Meet Sushmalekha Birur | Embedded Systems Engineer | Green Energy Enthusiast

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sushmalekha Birur and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sushmalekha, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Well first thing that comes to my mind is a saying “No Risk No Reward”. Clearly there are pros and cons to taking risk. I believe in weighing and assessing before taking any risk , which effectively means taking calculated Risks. I strongly believe there are growth/learning opportunities in every venture provided we maneuver around the risks that comes along the way. I have navigated a lot of varying degree of risks in my life to reach the point where I am today . I would like to narrate one such example below.

I grew up in a small town in southern India, me being the only child to my parents. My mom and dad worked towards their only dream , and that was to ensure I had a bright future. My Father, who has always been my super hero and role model , was unfortunately diagnosed with cancer while I was still in my 7th grade. This caused a lot of emotional stress and trauma in the family as anybody can imagine. At this stage Mother being the only breadwinner did everything she can to support and fight the battle , and also at the same time focus on my future. Mother had her own challenges on the work front but never ever made it evident to me at any stage. She has always and continues to make a profound impact on me with her grit, determination and fighting spirit. With this I also became determined to make my parents proud , and strived towards doing well in my studies. Yes we did go down after fighting the battle against cancer for 7 long years , but never for a moment do I feel that my father is away from me. With the value system imbibed into me, I was able to channelize my energy and focus and realize my potential. I eventually bagged an engineering job to support myself and family. I learnt a lot and how to deal with the pressures and expectations of a corporate job. While I did enjoy the work , I always thought pursuing higher education would help me improve and hone my skills. My Father’s dream was to see me strive for excellence in my sphere and pursuing a Masters would help me to move in that direction. To completely focus on my efforts on higher education, I quit my job which was really tough and risky , and prepared for the competitive exams for over 6 months. During this time, I also got an opportunity to teach underprivileged children, which I feel has been the most joyful experience till date. I received admits for my Masters , and finalized to pursue EECS at SFSU Grad school. This also meant I would have to move away from my mother, which again was a tough and challenging moment for me. She did encourage me in every possible way and made me believe I can deal with this situation as well.
In the School I got an opportunity to only study with and learn from the best minds but also teaching assistantship in the Freshman’s robotics lab. I graduated by publishing my master’s thesis in artificial intelligence for hand gesture recognition. From there on I worked with many organizations and talented engineers. Fast forward to today I continue to pursue my passion for electrical engineering by working with a Clean Energy company here in SoCal at Oxnard. Focused Efforts are made in supporting non-profits which provide education to children in need and support missions for giving renewable sources to the communities in India & US.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My line of work and current contributions as an engineer developing products is directly related to renewable energy and clean energy access which is the most critical issue our planet is facing currently in terms of climate change, disaster relief (whether hurricane, wildfires or floods). So it is a direct impact that can help tackle a few of the climate change issues and the energy crisis problem. Very proud of my passion and interest in STEM that has led me to pursue this career. It has never been a cake walk when it comes to my profession and especially starting from scratch moving to the US for my Grad School. But I truly believe “Failures are the stepping stone to success”. I have always tried to push the boundaries and considered failures as learning. Developed an attitude to never give up, hence being driven towards achieving my goals has been the Key. There are a lot of other factors like patience, perseverance, staying curious all the time, and being backed by my family has played a massive role in shaping up my career. With this confidence behind me, I truly believe sky’s the Limit to success, and the journey has only just started !! I believe Brand in true sense is to spread and share your experience to influence a positive outcome. Got an opportunity to share some of my experiences with young school girls and hopefully it can motivate them, and at least make a small difference in their lives to face the challenges in this world .

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
First I would like to take them on a day trip to Channel Islands and plan a day or two to camp, kayak and hike at Santa Cruz Island – the boat trip to island would involve dolphins and whale spotting. Food stops would include best Chilaquiles at Tacos Mi Pueblo in Oxnard, tacos at Snappers Jack TacoShack in Ventura downtown and Vineyard Cafe (Oxnard) serves the best brunch. Small hikes, sunsets and drive around Point Mugu state beach, Malibu.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My mom (Amma) has been instrumental and a pillar of support through thick and thin. My father for guiding me how to be bold, courageous and have strong will power. So all the credits goes to my parents. And of course I would like to recognize all my career mentors till date and a big shout to current mentors at my workplace. A book would be, “Power of Now” which I also recommend often. And last but not least, my close friends deserves recognition for being there for me.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sbirur/