Howdy! My name is Josh Peschel and I am a currently a 2nd year Computer Science & Engineering PhD student working with Tracy Hammond in the Sketch Recognition Lab at Texas A&M University. The focus of my research is at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Human-Computer Interaction, in the field of Sketch Recognition. In my work I develop algorithms and systems that allow a computer to automatically understand the meaning and intent of a user’s hand-drawn sketches. One system I am in the process of developing and testing allows students to learn engineering mechanics by using freehand sketching as an input. I believe this will be a paradigm shift in engineering education (my other passion) because it combines the traditional hand-calculation approach with computer-aided design solvers. It is an entirely new approach to teaching and assessing this often-difficult topic for students, and I think it is a technology that will allow us to ask and answer deeper questions about student understanding in engineering education. I would talk about my dissertation topic, but then people might steal the idea before I publish it. I am also a 4th year PhD student in Civil Engineering working with Tony Cahill. My work there is on, among other things, experimentally determining the non-isothermal vapor diffusivity of water vapor in field soils under thermal gradients. I like to think the topic is pretty self-explanatory. As for getting two separate PhDs at the same time (which I am told I am the first to do this ever at Texas A&M), I have not found it particularly difficult - I enjoy and excel in both subjects, but they are very, very different. I think I like it better with two because when I get a little bored with one I can focus more on the other and vice versa. It seems a little crazy, but it’s not really so bad.
I am taking a course in Sight & Touch this semester for three reasons: (1) it allows me to work directly on my CSE dissertation topic, which I desperately need to do, and 2) it allows me to work with members of my lab in a formal classroom setting, which I have done in the past and really enjoy, (3) it allows me to meet new and exciting people not in my research group.
As for my future plans, if I have learned anything during my education, it is this: every time I make career plans, they never work out that way. However, I have been quite fortunate to have had many outstanding opportunities come my way during my time at Texas A&M. I have done extensive work for places like the U.S. Naval Undersea Warfare Center, NASA, the State of Florida, the largest producer-exporter of citrus fruit in Mexico, just to name a few. And NONE of these I ever planned — they have just fallen in my lap. My wife calls me the luckiest person in the world as far as research and work opportunities go. Maybe so. But, I tend to think it’s largely been a function of being prepared when the right opportunity has come along. In the end, I can honestly say that the best opportunities I have had were the ones that I never ever expected to have. So while I am working on a Ph.D. and would like to become a faculty member because I would like to: (1) teach and (2) do research, I believe there are many pathways in life that would allow me to do those two things. Predicting the pathway is the real challenge.
In the other three minutes of my day, I typically do a lot of consulting work because hey, I have these engineering degrees so why not get a little financial return on investment? Outside of school and work I do Karate (Shuri-Ryu style) - I am currently a yellow belt, soon to move up to an orange belt. I am also in the process of becoming a licensed skydiver. I generally like science and engineering, politics, and people, not necessarily in that order. I honestly have the most randomly eclectic taste in music. I am also a big talk radio fan. I listen to Dave Ramsey, the more interesting NPR (Garrison Keillor’s The Writer’s Almanac and what used to be The Connection with Dick Gordon), random news programs (lately, The Daily Show if you count that as news), and whatever else I can find at any particular point in time. Generally I like to read. I prefer books on sci-fi, contemporary political issues, and history. But for sure I will be up for reading almost anything by Michael Crichton, Dan Brown, and any good science or engineering textbooks in areas that I have not studied before. Yes, I am one of ‘those’ people. I don’t watch television but I will make time for Numb3rs, CSI, and of course, Star Trek via Netflix and iTunes.
Regarding my forecast of the next great technology, I tend to think it will be one that allows people to effortlessly (but reliably) interact with a computer. These days I don’t often tend to think about the next great cell phone or the next great iPod - I tend to think about ways we can come up with to use or change existing technology to make the human experience with it different or better. I think seldom comes along a technology like the cell phone, where it is accepted so universally, rather I like to think about what different thing we can do with the cell phone (such as use it as a writing device, or for interpreting sign language, etc.). As far as the most interesting technologies right now to me, they are the ones I make, of course!
To address the last two questions that were asked, if I could have lunch with any person from history it would be Leonhard Euler. He is widely acknowledged as a great mathematician, but I spend a portion of my time playing a game that he is usually credited for. Thus, I think it would be nice to thank him. As far as my favorite movie, I have 18 on a rotating list depending on my mood, thus I have no single favorite movie. You can see my Facebook profile for said list.
If you wish to know more, feel free to ask or just Facebook-stalk me. You’ll probably see a lot of this content over there but some things you will not. I tend to teach a lot and there are things my freshmen students don’t need to know and probably should never know about their TA.
