Prairie State is excited to welcome Mehran Mustafa as our Electrical Engineering Intern this summer.
Mehran is originally from Pakistan, which is where he completed his bachelor’s degree. In 2015, Mehran moved to Carbondale to pursue further education at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale (SIU). He completed his master’s degree in electrical engineering in 2017, and he is currently working on a PhD.
At SIU, Mehran is involved in the Latin American Student Association. He participates in this group with his wife, who is from Mexico, and his other Hispanic friends. Mehran and his wife also participated in a cultural show and food festival for a temporary Pakistani student association. They are registered foster parents for Wright-Way Rescue, through which they have already fostered four dogs and a kitten.
During his time in Pakistan, Mehran worked as an electrical instrumentation engineer in an oil refinery for over four years. In this position, he worked on a major refinery capacity enhancement project. He also initiated a solar PV panel manufacturing facility in the refinery to assemble and install solar panels and solar systems.
Mehran chose Prairie State because of his background in the power sector; he knew that he wanted his future career to be in electrical power engineering. Mehran had not heard of the company until Prairie State attended a career fair at SIU. While this is his first experience with a coal-fired power plant, an internship with electrical power was an obvious choice for him.
This summer, Mehran will be working on an ETAP project, using software that can create, study, and analyze an entire electrical network. He will be adding to and improving the power plant’s existing network to conduct an arc flash study. He will also be planning a steam turbine generator bucket project to prevent nuisance power trips. “I am hoping to complete this internship with a full-time job offer. If not, I am hoping that the experience will help me complete my PhD.”
Mehran is hoping to find a full-time job as soon as possible. If not, he plans to publish another research paper to complete his PhD in around two years. Future plans for his family include adopting another dog and moving into a more stable and permanent residence.