Segue to the Future

Inventor Kamen Urges the Class of 2006 to Bring Technology to Bear on the World’s Problems

By Michael Seele

Inventor Dean Kamen urged members of the College of Engineering’s Class of 2006 to use their careers to help solve the world’s problems with technology, as nearly 400 graduating students were awarded degrees at the College’s 53rd Commencement Exercises on Sunday, May 14. Kamen later used a bit of his own technology to put a new twist on commencement recessionals.

Graduates and their friends and families found a welcome respite inside the Track and Tennis Center from the day’s torrential downpours, many arriving in soaked cap and gown for the ceremony. A reception prior to the event afforded graduates and guests the opportunity to dry off and enjoy conversation, snacks and soft drinks with members of the faculty.

During the Commencement ceremony, the College awarded 239 bachelor’s degrees, 106 master’s degrees and 42 doctorates to those who completed degree requirements in the past year.

Kamen, who holds hundreds of patents for medical devices and is perhaps best known as inventor of the Segway personal transportation vehicle, urged graduates to use their education to improve the lives of people around the world.

He noted that of all the young people on the planet, “very, very few, a virtually insignificant percentage, have the education you have. That gives you an unbelievable tool — frankly an unbelievable advantage. It’s a fair advantage if you use it responsibly. It’s a fair thing to do if you take that responsibility and find a way to use those tools to make the world a better place. With a huge portion of 6.3 billion people incapable of solving their problems … the very few that have the capacity to solve real problems and to spread the knowledge need to make that a high priority.”

Kamen said that engineers and scientists are underrepresented in the nation’s public policy debates, often taking a back seat to the entertainment and sports industries. He said that needs to change if America is to retain its standard of living, a standard that comes through the invention and application of technology.

“I would urge you — this new generation of scientists and engineers coming into a very, very complex world, the future of which will be largely determined by how wisely we use technology — to take a more expansive role in society,” Kamen said.

“We need to be able to compete by having the best. It’s not a birthright. Every generation has to earn it. If you don’t, you’ll be looking at the world from a different perspective. Whether you know it or not, and most of our culture doesn’t know it, this country and this world is counting on you. These are exciting times.”

Offering advice on how to succeed as engineers, Kamen urged graduates to pick an important problem and stick with it until it is solved.

“If you start doing something … and it’s easy, you probably picked the wrong thing,” he said. “Trust me; all the easy stuff has been done. Fire, water, moveable type, the TV clicker. They’re all done. All the important problems that are left are still left because they’re hard.”

Kamen, who started the FIRST Robotics Competition in the 1980s as way to get high school students interested in science and engineering, also urged the graduates to give back through activities like mentoring, and bringing science and engineering to the forefront of public consciousness.

“You’re starting the part of life where you need to be the givers to a world that’s got a lot of people, even the wealthy ones, who have become used to being takers,” he said. “If you don’t get yourself ready to start becoming one of the givers, no matter how much you get it won’t be enough,” Kamen added. “And it doesn’t end up being a very fulfilling life.

“I can assure you that the giving part turns out to be way more fun that the getting part. So make your living by what you get, make your life by what you give.”

The student address was delivered by Lin Lin Gao, who received a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering. She encouraged her classmates to be curious and creative in their search for knowledge, and to be passionate about their life’s work.

As the ceremonies concluded and recessional began, Dean ad interim Solomon Eisenberg implored the audience to remain seated and keep the center aisle clear. It soon became apparent why: Eisenberg and Kamen boarded two waiting Segways and glided down the aisle as the theme from “Star Wars” boomed over the public address system.