The 2021 SIMULIA Champions come from locations around the world, as well as from a variety of industries. Several of them have agreed to share their stories about how they are using simulation and what led them to the engineering field.

​​​​​​​Sajeesh Sulaiman is a Technical Project Manager for Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, leading a global team of specialists in India and Denmark in the design of next-generation offshore wind turbines. His area of expertise is grounding, EMI/EMC and lightning protection. Wind turbines have been steadily increasing in size, and currently Sulaiman is working on the world’s largest wind turbine, with blades almost 108 meters in length.

SIMULIA software, particularly CST Studio Suite, has been vital in this and other projects, Sulaiman says, because wind turbines of that size simply cannot be tested in a physical lab. He was first introduced to CST at an INCEMIC (International Conference on ElectroMagnetic Interference and Compatibility) conference in 2012, where he met a CST representative. He was fascinated by the technology and decided to try it out; now Siemens Gamesa’s designs are predominantly based on simulations.

Sulaiman has taken on various roles throughout his career, including engineer, subject matter expert, technical lead, project manager and people manager. When his current position opened up at Siemens Gamesa, he saw it as a perfect match, completely aligned with his aspirations and core competencies.

“I’m really proud to be a part of the green energy sector,” he says.

He has been surprised by a number of things during his professional journey, such as the scale and size of the wind industry. He also knew very little about EMI/EMC when he started his career – it is a field which is unknown to many, he says, and goes beyond a basic understanding of electrical engineering. He has since learned much more about the field and become expert in it.

Learning is extremely important to Sulaiman, and he believes that no one should give up on a field of study simply because they did not excel at it in school. He has mastered fields that he was not particularly good at in his own college days.

“If you are open to learning and reading, you can master any subject…it is more about the situation,” he says. “In the right situation, anybody can master any subject.

Outside of work, Sulaiman enjoys anything creative, and has pursued photography and graphic design as well as making a few short films and advertisements.

“As long as I am engaged in doing something creative, that keeps me going,” he says.

In his day to day work, SIMULIA software plays a large role, becoming an integral part of his job. Designers and engineers in the wind sector don’t get to make multiple prototypes, he explains, because of the size and cost of the turbines they are working with. A single prototype can cost millions of dollars, so it must be gotten right on the first try. Simulation can help to ensure this.

“I love simulation because it ensures that my designs are based on facts and science, and not on gut feelings,” he says.

He encourages new users of simulation software to understand how the software and its solvers work, rather than jumping right into the modeling aspect. Without a clear understanding of these aspects, the software will produce incorrect inputs.

In the future, Sulaiman hopes to contribute more to the green energy sector, about which he is passionate. He believes that wind, particularly offshore wind, will play a huge role in decreasing CO2 emissions, and he hopes to focus on building more innovations and driving more technological changes in the field.