Corey Pullium

Humans are not so distinct from the surrounding clash of physical and biological structures. The wonderfully unique characteristic of humanity is our propensity to learn and share what we’ve learned. Education is a playful and joyful part of who we are and how we grow. I've had some astonishingly good educational experiences in my life. However, many teachers turned me off to content, that I later learned was invigorating and fun. I want to create educational experiences that stoke the fires of curiosity, wonder, and critical thought. I work so that learners are empowered to collectively build our future.

I am a highly qualified middle grades educator in science and history. At Eastfield Elementary global magnet school, I taught 5th, 6th, 7th & 8th grade science for two amazing years. My prep time was focused intensely on crafting lessons that were creative, differentiated, and anchored in relevance. While in the classroom, I role modeled curiosity, scaffolded problem solving skills, demanded critical thinking, and fostered social intelligence. Most content will leave us sometime after the test is over. The lasting lesson is the muscle memory of how to process information, approach problems, and reach beyond our current understandings to empower ourselves and build our communities. This philosophy works. In 2013, I had the highest teacher effectiveness ratings in my school. Test scores are great validation, but the real validation is knowing that my students were curious, kind, and confident problem solvers.

I found teaching very fulfilling, but my students inspired me to follow my own intellectual curiosity. I wanted my classroom to be technologically relevant. I dreamt of homework assignments in the form of video games. I wanted to teach my students to build the future, by teaching them to build and automate our classroom experience. I had the vision, but I had no technical skills to create it.

I returned to college for a Bachelors in mechatronic engineering. Through rigorous hours practicing mathematics, I earned a strong foundation in mechanical and electrical engineering and computer science. After writing thousands of lines of code I developed the skills to design and automate several robots. Every skill was accompanied by a daydream of how to incorporate it into an educational experience. After graduation, I worked as a solar engineer, managing technicians and analyzing solar performance. That work was lucrative and educational, but my real passion is still with education.

Now, I am fluent in science, history, mathematics, technology, and pedagogy. At my core, I am a creative and inquisitive problem solver with a relentless energy for cultivating meaningful education experiences. My best life is one contributing to a world where education is enjoyable and accessible to everyone.

Operations and Performance Engineer

January 2018 - June 2020

I enjoyed over 2 years at cypress creek helping to build a more sustainable future. As an operations engineer, I managed a large team supporting over 500 MegaWatts of solar farms nationwide! In a nutshell, my job was to optimize technicians, operators and other support teams to make sure our farms were performing efficiently and repairs were made as swiftly as possible. In a later role, as a performance engineer, I preformed data analysis on our whole fleet of solar farms. My goal was better understand and report on the energy production at each farm. Creating python tools was a big part of my job in both roles. My scripts aggregated data from API’s, created information rich graphics for quick analysis, and automated tedious tasks, so that our entire department could be as effective as possible.

Cypress is a great company full of brilliant people. I’ve learned more than just expert engineering skills. I’ve learned to what it means to cultivate a strong and enjoyable company culture.

Integration Engineer and Agile Adviser

June 2017 - December 2017

I serve two functions as a contractor for Schneider. First, I advise and aid a software team that was behind schedule. Along with managing the burndown charts and Task tracking, I offer solutions that aid the team in organization, communication, and team work. The team is now on track and I continue to monitor and help. My second focus is creating the infrastructure for automated integration testing. I'm using python to create background processes that pull firmware updates from the Jenkins server, power on our hardware, push the updates over FTP and telnet, run sanity tests using Teststand, email results, and finally power down the hardware.

Schneider is a great company. I am enjoying my time with them and I'm learning a great deal.

Middle Grades Science Educator

June 2011 - July 2013

I worked at Eastfield for 2 wonderful years, teaching 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th grade Science and 6th grade History. I also acted as the school's Science Department Chair. During my time there I managed and motivated nearly 200 students. In my second year, I achieved the highest teacher effectiveness rating in the building. Teaching success is a dynamic and nuanced science. I focused on building mutual respect within the classroom and community, applying relevance to content, and constantly adapting and evolving to optimally engage the educational needs of the students.

"If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed." - Thomas Jefferson

Machine Learning for Robotic Locomotion

August 2016 - May 2017

The robot shown uses a machine learning algorithm to teach itself the most efficient way to crawl. When powered on, the bot moves randomly until it discovers and optimizes a sequence that moves it forward.

My team designed and built this robot using a thoughtful selection of electrical components, 3D printed parts, and cleverly tailored algorithms. It was coupled with technical and education information to be used as an open-source platform for exploring robotics and machine learning.

IOT Remote Vehicle

August 2016 - Jan 2017

The goal of this project was to create a remote vehicle that could act autonomously or be controlled via WIFI. I soldered components onto a PCB and assembled a chassis for the vehicle.

Most notably, I wrote all of the protocols (C programming) for autonomous and remote behaviors. Included in the programming were the following: Serial Communications, IOT devices, autonomous line following, Full H-Bridge motor control, Audio to digital converters, and LCD Menus.

IEEE Southeast Con Hardware (robot) Competition 2017

August 2016 - March 2017

After my work on the 2015/16 project, my teammates asked me to be the project manager for the 2016/17 team. I led a team of 8 student engineers through the design and build of this years competition robot. Other than micro controllers, wheels and sensors, everything on the robots is custom built to meet this year's requirements.

The challenge this year involved navigating a board, sensing electromagnetic fields, differentiating electrical elements, manipulation of a potentiometer, and firing darts through a target. The final design utilized 4 independent robots coordinating over SPI. I am very proud of my team for placing 5th out of 42 universities!

Outrider USA Internship

Summer 2015

During a summer internship at Outrider USA, I enjoyed the opportunity to apply many aspects of my engineering education. Outrider makes awesome electric adventure vehicles. I assembled and repaired both electrical and mechanical systems for these vehicles. I helped diagnose electrical failures and soldered components. My personal project was developing an embedded system for testing engine functionality.

I also had the opportunity to work with the sales department, taking customers on test rides and explaining the technology to potential buyers at events. Outside of my summer engineering internship, I also created some short promotional videos for Outrider.

IEEE Southeast Con Hardware (robot) Competition 2016

August 2016 - March 2016

On this project I was honored by the title of Lead Programmer. I was responsible for all code required for our autonomous robot to navigate, sense and respond to its environment. I tested sensors for machine vision, current sensing, sonar, IR and others.

I programmed a PID controlled navigation system using 8 sonar sensors and a PID controlled gripper using current sensing. I also orchestrated communication protocol between 11 microcontrollers using SPI. Aside from content, I learned a great deal about working on a team to deliver a product.

I am the oldest of four. I have wonderful parents who taught me to work hard and communicate with others. I'm lucky to have such great role models for loving and giving.

One of my defining characteristics is my affinity for learning new skills. So, I enjoy several hobbies. Music was my first love. I've played drums since I was in middle school and have picked up other instruments along the way. Most evenings, you can find me on the porch, strumming a guitar. I've been dabbling in electronic music lately as well. My middle school and high school were fine arts focused. I learned music there, but also have a great appreciation for all things creative and expressive. Color, shape, sound, movement; you name it and I'm into it!

I'm a playful person through and through. So, I can't wait to get outside and move my body. A few years ago I picked up rock climbing. I spend a ton of time at the climbing gym and outside with friends. While earning my first degree, I played ultimate frisbee for Georgia Southern University. I played on club teams based in Charleston and Asheville after that. I've also coached women's ultimate, and youth basketball.

I have two amazing pets, Remix and Z. Remix is a 10 year old cat, that loves to cuddle. Z is a 2 year old pup and we adventure everywhere together. There's not much better than a long hike with Z, followed by a restful cuddle with Mr. Mix.

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