Post Learning Journey Reflection: QIOPTIQ (Part 2)

Yep, this is the “something extra” I was talking about.

Another feature of my day at Qioptiq was truly something spectacular and amazing to me. It revealed several brand new views and perceptions, some of which I have never even pondered on before.

If you read his blog: http://roniansiew.blogspot.com/, you will understand that Mr. Siew is an engineer at Qioptiq. He is a nice and charming engineer.

It was actually quite a surprise to learn that Mr. Siew enjoys cartoons and even draws them as well. His website the The Lighted Lab (http://www.lightedlab.com/) actually showcases most of his cartoons which he also dubs as a “cartologue” since it combined cartoons and prologue. Kind of like a trailer which is pretty fascinating as I have only come across cartoons with a contained story.

Following, his presentation on the company Qioptiq as well as giving us a short tour of the facility, he then proceeded to introduce to himself fully with a short presentation about his life.

What followed was an exciting revelation to us about his insights and perceptions.

Ronian told us how he had a keen interest of optics and astronomy. Since young, he was inquisitive and curious of the world around him and proceeded to innovate and create with what he possessed around him. 

These two interests eventually intertwined in the form of him inventing a telescope and lens like device which allowed him to see the Sun.

He shared with us some of his experiences, from his childhood days where he even wrote in to an astronomer, tinkering with optics and his life in college.

He ended off with telling us about what he felt about innovation. He revealed to us that innovation and the power to create stems from one’s curiosity and interests in the surroundings around him. It is by first asking “why” and “how” that spurs one to innovate and come up with explanations and creations. This is a fundamental aspect if one wants to innovate and come up with something new.

That was one of the few core reasons which helped me develop most of my project ideas. When I was thinking of creating a card game with my friends for the school's project competition, we tried to create a middle product. A card game that would cater not just to teenagers but to the family unit as well. We ended up building the game around this demographic such that it influenced the design of our graphics, gameplay etc.

This year, I took what I had learnt from that card game towards the development of a science project with new members. We approached the project topic from the standpoint of "how can I control the silver nanoparticles in such a way that we can affect its quality". After finding out that the answer to that question is "synthesis of the particles", we then went on to another question. "How do I have synthesis which is environmentally friendly? The usual chemical method is expensive and pollutive." Eventually, we ended up developing the project and laboratory procedures around these questions.

Personally, I believe in the exact same thing as what Mr. Siew rightly pointed out. Innovation has begun from day one when man invented the wheel. Whether or not it’s the first invention isn’t important but what’s critical here is that the wheel showed that whether if it was for the necessity of transport or something else, man is capable of creating and shaping the environment around him.

Another case of this taking place was in the 50s where future trend setters and moguls like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Paul Allan, and Steve Wozniak were born. These were people who did not come into a world with the internet or computers. Rather, they were at an age with radios and televisions. Left with nothing but their own imaginations and vision, these evangelists set off to creating a world of computers, which is the world which we now live in.

All this would not have been possible if people like Bill Gates or Steve Wozniak stayed satisfied in the world that they lived in. It was with their astute observation and passion that resulted in the greatest innovations of today.

James Watson, discover of DNA and was appointed Head of the Human Genome Project

I too, have been inspired by them as well as Mr. Siew. They all have shown me that engineering is one of the most important jobs in the world. Engineering is a job that directly influences the lifestyle choices of people. 

They are the dreamers, the believers but most of all they are also the creators. As Apple’s Think Different commercial had put it. “The ones, who think that they are crazy enough to change the world, are the ones who do.”

I have been inspired by these people, who have toiled for their entire life, just to create and push the limits of the human race.

I guess that's the kind of story I want to tell the future generations as well. I always remember how Randy Pausch gave his last lecture just before he passed away in 2008. In that lecture, he emphasised the importance of fulfilling one's childhood dream. Take a look.

To sum it up, basically that's my final message as well. Life is short. We don't really have time to live the dreams of others or chasing tons of dreams that might never get fulfilled.We need to have focus and then stay committed to one dream and see it through.

As I had said in my previous article on how technology will continuously evolve with the combination of it and humanities. One can expect numerous changes. As the famous Apple advertisement had said "Here's to the crazy ones". Sometimes, pursuing one's dream might seem insane to a few, but what people see as insanity may very well be brilliance.

I must say that I have enjoyed these industrial visits very much and I hope that you too have enjoyed reading my learning log as well.

The Qioptiq plant that we got to visit

Resources


- http://www.jobstreet.com.sg/logos/agenalogos/qioptiq_copy1.jpg
- http://www.posters57.com/images/James-Watson.jpg=600.jpeg
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_D._Watson#Human_genome_project