Paul Moller on the Skycar

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/paul_moller_on_the_skycar.html

I want to be an engineer; more specifically, I want to make, modify, construct, and deconstruct things until I've come up with a way to make something useful out of it. This TED talk, given by Paul Moller, is one about tinkering with the two things required for invention: necessity and creativity. Since I was little, I loved legos, puzzles, and all kinds of building materials. As of recently, I've become interested in physics and how things work. Combining the two has led me toward the path of invention.

Paul's talk involves many parts of the invention process: the idea, his first approach, problems, misconceptions, then a repeat. I watched this talk to get a closer look at this process and how he went through it; I got an added bonus since he was talking about one of my long-standing interests (since grade school), flying from the comfort of your own home. He admits that many people have doubted this possibility countless times ever since Henry Ford predicted it back in 1940. But having the power to overcome people's (and sometimes your own) doubts is one of the main reasons I enjoyed watching Paul's talk. Many people will attest to his statement―that without a strong drive, the invention process fails.

Paul Moller is the president, CEO and chair of Moller International, which directs its efforts toward developing Moller's Skycar. His company also works on the M200, a low-flying disc, or volantor, that may go into production later in 2009. A partner company, Freedom Motors, builds the Rotapower engine. Moller developed the Aeronautical Engineering program at UC Davis while a professor there from 1963 to 1975. In 1972 he founded SuperTrapp Industries, and also led the group that developed the Davis Research Park Complex between 1975 and 1983. He's been working on "Vertical Takeoff and Landing" personal vehicles since the late 1960s.

I'm going to study Computer Science and Engineering at Santa Clara. Like Paul, I want to be able to take an idea and mess around with it until I can produce something useful or fun, like a computer program. Computers are becoming more and more a part of society; more and more they are becoming necessary to every day life: mainly in cell phones and home computers. I hope to make something that will be of use to many people, or something innovative that will change the way people live life―for the better. I can start by getting some experience by getting an internship or a job. Santa Clara is a great school for Computer Science and Engineering; with its 4-1 program, I can earn a bachelor's degree in four years and quickly upgrade to a master's degree in just one more year. Santa Clara is also great not only for its outstanding program, but because of its location in the heart of the Silicon Valley. I think I should be able to get plenty of experience and be on my way to using ideas to create new, useful products that people will enjoy.