SAE – Cordelia Mattuvarkuzhali Ezhilarasu

Research Scientist, SLB

I am researching on developing intelligent maintenance systems, to prevent their failures and reduce emissions.

What does a typical day at work look like for you?

I spend a portion my day talking to the experts who know the ins and outs of their systems, to understand how they are operated and maintained, and where do they have faults. This helps me form my problem statement, for which I then research and develop solutions using the state-of-the-art methods. My solutions are focused on making systems intelligent, efficient, and sustainable..

What advice would you give to your 15 year old self

There is no specific time or way to achieve your dreams. You can work towards them whenever you can and however you can. It is alright to feel inadequate at something; just never give upon improving yourself.

Who or what inspired you to get into engineering?

Stephen Hawking and Kalpana Chawla

What was your route into engineering?

“I am a Research Scientist at SLB Cambridge Research and a Visiting Research Fellow at Cranfield University. I completed her PhD and worked as a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the IVHM Centre, Cranfield University; my research was sponsored by Boeing. During my research, I developed and implemented a reasoning framework called FAVER, for isolation of faults and their root causes/ effects in aircraft systems. My later stages of research focused on machine consciousness, where I investigated what it would mean for an aircraft to be conscious. I have
I have previously worked as Industrial Engineer and Data Analysis Engineer with Semi-conductor industry (Lam Research India Pvt Ltd) and Solid-Oxide Fuel Cell industry (Bloom Energy India Pvt Ltd). I was an ASQ (American Society for Quality) Certified Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB). I have a Bachelors in Aeronautical Engineering and a Masters in Industrial Engineering, from Anna University, Chennai, India.

What are the best and worst things about the job?

Best thing is to see your proposed idea working as you envisioned. Worst thing is the imposter syndrome.

What is your proudest career achievement so far?

My proudest work is my PhD research and my career achievement is the presentation of my research at the STEM for Britain 2022 event, to the Members of Parliament and Parliamentary & Scientific Committee at the House of Parliament