Spring 1990, Berkeley: “You’re really going to need to narrow your focus if you expect to graduate. And if you want a job afterward. I hope you’ve decided what’s important to you.” “Yes I have.” “Oh good. And that is what?” “Surprise and whimsy.”

Eric R. Johnston (“EJ”) did graduate, and used skills from his EE/CS degree to do a ridiculously wide variety of projects.

To date they’ve included robotics at NASA, special effects and video games at Lucasfilm, wrist-mounted superhero gadgets for Make-A-Wish, neuroscience, odd mechanical devices, astronomy, and for the past year he’s been working on quantum engineering research here at the University of Bristol.

His past projects have earned five patents, two technical Oscars, a cover of Nature, San Francisco’s Key to the City, and a personal blessing from the Dalai Lama. He’s found a specific and reasonably consistent way to use a CS degree to work on anything you want to, and is looking forward to sharing it.