Lidar — which helps the Waymo Driver perceive the world around it in 3D — has become more common than ever before. Car manufacturers are integrating it into driver-assist systems; phone manufacturers are using it to enhance augmented reality capabilities, and robot vacuums even rely on it to better map the layout of your home. At Waymo, lidar is core to our sensor suite, with its ability to perceive objects and other road users with industry-leading resolution, up to hundreds of meters away, across a range of conditions.

Waymo has welcomed interns for years at our offices in the US and UK to join us in contributing their expertise to further developing our autonomous driving system and helping us scale our business. While their backgrounds vary greatly, each and every one of our awesome interns brings unique perspectives, a desire to tackle challenging problems, and an interest in improving the world’s access to mobility.

The school year is quickly approaching and students will be sitting in a class once again, whether at home or in person. In fact, some students are already back in session! Some classes will completely absorb them in the material and others will have them wondering “when will I ever use this information again?” or “ how will I use this in the real world?” Well, it’s time to put an end to those age-old questions! We talked to three Waymonauts across the company about what foundational knowledge they learned in high school that they still use today at Waymo.

This month, we’re recognizing Black History Month, an annual celebration of the experiences and contributions of Black and African Americans who have shaped and strengthened our country. This year, more than ever, we uphold the responsibility to recognize and highlight the importance of amplifying Black voices.

Earlier this month, we teamed up with Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas (GSNETX) to transport cookies for the annual Girl Scout Cookie Program with our Waymo Via truck fleet. Girl Scouts has long encouraged girls at every age and from all different backgrounds to explore science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields through their girl-centric programming. And at Waymo, we need a diverse group of people to develop the Waymo Driver and deliver on our mission, so we look for opportunities to open these dialogues with younger generations who will forge the future of autonomous driving technology.

On August 26, we celebrated Women’s Equality Day. It marked the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote in the United States. It’s an important milestone in America’s history, though it wasn’t until 1965, when the Voting Rights Act passed allowing women of color to exercise their right to vote. This reminds us that over the past hundred years, there has been substantial progress toward gender equality, but the work is far from complete. At Waymo, equal opportunities are not just part of our culture, but are also an essential foundation for building truly inclusive technology and improving mobility for everyone.

June marks LGBTQ+ Pride Month, an annual celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer identities, relationships, and allyship. There’s no one-size-fits-all way to celebrate Pride -- it means something different to each individual. Some view it as a holiday and many of us use Pride to focus on the work that still needs to be done. At Waymo, we will celebrate Pride in several ways throughout the month and also carry it with us throughout the year, led by our LGTBQ employee resource group (ERG), the Rainbownauts.

Our top priority will always be the safety of our team, riders, partners, and of course, the communities in which we drive. As the world navigates COVID-19, it’s been inspiring to see people come together - from a distance - to keep each other safe. At the forefront of this effort are the brave heroes in our hospitals, grocery stores, pharmacies, and other essential businesses, helping our neighbors most in need.

Throughout my education, I interned at software companies of varying sizes -- from large, and well-established to small startups; then in 2017, I joined Waymo as part of its first intern class. In many ways, Waymo was the best of both worlds. I found the same energy, enthusiasm, and drive of a start-up, coupled with the stability and resources of a well-established company.

Editor’s note: This semester, Waymo partnered with ArtCenter in Pasadena, California for a Sponsored Project. While ArtCenter’s Sponsored Projects have evolved over the nearly 90-year history of the college’s corporate engagement, the intention and promise remain the same: high-quality, professional experiences that bring current industry challenges and opportunities into the classroom and provide students the context for imagining future solutions. Here to share more about their experience are Joseph, a 7th term Transportation Design student, and Nancy, a 7th term Product Design student.

Today is Veterans Day in the U.S., a day to recognize those who have served in the U.S. armed forces. At Waymo, we’re proud to have veterans from all of our armed services as members of our team. Each veteran brings a wealth of experience. In particular, during their time in the military, our veterans collaborate with diverse teams to accomplish missions. Collaboration, mission, and respect are also central to Waymo’s culture, and how we operate as a company.

When I entered graduate school at MIT in 2006, self-driving cars were primarily a research effort, highlighted by the DARPA Grand Challenges. While those competitions sparked so much passion and interest in the field during my student days, the last Grand Challenge for self-driving happened over a decade ago. What’s inspiring to me is how today’s students and volunteers are now creating their own self-driving competitions.

Being active members of the communities in which we live and work, including Arizona, California, Michigan, Texas, and Washington state, is central to our values at Waymo. While Waymo employees are encouraged to partake in community service throughout the year, WaymoServe is a month focused on volunteerism, designed to support what is meaningful to them. This year, during our third annual WaymoServe, employees across the country gave back over 600 hours of service.

Growing up outside of Boston, family trips to watch the Red Sox play meant getting to ride the T, Boston's transit system, and getting to spend the day at historic Fenway Park. My favorite memories aren’t of what happened on the field or if the Sox won or lost; they’re the experience of being at the ball game. Yesterday, I got to share a similar experience with my son when Waymo, the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), and the San Francisco Giants teamed up to host 50 fathers and their children at a game for Father's Day. This event celebrated the contribution that father figures make in their children's lives.

Many of us at Waymo can think back to our first jobs and internships and how these first opportunities helped shape us into who we are today.

Today, I joined hundreds of women from Waymo to celebrate International Women’s Day. Waymo is recognizing women and their contributions throughout Women’s History Month with a variety of events and surprises. We asked individuals across our organization — both women and allies — to wear white in honor of suffragettes who paved the path for us.

In celebration of Black History Month, I was honored to be asked to speak at Greenville High School in my hometown of Greenville, South Carolina. Black History Month offers us a time to reflect on our history, and this invitation gave me the unique opportunity to reflect on my own.

At Waymo, we’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive team and ensure that the products and experiences we design are impactful for all of our customers. I’m proud to be a member of one of our employee resource groups, Women of Waymo (WoW), a group of over 100 women and allies focused on creating an aware and inclusive Waymo for all.

Our team at Waymo comes from all over the world and brings a diverse set of experiences to the work of creating fully self-driving cars. Our teammate, Andrew Crawford, is no exception. After a ten-year career as a pro-snowboarder (and after 35 broken bones in search of the perfect powder), Andrew decided, at the age of 31, to go back to school to tackle his next dream: becoming an engineer.