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.

Tom Watson – Brian Greene on String Theory

http://www.ted.com/talks/brian_greene_on_string_theory.html

This past year I have taken Physics with Mr. Fisch and it has really sparked an interest in science for me. My previous science classes such as Chemistry and Biology never really piqued my interest and I never truly enjoyed learning about the deeper levels of the subjects.

However, one night in January on my way home from southern California my iPod was dead, my phone had no service, and I could not fall asleep, meanwhile my dad was listening to this broadcast on NPR by Brian Greene. As skeptical as I was of the podcast (I mean how could NPR be exciting?) I was soon engrossed with what Brian Greene was saying about the possibilities of parallel universes and if the universe was limitless, therefore there are limitless possibilities of configurations of atoms. This basically boils down to if anything is possible, it has happened, or is happening, in a parallel universe.

Therefore, when we were assigned the TED Project, I already had an idea of what I wanted to do, and possible who I wanted to do it on. I looked up TED talks done by Brian Greene and found that he had a famous one on the ideas of the String Theory. The String Theory suggests that there are oscillating strings among the smallest particles, which reconciles the theories of Newton with that of Einstein. However, in order for this to be true, there must be 10 space dimensions and 1 time dimension. Greene breaks these ideas of the String Theory into very easy to understand language using visual aids to help give viewers a better understanding of how the different dimensions of our universe actually work.

Greene began his life in New York City, son to a high school dropout. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School, a public school in New York City well known for its academic strength in Math and Sciences. This may well have been the beginning of his interest in the sciences. Upon graduating from Stuyvesant High School, Green went to Harvard, majoring in Physics. He earned his bachelors degree there, whereupon he moved to Oxford and earned his doctorate as a Rhodes Scholar, one of the most prestigious awards in the world. After his graduation he joined the faculty at Cornell University, and five years later became a full professor. The year after earning a full professorship he moved to Colombia University. At Colombia he has become the co-director of the Institute for Strings, Cosmology, and Astroparticle Physics. He has become a well known physicist for his ideas on parallel universes and his study of the String Theory. His success is most likely due to the initial education from even the high school level, as well as his ability to explain some of the most complicated ideas in ways that almost anyone can understand because of his total understanding of the theories and ideas.

Most of my life I had never really considered what profession I wanted to major in because it had almost been a given. My dad is an engineer, and so was his dad, and it was assumed that I would do the same. I do love math and building things with my hands and thinking outside the box, however I always assumed that all pointed towards being an engineer of some sort. However after taking a physics class with Mr. Fischer this year and hearing these lectures done by Greene I am considering going more into a physics degree. As of this point I am undecided whether I want to pursue an engineering degree (most likely mechanical) or a physics degree. My dad has many connections through his work as an engineer and therefore I will most likely get a job this summer at a machine shop, working for one of his friends. As for my jobs after college, I do not yet know as it depends on my degree but I know I want to be discovering and thinking critically, whether it be in engineering or in physics, rather than just doing mindless tasks. My dad has always stressed the benefits of obtaining a graduate degree and for this reason I will definitely want to continue my studies at the graduate level and help prepare myself even further for the future.