Earlier this year, the United States-based automotive manufacturing company General Motors (GM) made its long-awaited entrance into the world of prestige racing.
Revered as “the highest class of international racing for single-seater formula racing cars,” Formula 1 (F1) draws in a global audience with 11 teams that compete in races across 21 countries.
With TWG Motorsports, GM launched the Cadillac Formula 1 Team and debuted at the Australian Grand Prix in March, making it the first F1 addition since 2016.
The Cadillac F1 Team is now using Ferrari power units until the GM Performance Power Units debut in 2029, in conjunction with the development of their new manufacturing facility in Concord.
While this venture signifies a major advancement for U.S. involvement in the global sport, it also marks a new beginning for one Charlotte student and her recent introduction to Cadillac F1.
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Introduction to the world of robotics
Kameran Blake is currently a rising senior at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering. During her sophomore year at Hopewell High, Blake was thrust into the world of robotics competitions that she previously didn’t know existed. Upon entering high school, Blake was encouraged to explore a Career and Technical Education pathway through Project Lead The Way, in which she chose engineering.
According to their website, Project Lead The Way provides a STEM-based curriculum for grades 6-12, designed to offer students “real-world activities, projects, and problems that help students understand how the knowledge and skills they develop in the classroom may be applied in everyday life.”
As a self-described learner who enjoys moving and working with her hands, Blake said that Project Lead The Way allowed her to engage in hands-on, problem solving, physical projects.
Blake’s academic experience segued into extracurricular participation with FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics, a nonprofit that offers team-based competitions and STEM programming for K-12 students.
After joining her high school’s team, Ice Java, Blake shared that she was able to receive mentoring from engineers while working alongside her peers to build robots for three-day-long competitions against dozens of other schools.
Four years of exploring engineering fueled Blake’s decision to continue in the field at UNC-Charlotte. “I’ve loved it,” she said.
Journey to Formula 1
As a junior, Blake worked with the industrial machinery manufacturing company, Oerlikon, as a process engineer intern. With a greater focus on aerospace and defense, Blake specifically gained insight into the process for laser powder infusion — a form of additive manufacturing, or 3-D printing, that uses high-powered lasers to meld metal powders into parts.
According to Blake, the year-long professional experience with Oerlikon ultimately helped her secure an additive manufacturing internship with GM Performance Power Units this May.
“I’ve built a pretty unique skill set, especially for my age, and had exposure to things that maybe others wouldn’t have,” Blake said. She traces her current success back to the education she received at Hopewell High.
From lessons on how to keep records in her engineering log book, to learning about 3-D printing in general, Blake explained, what she learned via Project Lead The Way is her foundation as an engineer.
“The way that they have their curriculum set up builds you in such a sequential way that you get a lot of the foundational skills for engineering” she stated. “Going into college, you’ve kind of touched a little bit of everything.”
Through her journey thus far, Blake’s most important lessons have been learning that nothing is perfect, there is value in trial and error, and how to learn from failures. She encourages youth to network and to connect with individuals in the field they desire to one day join.
“You need to know people, you need to have your face out there, and the way that you do that is through other projects outside of the classroom,” she said.
As she enters her senior year, Blake seeks to continue advancing her knowledge within the field of engineering. In the meantime, she looks forward to being immersed within the fast-paced culture of Formula 1.
“It’s like I’m using these skills that I have been growing and applying it to a whole new application industry purpose, and I love it so much,” she said.
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