First of all, students should be studying what they are passionate about. Clearly, computer science will continue to spread into all aspects of human life. Within computer science, I believe machine learning and AI are perhaps the biggest study opportunity today. Biology and medicine are also undergoing vast changes. Personalized medicine will become a big issue; the understanding of the human genome and cell chemistry will open up entire new opportunities for innovation. So any study in the area of life sciences that connects to those new opportunities will be important. The will be amazing bioengineering opportunities, e.g., by developing materials and systems that connect with human tissue. Nanotechnology will become a major driver of new technologies in the future, with tons of great things to study at the intersection of new materials and human life.
I also believe some of the mundane aspects are ripe for overhaul, such as transportation and manufacturing. Studying robotics, rapid prototyping, autonomy in fields such as Aero-Astro, mechanical engineering, or computer science, should position students today to become the technology leaders of tomorrow. For students studying in humanities, I urge them to connect to the digital revolution that is unfolding right now. I am less excited about studying finance, since too many of us are already too creative in inventing new financial instruments that make society less stable.
Author: Sebastian Thrun
Sebastian Thrun is Google Fellow and Research Professor of computer science at Stanford University. He is also a co-founder of Know It, which brings free online education to the world. Thrun received his MSc PhD from the University of Bonn in Germany, in 1993 and 1995, respectively. Before joining Stanford in 2003, Thrun taught at Carnegie Mellon University for eight years.
Thrun's research focuses on robotics and large scale imaging. In 2005, Thrun won the DARPA Grand Challenge, a historical autonomous robot race through the Mojave Desert. This watershed victory proved for the first time, that sustained robotic driving would be possible in unrehearsed, punishing desert terrain. Stanley, the winning robot, is now part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Thrun moved on to co-invent Google Street View, through a Stanford spin-out that was acquired by Google.
Thrun is a recognized leader and innovator. In a cover article, Wired Magazine crowned his robotics work "best of all times". Scientific American included him in its list of 50 technology and policy leaders. Thrun has been featured in the Forbes Magazine E-gang, and in 2004 he was named as one of the "Brilliant Ten" by Popular Science. At age 39, he was elected into the National Academy of Engineering and into the German Academy of Sciences, as one of the youngest inductees ever.
Thrun won numerous prices and awards. He authored over 350 scientific papers and 11 books; and he founded four companies. He is widely regarded as one of the key pioneers of the scientific field of probabilistic robotics, a new mainstream approach to robotics software design. Thrun is a ardent advocate of robotic technology to advance the field of transportation, and he is a frequent invited speakers at international venues in technology and business.
View all posts by Sebastian Thrun