Intelligent Design

    By the title here, I am referring not to the topic of recent public debate concerning school policies, but to the activity or endeavor that I have figured out will be my focus in life. In a way, it always has been, but I did not realize it until recently. Industrial design and product design have been around for most of the last century, being fields originating from architecture, art and engineering, all of which I am very interested in. I have been in conflict over which to focus on - art or science - for a long time. I saw aerospace engineering as a new hope for mankind, and art simply as a way that I can keep a balance in my life while pursuing this grand Goal. I was attracted to aerospace engineering because I saw a wonderful aesthetic in the forms of aircraft, and I was enthralled with the possibilities of space travel and flight. All through my time at the U of M I have tried to get more of a liberal education, through my study of visual arts, drawing, Chinese language and calligraphy there, as well as personal investigations in 2D and 3D computer graphics, web design, pipestone sculpture, photography, and more. I simply could not focus solely on engineering.

    I have been fascinated with design for a long time, but I never saw it as a possibility for a career until I made the realization that it involves just what I want to do in life. I can blend my love of both art and science, of form and function, of intuition and engineering, of reason and passion. I will not have to give up on either, I will be able to remain a renaissance man, exploring, learning about all things, creating, solving, inventing, innovating, and living. Ever since I have recognized this, I have been fairly well bursting with ideas, my spirits have picked up, and I am not apprehensive about graduating. I look forward to being an ambassador between artists and engineers, for I will be both.