Calling all problem-solvers
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No comments [ Add Comment ]By JOHN ARMSTRONG
Guest Commentary
The train is finally coming to town ... and I couldn't be happier.
A few weeks ago, I met a couple of the folks testing out Utah's new FrontRunner. We saw the train while driving on the 24th Street viaduct, gleaming on the new tracks, approached the two men and asked for a ride.
"Only one more month," they said almost in unison. And then they beamed. They're almost as excited as I am.
I've lived in Seattle, and worked in San Francisco and L.A. Those last two cities waited so long to put in their trains they cost a fortune. Seattle, after decades of work, still hasn't got theirs built. But in Utah, we've got TRAX and we'll soon have FrontRunner. And it can't happen soon enough.
Those two FrontRunner guys are problem-solvers. They tell us Utah's population will double in the foreseeable future, with nearly a million more people in just the next 20 years. Most of that growth will happen along the Wasatch Front, exactly the region served by the FrontRunner. Gas is bumping up to $4 per gallon. We need more transit options. While most places are biding their time doing nothing but building more roads, Utah is planning ahead.
The dire need for problem-solvers is a nationwide crisis. We don't have enough people who know math. Engineers are getting harder and harder to find. In fact, most areas in science, technology, engineering and math (what we in the biz call STEM focus areas) are desperate for skilled employees. Utah can only stay ahead of the game if we keep solving problems ... and educating our students with the skills to do the same.
Yes, many professions are taking a hit as jobs get outsourced overseas. But companies in research and development in this country are in a jam because they can't hire enough highly trained people. With changing immigration laws after Sept. 11, companies can't import talent from overseas as they have in the past.
The solution is to grow more educated, talented people right here at home. In Northern Utah, a number of programs are leading the state in prepping students for the next wave of science and technology professions. Weber State University is expanding engineering opportunities by proposing a new general engineering program and partnering with Utah State University to offer a joint electrical engineering degree. WSU has one of the most comprehensive programs for undergraduate research in the state, and is especially strong in the science and technology fields.
All of this is an effort to educate problem-solvers. Our physics degree at WSU should really be called a "problem-solvers degree." As I often say, physicists can do anything, and the degree is a springboard for nearly every field in science and technology.
We feel the best way to train problem-solvers is to give them problems to solve. This year, starting at 5:30 p.m. on April 18, the physics department at WSU will hold its Second Annual Open House. Visitors will enjoy hands-on science experiments, the Circus of Physics, a demonstration of WSU's High Altitude Ballooning program, special talks by internationally recognized WSU physicists and much, much more. Given the community support from last year, the event has been expanded, but it is still free, suitable for all ages and open to the public.
If our open house can excite just one person out of the 500 attending to pursue a degree in science and technology, that would get us started on filling the employment gap before it's too late.
The physics department is committed to developing this next generation of highly educated problem-solvers. We figure out how stuff works. So do those folks building the FrontRunner. And so can you.
Armstrong is an assistant professor of physics at WSU. More information about the open house can be found at http://space.weber.edu/openhouse.
