Will Draffin

Childhood & School

• Childhood in Washington DC instilled in me an appreciation of culture
• Undergraduate studies in Computer Science at Washington University in St. Louis provided me with foundational skills and an appetite for learning
• Masters in Electrical Engineering at Georgia Tech unlocked my potential to dive deep into technical challenges
• Internships through the years helped guide my career trajectory into energy

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Youth

I grew up in Washington DC, surrrounded by classmates from all over the world, with parents in poliics, healthcare, banking and more. This exposure allowed me to better understand the world, and initatied my cultural curiousity that has been one of the most consistent driving forces in my life. As an example of my lifestyle, my running team would research a discussion topic every week. We would then attend relevant rallies and festivals to deepen our our understanding. Topics ranged from gun rights, abortion rights, political turmoil in Iran, climate change and much more. Running also provided a chance to travel around the US, and an opportunity to captain a relay team that raced in the national championships.

College - Washington University

While in college, I pursued as broad of an education as I had time for. I took classes throughout the school to complement my focus in engineering. I specialized in Computer Engineering, as tool that could be applied to many different fields. I was most fulfilled helping out with behind-the-scenes projects, including helping create a few new classes, and connecting students with faculty and staff. I was a student representative on the interview panel for new department chairs and the dean of engineering. I kept myself busy going to a huge variety of lectures, cultural events and student groups.

Masters - Georgia Tech

I picked up a Masters at Georgia Tech where I specialized in Power Electronics & Control Systems and honed my skills to be effective in the energy field and got more exposure through the amazing Energy Club. Specialization in a new field was fun but also challenging as I had to audit many undergrad classes in parallel with my grad school classes.

Summer Internships

I spent my summers with internships in different fields that helped me find my career path, connect with different company cultures, and learn to build a variety of skills that I maintain through my life.

Tesla

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Personal Projects

I keep myself busy, and live by the concept of comparitive advantage, spending my time where it is most valuable and meaningful. <\p>

I enjoy learning about cultures, and connecting with people.

I am a very organized person, with spreadsheets that track all aspects fo my life

When an opportunity presents itself, I enjoy helping out and collaborating

⬇️ Examples ⬇️

Behind the Scenes Infrastructure

I thrive at ensuring things are reliable, safe, and unobtrusive. I appreciate the motto, "If you do a great job, no one notices"

Example photo from a friend's house where we identified roof damage due to overheating, so we installed an attic fan

Electrical Infrastructure

I have installed hundreds of electrical appliances for friends and coworkers, including EVSE, outlets, lights, fans, and more"

Example photo from a friend's house where we rewired a lot of the electrical panel to fix mistakes, balance loads, and add GFCI

Burning Man

This year, I led infrastructure at two camps"

Disaster Response

I am passionate about helping out when things go wrong. This has led me to help out in snow storms, wildfires, hurricanes, flood damage, and more

Professional Projects

In addition to my work at Tesla, I have helped a number of friends with their startups, and consulted for a few energy companies, and presented in conferences

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Matter

I sponsored my own memebership and attendance as part of CSA-IOT to help create the Matter Standard for energy appliances"
I presented a vision for how appliances (such as HVACs or hot water heaters) could incorporate energy management, as well as how to interconnect EVs, EVSE, Batteries, and Solar Inverters.
I helped lay the groundwork for incorpation of eletrical power & measurement in matter version 1.3 and Energy Smart Appliances in version 1.4 - https://csa-iot.org/newsroom/matter-enabling-universal-grid-friendly-integration-for-energy-smart-appliances-and-more/

Eaton

I helped Eaton launch their latest Smart Breaker, and Tesla compatible Smart Islanding Switch. I wrote an interoperability standard to support these interfaces"

Lunar

I helped Lunar architect their UL1741 PCS control standard"

More

I helped Pencil identify additional incentives and partners - https://climatebase.org/company/1134256/pencil-energy

I helped with investment due diligence and provided strategic guidance for Its Electric EVSE - https://www.itselectric.us/

I helped beta test apps from many friends including Openart.AI, BlinkMap, and many more

How did I get here to China?

How can I contribute

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