This morning, we had the opportunity to visit Eaton, which is a renowned company with a strong impact across multiple sectors. This includes energy, aerospace, electrical products, and vehicle e-mobility. We listened to two lectures providing an overview of the products Eaton manufactures and its breadth across the globe. In addition to this, we were able to view some of the labs within the building. While this company aligns better with mechanical/electrical engineering, I was still intrigued by the aerospace/aviation aspect of their work. The labs in this particular location, however, were more focused on electricity and power. Specifically, two research engineers described to us their work on a battery designed for an electric vehicle. The most notable topic of discussion to me was Eaton’s plans for sustainability. Because of the strict regulations for aerospace products, Eaton has to remain conservative in their methods; in other words, Eaton is sticking with operations that not as environmentally friendly for the time being, for the sake of ensuring safe products. However, there is much more research being done so that Eaton can progress towards more sustainable practices. Additionally, because Eaton does have many sectors, there is definitely already progress towards environmentally conscious practices; our lecturer just highlighted how tricky that is when it comes to particular products. While a lot of the technical information was unfamiliar to me, I was glad to learn about such an impactful and diverse company.
Swanson School of Engineering 