Physics - Careers Seminar

Abstract: Each year many more PhDs are earned than available faculty positions. Aside from national labs, industrial research at remains a compelling career option for those interested in continuing research in the private sector outside of academia. I will share some personal background before diving into General Motors, what an industrial research career looks like, and how we track technology development. An example project from my work on quality in battery cell manufacturing for electric vehicles will serve as an example before some time for questions. 

Bio: Dr. Erik Huemiller is a senior researcher at General Motors D&D. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois – Urbana/Champaign in 2019 studying superconductivity in topological insulators with Dale Van Harlingen. After graduate school his research pivoted to opto-mechanical machines for the manufacture of x-ray diffraction gratings at Inprentus Inc. At General Motors, Dr. Huemiller has worked in Manufacturing Research focusing on quality system and methodology development with applications to battery cells, electric motors, transmission manufacturing, and plasma treatments. Dr. Huemiller was one of the 2025 Society of Manufacturing Engineers Outstanding Young manufacturing Engineers of the Year.