jolly good fellow

ASEE Prism, Sep 2005 by Grose, Thomas K

UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD'S NOEL SHARKEY MADE HIS NAME IN ROBOTICS. NOW HE'S USING BOTS TO SELL YOUNG BRITS ON ENGINEERING.

NOEL SHARKEY's academic career path has criss-crossed an impressive range of disciplines: engineering, computer science, philosophy, and psychology, among them. But it's for his work in robotics that he's best known. Indeed, the University of Sheffield computer science professor is arguably the United Kingdom's most famous robotics expert-thanks to the power of the "telly." For years, Sharkey was chief judge on the popular BBC TV series Robot Wars, which featured robots battling it out in gladiator-style tournaments. "It gives me a lot of street cred with the kids," Sharkey says of the show.

And that's important to Sharkey these days. Although he remains a busy researcher and academic-he also edits three academic journals, including Robotics and Autonomous Systems-much of his time is now spent popularizing engineering and science. As the senior media fellow for Britain's Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC), "my job is to engage the public through science and engineering," he explains. Sharkey's mission is to raise public awareness that science and engineering are not only crucial to society and its future, but they can be fun and interesting, as well. And he focuses primarily on youngsters.

That's a critical audience in a country where enrollments in engineering nose-dived some years ago and have since remained flat. According to Britain's Engineering and Technology Board, engineering enrollments at U.K. universities peaked in the early '90s at around 21,000, then fell to around 15,000 or 16,000, where they've since remained. But during roughly that same period, overall university enrollments jumped 40 percent. And while students have been drawn to some areas of engineering, like civil engineering, other disciplines, especially electrical, have continued to slump since the bursting of the IT bubble a few years ago. At Sheffield's computer science department, enrollments are down by two thirds from a couple of years ago. That's alarming because, as Sharkey notes, "we were the cash cow." He fears the decline results from engineering "being seen as very dull and boring." That's not only a worrisome perception problem but a potentially dangerous one, he adds, given that in developing countries like India and China, engineers are seen as heroes and engineering schools' classrooms are bulging with eager students.

That's why Sharkey thinks shows like Robot Wars are valuable-they help kids see engineering as something cool. The teams of "geeky kids" who built the warrior robots "turned out to be role models." The program received only several dozen contestant applications in each of its early seasons; by its fifth year, however, it was regularly receiving several thousand applications-an indication that geek-chic can take off.

Rachel Bishop, EPSRC's public engagement manager, says the council is delighted with Sharkey's work so far. In Sharkey, she says, with his engineering and science know-how and his flair for showmanship, the council thinks it has found the perfect person to bring science and technology to the masses. "Noel is an ideal ambassador," Bishop says. "He has a unique talent for getting people enthusiastic about robotics research. Noel's charismatic approach to engaging people with science is exactly what our senior media fellowship scheme is all about."

FROM ROUGH ROAD TO ROBOTS

SHARKEY, who turns 57 this month, certainly knows something about being bored in school. He grew up in a working-class area of Coleraine, Northern Ireland, when the local schools were less than desirable. "I went to a crap school," he recalls. Few of the teachers were qualified, "and they hit us all the time." At home, however, Sharkey was very studious. His father-who died when Sharkey was 11-was an invalid who constantly had books delivered from the library, and he shared them with his son. But in the sterile, uninspiring atmosphere of his school, Sharkey showed little inclination to achieve, and his teachers considered him a dolt. When he was 14, his headmaster laughed at him when he said he played chess. He wasn't laughing after Sharkey beat him in a match in front of the entire class. So bored was Sharkey at school, he tended to be a troublemaker. "I was a nightmare, actually," he says. "When I left, no one complained." And he was only 15.

Sharkey, today, with his trim white beard and long white hair neatly pulled back in a ponytail, looks not unlike an aging rock star. And that's not far off the mark. Although he held down a variety of menial jobs after leaving school, he was an accomplished guitarist who played in number of rock bands. Eventually, Sharkey -who has always been interested in psychiatry-trained as a psychiatric nurse. Then a girlfriend, who was taking qualifying exams for college, nrged him to take them, as well. "The minute I started, it just felt right. And that came as a surprise to me."