My niece, the computer scientist?

Last week when I was visiting my brother, I asked my niece Sithara, a sophomore on spring break from Boston University, if she had decided her major. To my delight, she said that she was strongly leaning towards computer science. With both her parents being medical doctors, I had thought perhaps that she would have an implicit leaning towards that field - a wonderful one, but one that has never been a match for me. So, why this delight? First, I think there has been a notable drop over the last decade of females entering this field (or engineering or math) and every new one is a delight. Second, I think it can be one of the most exciting and creative professions - more so now, and even more so in the future.

I remember when I started studying computer science, in my first programming class, we used punched cards. That's how old I am...but it was still exciting. When I started my profession, I lucked out and ended up in a company that was pioneering computer graphics. You would think us programmers there ruled the world! We worked on a multi-million dollar program for the Defence department of the U.S. government, that rendered terrain models in all kinds of different perspectives and shades. Looking back and comparing it to say one of the graphics on of the most simply rendered online games of today, those graphics were like a kindergarten project. But, hey, we were one of the first ones to do it...and we needed a mini computer that had its own specially air conditioned rooms, the size of one of those huge custom refrigerators, with fancy flashing lights in order to do it. The fun was in solving the problem and seeing the wonder in all those techies eyes when they first saw the display.

And, if my niece decides to take the plunge, how much more she has to work with! All the solutions of yesteryears have become but the building blocks and toolsets that can be used to solve new challenges and create cool and cooler new applications. There is a whole world of exciting work to be done, and the wonder of it is that this science can be used in ANY domain...in fact, I find it difficult to think of any area of work that it will not be a part of foundation or the puzzle. I really cannot. Medical? Check Manufacturing? Check. Energy? Check. Economy? Check. Retail? Check. Banking? Check. Marketing? Check....and the list goes on and on.

So, Sithara, my dear, not that I'm trying to influence you or anything, but if this area is something that you find very interesting now, I have a feeling you can keep that interest fueled for a long, long time to come. But, as always, I wish you well in whatever you choose to do!