Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - May/June 2010 - (Page 28)

iSTock/ vEcToSTck on hns e Jo n arri by C T HE INNER WORKINGS OF COMPUTERS have always fascinated me. Whenever I search the Internet, create a document, or edit photographs, I want to do more than use those functions; I want to understand how they work. roughout my high school years, I’ve participated in a range of activities that have allowed me to explore my interest in computers, to learn more about how they operate, and to program them to perform a variety of functions. Exploring Engineering at School As a freshman, I joined my school’s website sta and enrolled in a Saturday HTML class to learn website design and programming. In my sophomore year, I enrolled in AP Computer Science, where I learned about programming in greater depth, including methods, problem solving, and how to create algorithms. I also took a robotics class o ered by a local community college at my school. is class explored both the so ware and hardware involved in building robots. I learned how to program in PBASIC and how robots are built, from chassis to sensors. It was thrilling to realize that computer programming was no longer limited to a CPU on a desktop; I could use code to make robots do things. I found myself imagining some of the ways in which robotics might be used in the future. I thought of my grandmother, who has kidney failure. What if I could make a robotic device that would aid kidney function, or even a robotic kidney? Maybe we could use robots to perform medical procedures, reducing human error and lessening the strain on our medical system. I found the possibilities endlessly exciting. So when I learned that my school was starting a team to compete in the FIRST robotics competition, I eagerly signed up. With FIRST, teams have six weeks to design and build a robot using a kit of standard parts. My team learned the programming language and worked together to assemble the pieces into a functional robot. 28 imagine May/Jun 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - May/June 2010

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - May/June 2010
Table of Contents
Big Questions
In My Own Words
If They Build It
Design That Matters
Wired to Win
A Student at SPAWAR
Even When the Ground Shakes
Biomimicry
An Engineer in Training
Engineering My Future
Home Away From Home
Selected Opportunities & Resources
Middle Ground
Off the Shelf
Word Wise
Exploring Career Options
One Step Ahead
Planning Ahead for College
Students Review
Creative Minds Imagine
Sudoku
Knossos Game

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - May/June 2010