UC Santa Cruz Baskin School of Engineering Commencement

Address
Written By Paul E. Dimotakis
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Beginning at UC Santa Cruz, Today, and Tomorrow - Paul E. Dimotaki
Von Karman once said that "Scientists try to understand the world as it is. Engineers work to create a
world that never was." As engineers, you will have opportunities to create new worlds. Yet one soon
discovers it's a good idea to understand how something works before one tries to change it. The best
engineering almost always pushes the limits of science and our understanding of nature. You may feel
it was not part of the deal, but you were asked to become both a scientist and an engineer. You may
remember how painfully it started. Even if you did not skip freshman classes, the path soon looked
impossible. Calculus, ordinary and partial differential equations, complex variables (Calculate the
integral by going around a simple pole?); probability and statistics (We only need 25 people in a group
for a better than 50:50 chance of matching two birthdays? Out of 365 possible days in a year?
Actually, if you've tried this enough times, you may have noticed it takes fewer than 25. Huh?);
classical physics and thermodynamics (Entropy is to temperature what volume is to pressure?);
chemistry and biology (We would have no oxygen in our atmosphere if not for life? If we detect oxygen
in the spectrum of a distant planet's atmosphere, does that mean there's life there?); fluid dynamics
(How can one sail against the wind instead of going backwards. A special place in hell ought to be
reserved for those who do that!"); solid and structural mechanics (What goes like the cube?); electrical
engineering, computer, and information science (Aristotle had not thought of those!), and a myriad of
other science and engineering topics, all demanding mastery, or else. A poor analysis of a Shakespeare
play has rather different consequences from those of a poor analysis and design of a bridge or a
wing-fuselage junction, as Hans Liepmann once noted. As time went on, new material was piling and
the task looked hopeless. But, if you kept at it, something really strange happened: things started
getting easier, even though they were harder.
A young squirrel emerges from the family nest in the ground under the tall tree, its mother close
behind. She points to the tree and tells him that he needs to climb to the top and then come back
down, if he wants nuts, that is. The young squirrel jumps on the trunk and starts climbing. Its arms
and legs are not strong yet, it's a tall tree, all kinds of branches are in the way, and it's not easy.
Half-way up, he's tired and pauses, looks down and sees his mother, changes his mind, and continues
climbing. Finally at the top, he catches his breath, turns around and starts on the way down. Against
all odds, it seems, he returns safely to the ground. His happy welcoming mother rewards him with an
acorn.
Not much time has passed and she points to a nearby tree, and tells him he needs to go up and down
that one too. He returns some time later, out of breath, and ready for a nap. The next day, she smiles
and tells him that what he really needs to do is get to the top of all the trees in the grove. She has got
to be kidding, he thinks, but she's always meant what she says and, after only a brief hesitation, he
starts. Pausing at the top, he can see the great number of trees in the forest and gets a little
discouraged Can't be done, he thinks. On the way down, he notices a branch from the neighboring
tree that is close enough to jump to and starts climbing up its trunk without first getting to the ground.
From then on, he looks for other trees' branches that are close and jumps across sooner. It's many
trees to go, but now it's less time to get to the top of each one. It's a little breezy the day after and
when the young squirrel gets to the top of the day's first tree, he notices the tree tops swaying, some
out of phase, and that if he waits a little, he can jump to a neighboring tree, often near the top, hardly
coming down. He smirks at how easy it's proving to be and in only a few more days, he's mastered all
the treetops.
UC Santa Cruz Baskin School of Engineering Commencement Address | J a... http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/news/article?ID=1841
1 of 2 3/3/2011 11:49 PM
This is how mastering science and engineering is. The details are many and the material daunting. Yet
the number of fundamental concepts and principles that govern this ever- increasing body of
knowledge is not that large. If one masters the principles, mastering the details in each case may be
work but, after a while, not that hard. Appreciating this is one of the greatest pleasures. If you stuck
with it, UC Santa Cruz gave you this gift and you have felt a pleasure that only a few people
experience. You did a good thing coming here and you have your parents, first of all, but also many
others to thank. But it's now also payback time. The world relies on you, your talents, and on your
newly acquired gifts. We are conducting the greatest experiment ever undertaken on ourselves and
our planet. Fossil fuels and their combustion over the last century-and-a-half enabled a standard of
living unimagined by our predecessors. However, this fire produces byproducts that accumulate and
now loom on our horizon, threatening to chain us to a rock while birds of prey slowly gnaw on our
innards. The same science and engineering that grasped and transformed this Promethean fire is now
called upon to develop alternatives to mitigate and reverse consequences with multi- decadal and
century-long time scales. Consequences one might perhaps imagine but which are difficult to forecast
with any certainty. Our system of governance and free markets that gave us our prosperity respond on
short time scales by comparison and, as engineers, you learned from control theory that short-
response feedback and corrective action on a system with long time lags typically leads to instability.
The US, has less than 5% of the world's population and roughly 3% of the world's energy resources.
Continuing to consume 25% of those resources is unsustainable, if only on grounds of economic and
the nation's security. So here's one last homework problem on graduating from UC Santa Cruz. Some
facts, some constraints, and some realities: - We may only have a few decades to respond. With
indicators such as sea-level rise and retreating glaciers around the globe, some think we're already
there. It makes no difference who emits greenhouse gases all people share the same - atmosphere
and oceans. - Greenhouse-gas concentrations in our atmosphere and the global emission rate will
increase in the coming decade. - We cannot ask poor and developing nations not to try and raise their
standard of living. - Solutions must both address the problems and be economically viable today. -
Economic recessions are not a good way to keep fossil-fuel emissions down. If you don't agree with
how the world works, don't wait for it to change before you help. - Not least, you may have seen a
rear-window sticker on some SUV that says, "My carbon - footprint is bigger than yours," or talked with
people who think this is all a hoax. Your teachers, parents, friends, and the world look forward to A+
on your homework. Your gifts from UC Santa Cruz will help you earn this grade and create a world that
never was. If you're successful, many and rich rewards await you, and your children and their and
other children will thank you. To those eager for the opportunities offered by this challenge, Winston
Churchill said, "Kites rise highest against the wind - not with it." Class of 2010, balance and try to
combine your work and fun, pursue your passions, and congratulations on your graduation!
2011 UC Santa Cruz All Rights Reserved Last Modified On December 17, 2008 At 1:09 PM
1156 High St, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 831-459-2158 webmaster@soe.ucsc.edu
UC Santa Cruz Baskin School of Engineering Commencement Address | J a... http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/news/article?ID=1841
2 of 2 3/3/2011 11:49 PM