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At General Motors, Denise Gray’s work promotes environmental gain
Regardless of sex or ethnicity, if you are properly equipped and “push the edge” you can succeed, says this linchpin player in advanced-technology vehicles
 The unveiling of Chevy Volt, the extended-range electric vehicle, at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show fueled public excitement about the future of “green” automobiles. Behind the buzz stands Denise Gray, director of hybrid energy storage systems at General Motors (Detroit, MI).
Gray was a linchpin player in the creation of the Volt. And it’s she who is making sure the vehicle’s plug-in batteries are adequate to power the first forty miles of driving and supplement the next 600 miles.
Centered on safety
Gray’s twenty-eight-year career with GM, starting with college co-ops, has been centered on safety and fuel efficiency. Over the years she has developed electronic controls and systems for conventional and hybrid engines and transmissions, antilock braking systems, instrument and lighting systems and instrument clusters. Today’s cutting-edge concepts, coupled with her management duties, provide an immense level of job satisfaction.
Win-win for the environment
“I’m very excited about the role I have. It’s extremely demanding but the payoff is win-win as the work promotes environmental gain,” she says.
The concept of leveraging fuel-cell technology to create a unique electric car was in the idea stage for quite a while. Gray came from the GM powertrain division in 2006 to oversee engineering execution of battery development. She also works with an R&D manager who is directing chemists and scientists researching battery materials.
Inside the Volt
The Volt, Gray explains, is an electric vehicle with a “range extender.” It plugs into an electrical outlet to charge its batteries, and runs on battery power for the first forty miles, enough to cover the commutes of more than three-quarters of U.S. drivers. The battery can be fully recharged from a common household outlet in about six hours.
When that battery power runs out, an internal combustion engine serves as a range extender. It creates electricity to power the vehicle for another 600 miles.
“They challenged me to come up with a battery that costs nothing, is as light as a feather and can go forty miles,” Gray says with a smile. “Those are conflicting requirements, so my job is to work out solutions that meet the requirements on a balanced basis to the best of our ability.”
Engineering the battery
Various technology disciplines contribute to the engineering of the battery. Gray’s group has forty-five people, five of them supervisors who report directly to her.
Her management style changes according to whether the task at hand is a short-term or long-term deliverable, she says. “The job is very team-oriented; the area is high-tech and you have to be very agile.
“We’re constantly recruiting outside GM, looking for more experts, because we see the work we have to do increasing over time.”
Gray also works with other groups, like experts in metals and plastics and the electrical organization.
Everyone drove a GM
GM was part of Gray’s family’s way of life when she was growing up. She’s a Detroit native, and her mother was a UAW worker at an assembly plant while her technically-oriented dad worked in construction. Several aunts and uncles came north to work for the Big Three, the majority opting for GM, and everyone drove a GM vehicle, she says.
Gray’s high school courses segued into the electronics curriculum at General Motors Institute (now Kettering University, Flint, MI). The high school offered a co-op experience at a GM plant.
“So at seventeen I was working right here at this site and got into the whole engineering side of the business as a co-op student,” Gray says.
She rotated through various departments as she progressed through college, and completed her BSEE in 1986. Later on she leveraged GM’s continuing education program to earn a 2000 masters in management of technology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY).
Control systems
Gray’s interests expanded to electronic control systems, which, she explains, can enable advanced propulsion systems. “The work I did has led to more fuel-efficient solutions since the early 90s,” she says.
She worked on algorithms for use of alternative fuels and other hybrid development. The work has helped GM “offer solutions that are more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly from the emissions perspective.”
From 1986 to 1992 Gray was an electrical development engineer, then moved on to senior development engineer. In 1997 she became manager of the electronics organization. In 2000 she moved up to director of software engineering for the powertrain organization, implementing software for engines and transmissions around the world.
She went on to direct controller integration, ensuring that GM engines and transmissions meet requirements for other countries. In 2004 she became director of transmission controls, another global position, and took on her current job in 2006.
To succeed, push the edge
Gray participates in a formal mentoring program at GM and mentors people informally, too. She’s active in NSBE and SWE, where she takes the opportunity to encourage members to excel in their fields.
Regardless of your sex or ethnicity, if you are properly equipped you can succeed, she says. “I tell people to stay on top of the technology game and continue to learn.
“Most important, be a contributor. Pride yourself on being on the leading edge, part of the projects and forums that push the envelope of technology. Push yourself to be available.”
D/C
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