Sheldon Ekland-Olson

Transcription

[ Music ] >> [Background Music] I get to do things that I didn't imagine that I would be doing 3 years ago. I thought I was going to do what a normal college student does; go to classes, maybe get involved in research eventually. I started researching ways to grow switchgrass which is a grass that is getting used as a source of biomass to produce biofuels. And now I'm researching about antibiotics. The Freshman Research Initiative accelerated the process of becoming a scientist. I go back home and I tell my parents and sometimes they just cry. Like they go like, "You do such great things," and it's unthinkable. My name is Cristy Portales and I research antibiotics. [ Music ] >> In 2005 we started with 15 students in each of 3 research groups and the next year had 250 students in 7 different research groups. And now we're over 700 students with over 25 different research groups. >> Maybe the most important thing they get out of the FRI is they get to be scientists right away and in the process, they're going to discover something that's unique; something nobody else on the planet has ever known about the universe before. That's why we do science. >> Science is not this thing that you just, you know, come in on a given morning and do some work and get the Nobel Prize. It is this thing where mostly there is failure upon failure upon failure and students need to learn that; that experience of failing without it costing them their grade, without it costing them anything other than the realization that this is real science. >> They get to do things that nobody else has done and that's what really helps them decide, "Is this something that I love, is this something that I want to do, or is this something that I can respect for the rest of my life?" >> Freshman don't know what they can't do. [ Music ] >> [Background Music] This is in fact a very revolutionary program and I mean that in every sense of the word because we have streams in autonomous vehicles; robot cars. We have streams in gaming. We have streams in genomic engineering. It is incredible, all the things we do. >> I had always been interested in physics and astronomy in particular and so when I heard about exploring the universe like to our stars, that's what grabbed me I guess. >> When I first got to college I thought...I think like almost every other bio major, "Oh I'm going to be pre-med. That's what I want to do. I'm going to be a doctor." And once I got into a lab and was doing work, I realized how much I actually had a passion for the research part of science. >> It's awesome to be 18 and just a freshman at the University and involved in such a cool project as this where I get to mess with robots and teach them how to do things. >> I went to do a medical mission trip and that kind of struck my heart and I really wanted to do something related to infectious diseases. >> If you had asked me my senior year in high school that in 2 years I'd be doing top of the line cutting edge research in astrophysics, I would have called you a liar. [ Music ] [ Change in Music ] >> [Background Music] I've been at UT for 30 years and you might ask, "Does it get stale?" And the answer is, "No." And the reason it doesn't get stale is because of the kids. >> I really believe that all education is self-education and so all I really want are students that are excited enough, to go and learn for themselves. And I can guide them and direct them and I can, you know, save them some time, but mostly I'm looking for them to come in and be excited. And if they do that, the rest is easy. >> The amount of different work that's done at UT is tremendous. So if I wanted to do literally anything, I could do it. That's what thrilled me the most; the fact that there are so many things being done at the same place and that they are just there. If you ask, you can do it. >> When you get cynical and you look at the newspaper and you think, "Oh there's no hope for our country and our planet," and then you look at these kids and it's different. And the FRI program gives these students a chance to succeed at a level that affects not only the University of Texas and the state of Texas, but affects our country and the world. We're cultivating genius and that's essential for our survival on this plant. [ Music ]