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About us:

You like learning whether you admit it or not. Maybe you like writing or programming of solving puzzles, or playing sports. Maybe you like making things with your hands. Maybe you want to fix up a car, or study the laws of the universe. Maybe you want to help people in need. Tell you what. No matter what you want to do, you need a brain. And a brain you’ve got. That’s why you’re here. GetReal is about Engineering as a mindset which can be applied to anything. We post short, to-the-point, interesting posts about engineering and other science-related themes—three times a week.

Jonathan Carlson’s college experience of engineering isn’t what you see in movies, or read about. Until now. As you read in part one, his passion is the human body, and protecting human life against viruses.

I went in to undergrad fully convinced I was going to pursue a biology major and probably PhD. This desire largely stemmed from a fantastic AP biology class I had at Beaverton High. At the end of that class, my teacher, Richard Peterson, suggested I apply for a program sponsored by Earth Watch that sent a handful of high school students nationwide to 3 week “experiences” in various sciences. I ended up at the Stanford Human Genome Center at the height of the Human Genome Project. I was immediately hooked on genetics.

Open this photo. Bill Gates sitting not 15 feet from Jonathan Carlson, on panel. Follow Jonathan's advice and you might get to do something like this, too. And that's awesome.

It wasn’t until he took that one random CS class that he realized just how relevant computer science was to him. He wound up with a Bachelors degree in “Biology modified with Computer Science,” from Dartmouth University, and then moved to University of Washington for his Masters and Doctorate degrees.

And now he works at Microsoft Research, so you can tell it worked out for him.

Realize that he didn’t quite know what he was going to do with his life. He had a pretty good idea, that’s for sure. He’d found a passion. You should, too. Don’t let yourself get defaulted into some regular old code monkey, number cruncher position at a big office. Look into yourself and find something you legitimately care about. Jonathan was lucky and knew his passion before even entering college. Some people take longer, and that’s okay.

But no matter what your passion is, Jonathan has some advice for you about what to study. Remember, this is coming from a guy who wanted a PhD in biology, not CS:

Study computer science! It will (already does?) run the world, including the sciences. It is regrettable that CS is nearly absent in high school, and intro CS classes in both HS and college are nearly always dry and boring and focus on programming, which is really a very minor part of CS.  CS is the tool by which great science is and will be done.  It is the only way to make sense of massive amounts of data and it is rapidly accelerating the pace at which science across nearly all disciplines advances.  Whatever your interest, in science or outside, there is almost certainly a role for computer science. By studying both, you’ll put yourself in position for a an exciting and rewarding career! And, especially practical in this economy, there are far more CS jobs than there are skilled CS workers.

I would strongly caution against convincing yourself that you know what you want to study before you ever get to college. Very few people I know majored in what they originally thought they would. And at least one top college (MIT 10 years ago, not sure if this is still true) doesn’t even let you pick a major ’till sophomore or junior year, presumably because they’re tired of everyone changing majors in that time. Rather, look for a school where professor-student interaction and collaboration is common across the board. But beyond that, it’s important to find a place where you will have fun and learn a lot about yourself that has nothing at all to do with academics.

Jonathan has a somewhat unusual hobby. This man enjoys his pole vaulting. He decided in high school that basketball and baseball weren’t his things, and decided to listen to his high school chemistry teacher by trying the pole vault out. As it turns out, he met his wife doing the pole vault in college. Having hobbies are important, so find something you like!

But when it comes to choosing a school, he said that “having served on the admissions committee for grad programs, I can tell you that the most important thing academically is to find a place where you can do real research with professors. The better known the professor, the better.” Being on the admissions committee means he heard what people were saying when deciding who does and doesn’t get into grad school.

And the most talked-about subject? Research. So find someplace where you can do real research, and work hard to get in on it!

Finally, some words of wisdom. There’s a somewhat common belief among successful people, and that’s planning ahead for the long term. Before they do anything, they ask if this will help them out something like 10 years down the line. And they plan out their whole lives, sometimes. Jonathan believes in planning ahead, but has some insightful advice:

I’ve always been of the belief that you should plan 3-5 years out and look for what will maximize your interests now, while actively keeping yourself open to completely new directions.  Obviously, it’s good to have in mind the long term (not going to college because you can earn more money in the next 3 years working is really naïve except in the rarest of instances, which typically involve block buster startups), but aside from general long term goals, I can’t stress enough the importance of pursuing current interests to the fullest while always being open to new directions.

In other words, plan ahead. Lay out a road for yourself to travel down. But don’t pave too far ahead, and let the wind guide you. Look where it got him.

There’s only one way to find out how care it can get you.

Personally, we're glad these big black boxes of magnetic tape have been replaced by DVD and Blu-ray.

Next week is the Consumer Electronics Show. It’s mostly a giant advertisement for new cool electronic gadgets, but there are also a lot of really cool efforts in each show. Check out some of our favorites from last year.

CES showcases a lot of new technology, and it’s a great way to see what technologies today’s gadgets are using, and what’s currently being researched. And it’s been around for a long time. Here are some technologies which have debuted at CES:

• Video Cassette Recorder (VCR), 1970
• Pong home console by Atari, 1975
• Camcorder, 1981
• Compact Disc (CD) player, 1981
• Commodore 64, 1982
• Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), 1985
• Tetris, 1988
• Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), 1996
• HDTV, 1998
• Digital Video Recorder (DVR), 1999
• Xbox, 2001
• HD DVD, 2004
• Blu-ray Disc, 2004

It’s basically a fashion show for Engineers and computer scientists, with one important difference: fashion designers don’t code, or design electronics. And not a lot of people remember fashion the way we remember the original NES, Tetris, DVDs or Blu-ray discs.  They become things we use without even thinking. But they’re definitely not made without thinking…

The point here is that if you want to get a good gauge on what sorts of technologies you’ll be working with when you’re older, a good way to do that is to see what’s coming out of the front lines. New technologies shown at CES 2012 will show you what kinds of research some universities are doing, or what private companies want to get out there.

We really think coding is the way to go. Designing robots and gadgets can now be done on a computer, with the right application. But the coding is what makes it go. It’s what makes it do. Imagine if your TV or phone or computer had no coding. It would be a big plastic-and-glass box that maybe lit up. Coding is the future. If you’re looking for good ways to learn to code, you can check out our Teach Yourself Programming series, and a useful website called Code Year; make it your New Year’s resolution! If you don’t want to do that, jump straight to its parent site, CodeAcademy!

Jonathan Carlson’s path isn’t quite what you might expect. He didn’t even touch CS until he was in college. His roots were actually in Biology and, specifically, in health:

Biology was a passion for me because I loved understanding how we work at the minute level. In a sense, discovering how the most amazing machines ever contrived works. Viruses in particular are fascinating because of how they have evolved to evade our immune system and how our immune system has responded…and the immediate effect this cat and mouse game has on our health.

This is pretty common in engineers and computer scientists! Nine times out of ten you’ll find that they were attracted into the field by more than just the field itself, but their interests in something else. Jonathan’s passion is helping the world be healthier by understanding the human body and defeating nasty diseases—most engineers have passions separate from engineering and CS.

In fact, when we asked him about his earliest memories tied to engineering, Jonathan had a lot to say. But it’s worth reading:

Even if your interests and goals are in Biology, like Jonathan's, you could easily wind up learning CS and engineering as a part of it.

Well, I really decided to do science. And computer science, and statistical modeling/machine learning in particular turned out to be a great means to do so, and were also intensely interesting in their own right.  In a sense, it’s engineering with the specific purpose of advancing science—and in my case, global health. . . Computer science really hooked me because of its logic and it’s use of abstract yet orderly thinking.

AP Biology my junior year of high school was really what got me interested in science in general and biology in particular. . . Computer Science really came out of the blue when I took intro to CS my freshman fall (despite, or perhaps because of, warnings in the prospectus against freshmen taking it fall term) for no real reason.  As it turns out, the two interests merged and now I use computer science to study viruses.”

Bioinformantics, the application of CS to biology, can be used for all sorts of research for anyone interested in biology.

And you’ll find this out too, when you talk to engineers or computer scientists in the field. They found out that the best way to pursue their passions is through either CS or engineering, and so they wind up learning those trades to get there.

Coincidentally, Jonathan wound up getting his Bachelors degree in “Biology with a Computer Science modification,” and went on to get a Masters and finally a Doctorate in Computer Science. And now, he’s doing something called Bioinformantics, which he described as “biology with computers instead of wet labs.” Which is good for him, because he’s a self-proclaimed disaster in wet labs.

And Jonathan is pretty pleased with where he’s wound up. His first job was at Microsoft Research, and that’s where he’s planning on staying put:

My work these past 3 years has been an extension of my PhD dissertation, which essentially boils down to studying how HIV evolves and how we might design a vaccine to which HIV cannot adapt.  As part of this work, I get to develop cutting edge statistical modeling techniques, while working with world class researchers on 5 different continents (still looking for collaborators in South America and Antarctica!), and diving head long into the theoretical part of the biology (and letting those collaborators do the wet experiments!).  It’s a real thrill to be working with so many great scientists to advance our understanding of the immune system and viruses in general and HIV in particular.

Jonathan, just like so many others, decided to pursue his passions through computer science. It’s the way to go; whether you’re into physics, robotics, biology, or even something like languages, you’ll find that there’s a CS-related degree and job waiting for you. Who designs buildings, airplanes and cars? Mechanical engineers who are great with physics. Who makes exoskeletons for the handicapped? Electrical engineers who like robots. Who works on curing HIV? Jonathan Carlson, a computer scientist who studies biology. And who do you think works on Google Translate? A computer scientist whose interests are in languages.

In part two, you’ll hear more about his college experience, his personal hobbies, and what he thinks you need to know about college.

• Read about a girl who became a certified professional for Microsoft at age 9, and the unfortunate event that led to her hospitalization.


Hawking's ad reads: STOP PRESS: Could you maintain this? If your answer is "yes", we'd like to hear from you!

• Here’s a cool story about the world’s first hacker, who used Morse code to send insults.
• Stephen Hawking is looking for a young techie to maintain his wheelchair! Are you the one for the job?
• An interesting ad for “Cubelets,” a cube-shaped modular robot-building system.
• Here’s a new article about China’s space plans, which were recently released through 2016.
• There’s a group called C3, the Chaos Computer Club. They’re based in Germany and have had yearly meetings since 1981. They have a lot of good talks (some of which are in German). Here’s one good video from this year’s 28C3 called “The coming war on general computation.” Look it up on Youtube.
• Read about an MIT student who made a self-balancing unicycle.

We’re in the future, people. Right in the middle of a sci-fi novel. Proof of that is the fact that we’ve got cyborg suits that can battle radiation, 3d printers and 3d cameras that can track your movement, robots that can perform delicate surgery, projects to control asteroids, and cars that drive themselves. It sounds like an episode of the old cartoon, The Jetsons.

But it’s not. It’s reality. And because of that it’s not surprising that a lot of people want you to become an engineer or computer scientist. Those are two fields which are really leading the frontlines in advancements in science and technology. In fact it’s become so big that it’s being compared to what was happening 60 years ago.

60 years ago was the economy boom right after World War II, and that really strong postwar economy made it easy for America to lead the way in technological innovation. Today, you can tell how cool science careers are by how much media glorifies them: we’ve got hackers on a lot of crime drama shows being portrayed as magicians, technology being used by the good guys and the bad guys, programming being shown as a common job, and a lot of other things.

You know when it hits mainstream, it’s no longer a secret.

Yeah, well that’s because the secret’s out. Engineering and computer science are the jobs to have, and it’s big in universities. Check out some of the biggest OSU research projects from 2011. Count how many of them are engineering or CS-related.

Read on:

• Looking back: Selected OSU research projects 2011
• Teaching STEM: From comic books to video games
• OSU posts 100 years of research online. Looking at research on a topic of interest is the first step to an engineering project: see what data there is and what kinds of problems have been solved, so you can solve a new one (or solve the same one in a better way).

And that’s what this guy did. A guy named Jack Eisenmann, who just graduated from high school, built himself an 8-bit computer out of an old TV and keyboard, and some chips he probably bought from an electronics store. Oh, and tons of wire, as you can see in the video:

From the creator:

The DUO Adept is an 8-bit homebrew TTL CPU + GPU I have designed and built. As a challenge I used only basic kinds of logic chips; no microcontroller or video card. It has a black and white TV monitor and keyboard, and is generally awesome!

Oh, and I forgot to mention: I made this when I was a highschooler with no formal education in electronics. :)

Read on:

• Here’s the project website for what jack calls the DUO ADEPT. Looks pretty complex, but we’ll bet you he took everything one step at a time.
• Engadget article about the story.
• Wikipedia article about TTL, which he used to design the computer.

It’s worth knowing, though, that LEGO robotics continues through high school, and has some pretty spectacular competitions. They’re done through a group called Oregon FIRST, which stands for “For Inspiring Recognition in Science and Technology.” Because that’s what they do.

What’s very cool is that the Girl Scouts, in some areas of the US, are sponsoring FLL competitions and teams. Which means you might be able to convince your local troop to help out, if you’re interested in robotics.

It can sometimes be an uphill battle for girls interested in science, for a number of reasons. But Oregon is great about giving everyone a fair opportunity. If you find yourself having trouble joining or starting a team, see about asking any big clubs you’re in, like Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts, for some financial help and maybe a mentor.

Read on:

• Oregon FIRST website. Click the “Find a Team!” link if you want to try and join a team near you.

UO is sharing the grant with the University of Alabama, a Department of Energy lab and a fuel cell tech company in Massachusetts. The grant will last 3 years and may well be followed up with additional funding.

Shih-Yuan Liu got a PhD from MIT; getting onboard with his research would be a great opportunity in Oregon.

That means if you’re a senior in high school (or even a junior) there’s a good chance you’ll catch this project after it’s well established. The research team who’s going to be doing the work has some undergraduates.

The one who is leading the research is Professor Shih-Yuan Liu, who teaches chemistry at UO’s Materials Science Institute. He’s already done work in the area and is sure to be enthusiastic about this new grant.

Read on:

• Check out the undergraduate research opportunities at the Materials Science Institute, University of Oregon.
• Professor Liu’s research lab website. Also Professor Liu’s bio.
• Sustainable Business Oregon’s news article about the grant.

• Read about how nanotechnology and chemical engineering may lead to the end of laundry.
• Especially in the winter when weather gets cold, well-greengineered curtains are important!


This is what light looks like as it travels through space, as seen at one trillion fps.

• Say what you want about the Stop Online Piracy Act and the PROTECT-IP Act, but read about what some important people have to say. Read the list of people who signed it. These acts will affect your future on the internet and, consequently, your future as an engineer or computer scientist.
• 2011 Frontiers of Engineering: The Evolution of Neuroprosthetics. It’s a long video, but that link will skip straight to the good part
• Read about how NASA is designing a harpoon to collect samples of comets as they fly by. Also watch the video on the page.
• This might be scary if you’re in to internet privacy: a 20-something year old asks Facebook for all the data they’ve collected about him, and gets over 1200 pages.
• Watch this video about how MIT designed a camera that can capture 1,000,000,000,000 frames per second–fast enough to capture individual photons as they travel through space.