MEET GENE: OUR NEWEST EV ENGINEER
About the Peace Vans Electric Team
This year, we announced one of our newest businesses: Peace Vans Electric. We decided to make a full go of the opportunity to build a team, dedicate real estate, invest in R&D, and more to create the best place in the Pacific Northwest to convert your classic car to electric.
Our talented technicians and engineers are the heart of our electric conversions team. Without them, we couldn’t turn your beloved classic car into a reliable, electric vehicle. We recently interviewed the newest member of our team, Gene Ellerby, a recent engineering graduate of Western Washington University. Read on to learn her story and learn more about why you should let Gene and the Peace Vans team take on your electric conversion.
What did you study in school? What was your favorite project you worked on?
I studied manufacturing engineering at Western Washington University. I learned tons about machining, tooling, process planning, automation, machine design, CAD, and composites engineering, but I always wanted to learn more about electronics. My favorite projects became designing, building, and integrating the electronics systems for my small FSAE team's racecars. I also can't forget the 1977 VW bus named Priebe, donated by Peace Vans, that I worked on converting for my senior project!
What made you decide you want to work on electric conversions?
My time as the lead electronics engineer on my university's Formula SAE Electric team got me hooked on building electric vehicles. But I've also been into vintage cars my whole life, so the revelation that those two things could converge in such a cool way through vintage electric conversions made me really want to get involved in this world.
How did you get started with Peace Vans?
I got started with Peace Vans when Katey reached out to my FSAE team's captain a couple of years ago, asking for applicants for a summer internship working on getting Peace Vans Electric going. I spent the summer tinkering, learning tons, getting my hands dirty, and becoming even more addicted to vintage VW.
What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on so far at Peace Vans?
My favorite project I've worked on so far at Peace Vans is our yellow 1973 VW Thing. It's still in the design phase, but it's already clear that it will be a very fast and fun little contraption once driving on Li-Ion power. It has a big personality that's only going to get bigger.
What are your goals and ambitions in the EV industry?
My goals and ambitions in the EV industry are to push the manifold on the integration of modular subsystems of the electric tractive and accessory systems. I want to keep producing and building designs for driver interface components, safety systems, structural integration, and more that are straightforward to integrate into any electric vehicle. I hope to eventually get the chance to design and build some of the more sophisticated parts of an EV from scratch, like a more capable ECU or even a motor controller, and make them available as the most superior parts for any EV conversion.
When I have the time, I also plan to build a race-spec EV driveline into an MK2 golf chassis that'll be record-setting fast.
Ready to work with Gene & the team to bring your vintage vehicle back to life?
We are now accepting new projects! Click the link below to fill out a form where we’ll ask about your vehicle's make and model and then be in touch.
