Here’s something you might not know about your favorite French fries: They’re computer-generated.
OK, they’re not made by a computer, but your French fries are likely made from potatoes that have been analyzed by computer software. It communicates with a machine to chop out defects as the potatoes speed past at 10 feet per second.
“Software is used with materials nobody really thinks about,” said HHS computer science and math teacher Kari DeBower. “It’s used with almost everything we use in everyday life.”
Guest speakers from Delta Computer Systems in Battle Ground—which created the potato-perfecting software, among others— recently described the growing number of computer-related opportunities to DeBower’s classes.
“The need for software engineers, people who can write code, is growing by leaps and bounds,” said Aaron Heinrich, a marketing manager with Delta. “And there is a definite need for people with a technical background who can fill related roles.”
HHS junior Mitchell Georgioff said the presentation gave him a new perspective. “It was really cool seeing the actual physics of how the programming behind the machine can go into the hardware, how that software can be used in real-life,” he said.
DeBower is hopeful that as student interest grows, HHS will be able to add an additional computer science class, so students see computers as part of their career pathway in many fields.
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Story originally published in the Spring 2019 issue of HSD's newsletter Education Matters.