Winter 1997

It's time to send in the nerds

We need to salute the people who use scientific principals to make the world a better place

by President Samuel F. Hulbert

It's time to look beyond the plastic pocket protector stereotype and admit this world would not be much without nerds. If nerds were not always thinking, tinkering and solving problems, society as we know it would collapse.

Take a look around your residence and give thanks for the nerds who made it possible. Television sets, phone systems, cars, food and stoves are among the many items available in your household because some nerd saw a need and provided a technological solution to meet that need.

Nothing in today's world can be mass-produced without an engineer or scientist making it happen. From steam valves to heart valves, from computer chips to potato chips, nerds play a vital role in the quality of life we enjoy today. Clean air and clean water depend upon the ability of some nerd to bring proper environmental technology into play.

My view of nerds as heroes goes against a society stereotype of a smart person with a closet full of short-sleeved white shirts accompanied by a custom-fitted plastic pocket protector. The stereotype "nerd" also believes personal interaction is best achieved through the Internet.

Fortunately, one person's shortsighted vocabulary is another's term of endearment. People have called me a nerd, and I'm proud of it. My definition of a nerd is a person who uses scientific principles to make this a better world for fellow human beings. True nerds know how to use technology to solve problems, and they know why they do it.

Nerds I know are not chained to a lab bench or a computer terminal. They have a multitude of interests outside of science, math and technological application. Some are theater buffs, outdoor enthusiasts, gourmet cooks, singers, sports fans, accomplished public speakers and entrepreneurs.

The one thread that ties different nerds together is their desire and ability to solve problems. They just can't help it. It's part of their personalities. Their minds always run in overdrive thinking about how they can solve problems. Their inspiration comes from anywhere. Some of the best problem-solving I've seen has taken place on napkins during lunch.

The need for nerds permeates all aspects of our society. I like to use a peanut butter sandwich, a common food staple when my grandchildren visit, to demonstrate this trait. The bread to make the sandwich started in a wheat field where farmers mechanically harvested with a combine. After being cut, the grain went to a grain elevator via truck. From the elevator the grain travels by truck and rail for processing into flour and then into bread. The total field-to-bakery experience involves engineers and scientists who design the combines, engineer the trucks, lay out the highway infrastructure, determine the processing of the wheat into flour, and build the plants that bake the bread. As a nerd, I take extra satisfaction when I bite into that sandwich knowing it would not be on my table without technological problem solvers.

Another great trait of nerds is they are never satisfied. They revel in tweaking the technology to take it to the next level. I work in the area of design and evaluation of artificial organs and prosthetic devices. Much of my work involves interaction with surgeons. It wasn't too long ago when we judged surgeons by the length of the scar and the time in surgery. The longer the scar and the more time in surgery, the better the surgeon. Today, a good surgeon develops a good reputation through a smaller scar and less time in surgery. That change comes thanks, in part, to nerds who strive to improve existing processes that allow minimally invasive surgery.

As society grows more complex, the need for nerds also will grow. As I look at the changes nerds helped bring about in the last century, I know what faces them in just the next decade will know no bounds. I consider it a privilege to work where we educate the problem solvers of tomorrow. The engineering, science and mathematics we teach will equip these young men and women to make the world a better place. Not only will they have the necessary skills, but they will take with them an appreciation of why they use those skills.

So much opportunity awaits our problem solvers of tomorrow. I'm even looking forward to an improved peanut butter sandwich. Pass the bread, and bring on the nerds.