Carnegie Mellon University

Yin Kay Wong (M.S. '16)

Hometown: New York, New York
EST&P Concentration: Mechanical Engineering
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Boston University
Position and Company (as of April, 2019):  Technical Analyst - D+R International

Born and raised in New York, Yin Kay completed his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at Boston University. With a curiosity to look beyond a conventional mechanical engineering master’s program, Yin Kay started to explore his options and found interest in the EST&P owing to its focus on energy as a whole and its philosophy of nurturing students into industry ready professionals. He enrolled and got admitted into EST&P for the fall semester of 2015, with a concentration in Mechanical Engineering

On arriving to Carnegie Mellon, Yin Kay was pleasantly surprised by the small yet dynamic program, and he was also glad to see the diversity and international mix of students enrolled. This was his first lesson - the global interest in energy as a topic.

The strength of the program, according to Yin Kay, lies in the fact that its structure allows any student to pick up the subject of energy with all its nuances even without any background in it. This has been the best part of his time here at Carnegie Mellon.

Of all the great resources at CMU, the Career & Professional Development Center (CPDC) was of immense help to Yin Kay. He believes that the CPDC is an integral part of the program, helping to shape students professionally with their job search and beyond.  

Yin Kay helped organize the Energy Career Symposium which he felt was a good networking opportunity; in addition to the scintillating discussion on the myriad and complex issues surrounding energy. In his spare time, Yin Kay enjoys breakdancing and volunteers teaching it to children.

Amongst his favorite courses is Energy Systems Modeling taught by Prof. Siefert. “He provided a good foundation and really integrated the theory well with the application” said Yin Kay, also noting that they had interesting projects to work on during the course. Climate Change Mitigation strategies taught by Prof. Inez Azevedo was another course that Yin Kay really appreciated owing to its analytical nature. Particularly in this course, he was able to explore the impact of efficient refrigeration on energy consumption and also compared it to integrating solar and wind energy technologies into the Pittsburgh’s energy mix in terms of environmental, economic and policy related factors.

Over the summer of 2016, he interned at National Grid as part of an engineering team, a major utility company based in Long Island, New York. He worked on a host of different problems including calculation of seasonal heat rates for engineers, performed thermal analysis, and created reports for modified turbine tests. He also had an opportunity to do plant visits and inspection. Yin Kay is now looking for full-time opportunities in the energy consulting and engineering analysis space.