Episode 24 of The Downtime, a weekly manufacturing podcast from WTWH Media, is a Throwback Thursday edition, revisiting co-hosts Sarah Wynn and Sheri Kasprzak’s conversation with Sushmitha (Sushi) Sudhir, engineer at Arup.

The Downtime · The Downtime | Episode 24: Throwing It Back

To carry on with the throwback theme, Wynn highlights Packaging OEM’s eBook on coding, printing, and marking. Download it here. She also shares a story on how Four Peaks Brewing Company increased quality control by incorporating Leibinger printers for reliable coding.

Electrical engineering and sustainable design perspective

Sudhir is an electrical engineer with a focus on sustainable building design, with projects including the Sandwell Aquatics Center in the United Kingdom and decarbonization and renovation projects in Houston, Texas.

In Spring 2025, she was recognized by Consulting Specifying Engineer as one of its 40 Under 40 award winners. She leads a team at Arup and is active in Women in Architecture Houston.

Advice for women in the trades

Drawing from her experience leading projects in male-dominated fields, Sudhir joined The Downtime to offer advice for women in engineering and manufacturing. “Don’t hold back. Don’t think that your ideas don’t have merit,” she said. “There is no silly question.”

Sudhir also emphasized the importance of confidence and speaking up in professional settings.

“If you have a valid idea to bring to the table, don’t hold back. Don’t be shy,” she added. “Don’t be afraid to be the loudest voice in the room.”

This conversation originally aired during the Women in the Trades Day Downtime special report in June 2025. Click here to listen to the full episode, which features three additional interviews from women in manufacturing and engineering.

Sushmitha (Sushi) Sudhir, electrical engineer at Arup, shares leadership insights, sustainable engineering expertise, and career advice on Episode 24 of The Downtime podcast. Source: Sushmitha Sudhir, Adobe Stock

Episode 24 | Show notes & time stamps

00:18 – Episode begins

02:58 – Wynn chats about her first-ever Packaging OEM article on how Four Peaks used Leibinger products to enhance quality control

03:18 – Wynn introduces the Packaging OEM eBook on dynamic applications of labeling, coding, and marking

03:37 – Kasprzak talks about the latest article from Plant Engineering on how to make manufacturing sustainable through automation by Deana Fu with Mitsubishi Electric

05:30 – Wynn discusses her first piece for Control Engineering on how Shell Oil partnered with Schneider Electric to modernize its refinery control with software-defined automation.

06:15 – Kasprzak introduces the interview of the week with Sushmitha “Sushi” Sudhir, an electrical engineer with Arup

07:46 – Interview with Sudhir begins

22:53 – Interview with Sudhir ends

24:44 – Game time segment begins

31:52 – The dynamic duo wrap-up the episode

About The Downtime podcast and co-hosts

The Downtime is a weekly manufacturing podcast from WTWH Media that features insights from its automation and controls publications. It’s co-hosted by Wynn, who serves as the senior editor (digital) for Packaging OEM, and Kasprzak, who is the executive editor for Plant Engineering, Control Engineering, and Consulting-Specifying Engineer.