Ben
Hoover
Minneapolis,
MN
Quick Bio
I am Ben Hoover, a freshman at Duke University from
Minneapolis, Minnesota. During High School, I lived in Westerville Ohio and
enjoyed a range of interests from editing the yearbook to running
cross-country. This semester I am taking Biological Diversity, Writing,
Chemistry, and, of course, Computer Science.
Computers
and Me
Computers have been an integral part of my life for a
number of years. My family first bought a computer when I was 6 years old. That
Windows 95 computer provided me with everything from games to a word processor
and introduced me to the massive ocean of information online. Since then, I have used every
subsequent version of Windows and owned two more PCs. I now have a laptop from
Apple. As with my first computer,
this laptop is used for both schoolwork and entertainment. I prepare visual
projects, write papers, and do research using it while also watching movies,
playing games and communicating with friends on a daily basis. Last semester, I
spent some time learning and coding in Perl during a CompSci
4G. I took that class as part of the Genome Focus program and really enjoyed
genetics as a field. While biology was my planned major, the idea of a genetics
certificate and a possible career in that area really attracts my attention.
The mass amount of data involved in Genomics necessitates an understanding of
computational techniques and innovations. Furthermore, the science of Genomics
opens up opportunities for immediately applicable creative approaches to
handling, sorting and analyzing experimental data that perfectly links my
interest in the concepts to my love of problems solving.
The Role of
a Computer Scientist
I think that the day-to-day role of a computer
scientist varies massively depending on his or her field of interest. Some
undoubtedly live up to the stereotypical Dilbert image and work in cubicles for
corporations. Others work in an academic setting and spend time teaching,
working closely with labs, or helping to bring meaning to the data collected in
other fields. Still others are cutting out new, innovative paths and starting
breakthrough companies ranging from Facebook to
Google. Essentially, I think that it’s hard to classify the typical computer
scientist’s day due to the vast area over which computers have relevance. The
two articles really reinforced what experience has taught me about computer
science and work in general. As many companies use programming firms in India
and China much as they use manufacturing plants, the truth that technique is
always replaceable but creativity never is really sank in.
My Interest
in the Field
The programs I am most essentially interested in writing
deal strongly with genetics but I am still new to the field and would enjoy
learning to write just about anything because so much of it will be totally
novel. While I do not necessarily intend on going into a career strictly in
computer science all elements of the sciences tend to rely strongly on working
with large quantities of information and analyzing that data creatively. Thus,
I definitely hope to still be working with computers in the future.