you joined UL Solutions?
I have become more patient and my communication skills have certainly improved. I have learned not to try and take on all challenges by myself. I have focused on trying to improve my cooperation skills and to seek others’ input where it could be useful, as ultimately hearing feedback is how I can learn and grow.
What is the best thing about working at UL Solutions?
We are fortunate in UL Solutions to have leaders who are very open to input from more junior members of staff which allows us to grow our skills and expertise on more complicated projects. Whenever we have ideas for new systems or processes we are given the opportunity to explore these. I need to be in an organization that allows me to pursue ideas, as I am a curious person.
What kind of legacy do you want to leave through your work with UL Solutions?
I would like to be remembered as a careful and helpful colleague. You cannot get distracted when carrying out the kind of work we do. I always make sure I am fully focused and as careful as possible with any tests I carry out and I hope people remember me for this. I would also like to leave with products and processes that are used and developed by others. I would love to leave behind a meaningful contribution to the field of battery engineering that those who come after me can build upon.