 David Sprinkle
Research Engineer
Southwest Research Institute
San Antonio, TX
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 B.S. -
Electrical Engineering, The University of Texas - Austin |
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Research Engineer
developing control systems that work in automotive environments
such as fuel injection systems and ignition control. |
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"Get some practical
experience while at school. Value your lab classes and find
other real world design exercises that you can excel at." |
Sprinkle:
"I think that coops are really valuable. But the one caveat that I want to
apply to that is you need to pick an internship, a coop opportunity that
meshes well with your interests, because they're like engineering jobs,
there are really bad coop jobs out there. But also like engineering jobs,
there are really good coop jobs out there. And you just need to find the
one that matches well with your interests."
David Sprinkle is an electrical engineer at Southwest Research Institute.
"I essentially develop control systems that work in an automotive
environment. When we talk about automotive systems, fuel injection and
ignition control immediately come to mind. But we also work on climate
control and radios and anti-lock braking systems and airbags. All of these
are control systems that require electronic engineers." A typical day
might start out with him working on an electronic design, followed by
instructing technicians on the way the boards should be assembled, and end
up in the lab testing a prototype. "I'm involved with every step of the
development process."
To stay on top of his field, Sprinkle reads journals and attends
conferences. Most important of all, he exchanges ideas with other
engineers: "That's where we learn a whole lot." Because Sprinkle's field
is dominated by mechanical engineers, he stays abreast of mechanical as
well as electrical issues. "It's difficult to separate those two at times
because, in an automotive environment, they have to work seamlessly
together."
Sprinkle urges students to get some practical experience while at school.
"Value your lab classes and find other real world design exercises that
you can excel at. This is where you finally put all those lessons to use
that you get in the classroom." In his own case, Sprinkle worked on a
design for a competition sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers.
"We built a little race car and took it to Detroit and campaigned it. I
did an engine control system for it, based on a microprocessor. It was an
incredible learning experience. I look back on that, and I think that I
learned more from that one particular effort than in any of the courses
that I ever took. And, in fact, that particular effort got me my job here
at the Institute."
Another way to gain practical experience is through a coop. But Sprinkle
cautions students to consider their choices carefully. Not only is the
quality of the experience important, but "you need to find the one that
matches well with your interest.
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