UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Thread created automatically to discuss UFH Honoree: Dr. Joseph Johnson.



Name: Dr. Joseph Johnson
Date Honored: 01-14-2005
Years involved w/FIRST: 10
FIRST Team(s): Delphi/DaimlerChrysler &, Pontiac Central High School (0047)
Role: Associate Team Leader
Quote: If it were easy, everyone would do it.
Bio: Dr. Joe is a familiar face in the FIRST community. An active voice and and supporter of the ChiefDelphi Forums, Joe is also a common face at competitions, always willing to lend a hand. He is also known for his motor expertise and Chief Delphi's excellent designs year after year.

Dr. Joe has a long list of accomplishments in his FIRST career: "Helped to shape the direction of the Chief Delphi team. Provided the vision for a serious effort to win the Chairman’s Award. Pushed to establish ChiefDelphi.com (actually coded some of the early message board scripts) and to emphasize team-to-team communication via message boards, IRC chats, etc. Continually pushed to improve the quality of the FIRST kit (played a direct role in significant changes to the kit: Window lift motors and mechanism, Power Sliding Door motors, Keyang seat motors, Globe motors, Fisher Price motors, BEI yaw rate sensor, Skil-Bosch drill motors price reductions, Chiaphua motors, Allegro current sensor, Johnson motors, Mabuchi motors, Taigene motors, Bosch motors, etc.) Played a major role in design teams for all Chief Delphi robots. Helped make “swerve” a common phrase among FIRST teams. Helped to “close the deal” with Delphi management in order to get Delphi to become an official sponsor of FIRST." Not too shabby.

He also lists his favorite memory, a revelation of sorts. "My first year in FIRST, we had a student on our team that was a great football player, good enough to be recruited by some major colleges including the U.S. Army Academy. He had just come back from a visit of to West Point to check out the school. As I was working with our FIRST team discussing how we were going to have the best robot ever built by a rookie, this student stuck his head into the classroom and sheepishly asked if he could speak to me.

"He explained his dilemma to me, how he was being pulled this way and that, how everyone was giving him advice and that no one in his family (even a distant relative) had gone to college, yet they were telling him which path he should follow. Finally, he asked me, “What do you think I should do, Mr. Johnson?”

"My heart exclaimed as Simeon’s once did, " Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord…” It has been revealed to me that I am destined to make a difference in the lives of young kids (I really believe this). In my student’s question, that destiny began to be fulfilled! My advice to him was beside the point, I WAS BEING ASKED!

"FIRST had provided me the opportunity to have my opinions matter to some young folks. This was a magical moment for me. I will live my life thankful to FIRST for this opportunity and the others that followed."

Finally, the great Dr. Joe has some dynamite advice for all FIRST participants. "#1 Always keep in mind that robots are the means to an end, not the end in itself. Inspiration is The End we all are work toward.

"Use Inspiration as the standard of measure as you make all decisions about your team. It should inform not only what kind of robot you design and build (a robot that does not work is rarely inspirational), but which Regionals you decide to attend, what awards your team strives for, how your team is organized, who your coaches are, what events you plan in the “off season” (does FIRST really HAVE an off season? :-), etc.

"Time together as a team is sometimes more important than anything related to building a robot.

"#2 FIRST robot design is not an optimization process.

"Actually, FIRST IS about optimization, but it is not the optimization that most folks think about. Many teams ask themselves the wrong question so they end up optimizing (or, more accurately, attempting to optimize) the wrong thing.
Rather than asking themselves, “What is the best robot design possible to play this game?” teams SHOULD be asking themselves, “What is the best robot design my team can design, build, program and complete in time to give my drivers the best chance of doing well playing this game?”

"Constraints are KEY. Trade offs are everything. How much time do I give my programmers? What do I leave for my drivers to learn through practice? What can MY team design & build? Should I spend more time now in design for less assembly work later or vice versa? Etc.

"If you spent too much time optimizing one thing, you will end up with a sub-optimal result."

Congratulations to the long overdue Dr. Joe Johnson on being honored as our next Unsung FIRST Hero.

Nominated By: Josh Hambright

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

I need to give my heartiest congratulations to Dr. Joe. As long as I've been a reader of Chief Delphi, he's always been willing to share his knowledge and experience and offer improvements on ideas. He pushes for things he things believes to be right and isn't afraid to call things how they are. He's among the alumni of which Purdue University can truly be proud.

On more than one occasion he's found sources for highly desirable parts (aluminum sprockets are coming to mind) and not only shares what many would keep secret, but does so with complete contact information, as well as having already pitched FIRST to vendors so they know what to expect.

He's passionate about FIRST and helping students improve their engineering knowledge. When he was a controls judge at a Michigan regional last year, I remember him taking the time to formally explain closed loop systems with a high school student on our team. It's that thorough understanding and willingness to take an extra time to share what he knows that makes Dr. Joe such a great contributor to the FIRST community.

It's a long overdue award, Dr. Joe. Congratulations!

Matt

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

I can put this in two words: Well deserved.

Congratulations!

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

I have not posted in this continuing thread but I can not restrain myself.


The first time I met Dr. J, he was standing in the bleachers in a Manchester, NH gymnasium, leading a bunch of teenagers in organized cheers, songs and other mayhem.

I was convinced that this was a man possessed. However, I did not call in the white coats.

The next time was in an old town hall in Plymouth, MA. He was doing the same thing...

I still thought he was possessed.

Our next encounter was at Dean's old house on Kickoff eve.

I have never met someone so possessed!

With the possible exceptions of Dean and Woodie, very few people have done more to make FIRST what it is today.

To you Sir!

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Congratulations to Dr. Joe Johnson for being honored as our next Unsung FIRST Hero.

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Congrats Joe!

Thanks for all the help you have provided to not only myself, but anyone who has the honor of reading your posts on this forum. Ive learned more from them than I have from most of my school teachers! :ahh:

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

For a man who I've only spoken to in passing a handful of times over the years, it's amazing how much "Dr. Joe" has shaped my FIRST career. I have many great memories of my first ever FIRST event at GLR in 1998, but two special ones surround Dr. Joe.

The first ever FIRST match I saw featured the fabulous Chief Delphi bot. The match started with the Chief raising it's elevator to descore a big ball in the 3 pt. position. Then it happened. The robot moved sideways. My jaw hit the floor. "How'd they do that?" I was fascinated by swerve drive. Seeing a robot that cool inspired me to continue in FIRST. I wanted to learn how to make that happen. But moreso, I wanted to be able to make people's jaws drop. If you take a good look at the 1114 robot from 2004, you'll notice many similarities to the CD bot from 1998. No coincidence at all.

The other memory of Dr. Joe that sticks out in my mind has to do with his pre and post match rituals. I'll never forget the FIRST time I saw him do the "ooga chant" as I call it. The whole crowd was pumped up and into it. I'd never seen this kind of energy at an educational event. It was crazy, and I loved it.

Dr. Joe has been a FIRST pioneer in these two major ways. He's always been a technological innovator, providing inspirational designs for all to see. And on the other side, he has helped create the "rock concert" like atmosphere that sets FIRST apart from any other event of it's kind. (Yes, from the "ooga chant". Seeing someone as respected as Dr. Joe show that much enthusiam, makes each of us less self conscious to do the same) The impact of this can't be overstated. It makes FIRST friendly to all types of young people. This kind of environment that's exciting for all, can only help us achieve our long term goal of a culture change.

It's fitting the Dr. Joe and Raul have been honoured consecutively. Dean Kamen has always wanted engineers to havena celebrity like status. Well in my books, these two are the biggest stars we've got.

Congratulations Dr. Joe Johnson, and thanks for making my 8 year ride that much more exciting.

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Dr Joe was the first FIRST hero of mine, i can still remeber meeting him and being completely humbled by him, because he is such a legend in the FIRST community, but he is truely one of the nicest, friendliest and funniest people i have met through FIRST.

I know that without him my old team would not be where they are today, and many other teams. He is an amazing asset to the first community. This is so long overdue.

I'm glad the commitee agreed that he is an unsung first hero. Congrats Dr. Joe. You're truely one of my heros!

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Joe,

Congratulations to you on receiving this well deserved award. You are an absolutely invaluable asset to your students, team, and FIRST in general. Who knows how different things might be without you.

It was a pleasure competing with you at SVR last year. Hope to see you guys again

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Who is John Galt?


Congrats Joe!!!!! ;)

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

January 2nd, 2001, 10:30PM EST

I was looking around this website of a robotics team call Chief Delphi (what kind of a name is that anyway?!) earlier today. I got the url from a former GRT student who showed it in a team meeting long time ago. This week is winter break, and me and my high school friends just came back from dinner. They don’t understand why I am still around the team even though I am in Berkeley now, but they just don’t know how fun it is. Anyway, I was wandering around this website out of boredom, and noticed this new message called “Misdirected E-mail Unveils 2001 Game 3 days Early…”. I quickly looked at the message and was completely bewildered by its content. I couldn’t believe it was true! I still can’t believe it is true! This must be some kind of a sick joke designed to torture all kinds of people across the country… …right?

January 4th, 2001, 06:00PM EST

I forgot to set my alarm clock this morning and when the door bell rang at 8:30am, I knew I was in trouble. Ken Krieger is at the door, and my mom told him I haven’t wakened up yet. He went, “Uh oh.” I jumped off the bed and quickly pack everything I need for the Manchester trip, and we made it to the airport just in time. After hours of plane ride and layover, we finally reached the Holiday Inn in Manchester, New Hampshire. Jason Morrella was in the lobby greeting some California coaches, and I wandered around. I bump into a small group of engineers, they went around the circle introducing themselves, and there I was, at the end of the line, being stared at by some team 47 coaches and adults, drawing a complete blank in my head, not knowing what to say. So I did what every embarrassed Asian teenager would do, and quickly duck away and listened from far away.

Among the group was this guy talking about this e-mail he showed to everyone, and how he got into so much trouble with his Delphi boss, and how some guy overreacted and accused him of doing something illegal. Then he continued to talk about how late he was to the airport earlier today, and how in the middle of traffic he flagged down this old lady and ask her to park the car for him. He got her contact info, then proceeded to abandon his car and ran for the terminal in a timely manner. After the story, he excused himself and told everyone he got some slices to finish for the workshops.

Who does he think he is anyway?

January 5th, 2001, 10:00AM EST

I was wondering around FIRST place today attending workshops. These are all very cool workshops but I didn’t understand much of anything. During a motor selection workshop, the same guy from last night showed up and introduced himself as Joe Johnson, along with his friend, Mike Ciavaglia from team 47 Chief Delphi. So that’s him! I was kind of nervous at the whole experience, so I quickly settled in a corner and listened the whole time. This is GREAT STUFF!!! Motors, graphs, formulas… I can actually understand what they are talking about! Maybe they aren’t really bad people trying to torture everyone in FIRST after all. I’ve never met anyone so eager to share their knowledge with their competitors. Very strange. Never seen anything like this. For the first time I am completely confused by what I am doing in this program. On the plus side, Dean Kamen’s house was pretty impressive. He must be very rich.

January 7th, 2001, 6:00AM EST

We were waiting in the hotel lobby for our shuttle, and we heard someone running down the lobby from behind. There came Joe J. rushing with his luggage and bags toward the door trying to catch his shuttle. He must’ve missed it because he came back right away. Words were exchanged with the hotel front desk; calls to the shuttle company were made from the courtesy phone, and after a while, a new shuttle arrived. And off he went rushing to the airport, not knowing if he missed his flight, not knowing if his car was still there, and has a robot to build in the next 6 weeks. I hope he don’t get too stressed out.


Since my first close encounter of the third kind with Dr. Joseph M. Johnson, I’ve had many more brief meetings with him at various competitions in the years of my venture in the FIRST wonderland. He has been a teacher, engineer, mentor, cheer leader, role model, family man, hero, coach, gambler, Mountain-Dew-aholic, Ooga man, a giant, and a legend to me. I owe a lot of my knowledge and experience to Joe J. I was inspired by his CD forum posts, his technical white papers, the casual e-mail exchanges, book recommendations, the brief but important chat at IRI 2004, and his talent show performance, plus many more.

Dr. Joe, I can’t thank you enough for all the things you’ve given me in the past. There’s no way I can ever repay you completely, so I will do the only thing I can think of: inspire future students the way you inspired me.

You once told me changing the culture is like fighting a battle. I intend to fight in that battle and make a better future for the generations to come, just like what you’ve been doing since your calling to this program.


Thank you for everything you’ve done.

-Ken Leung

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Joe,

IT'S ABOUT TIME!!! Very well desrved, sir.


Dr. Joe (and the rest of team 47) got our team into this thing called FIRST in 1999. His posts on CD inspired me to start posting. He was the first shining example of outstanding mentorship that I had ever witnessed.

Dr. Joe for WFA 2005!!

You're Friend,

Paul

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Congrats Mr. Johnson. Thanks for all the help that you give us through this community. you are very well deserved for this award. :)

-Arefin.

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

What a fantastic man to give the award to. Long before I met him in person, I heard of his legacy on 67. Then I met him in person, and he actually sized up to what was said about him... and that's something that most people don't do. Congrats Joe, honor well deserved!

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Congratulations Dr. Johnson! You are a very resourceful and helpful person as far as I have seen on chiefdelphi.com. Very well deserved:)

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Congratulations, Joe.

I'm not sure if Joe realizes it or not, but I wouldn't know nearly as much as I do about Internet-based programming and websites if it weren't for some of his e-mails back in the late 1990s. I had just started working on this website, and was teaching myself Perl, better HTML, and programming in general. Joe would send these massive 3-4 page e-mails with suggestions and improvements to the things I was building. The image gallery. The white papers area. The polls (anybody remember that old hunk of junk? hah). The Ventures system. He always had praise to give, but would never hesitate to throw out a crazy idea and additions he would like to see. Nine times out of ten I would look at this e-mail and think 'What in the world? Thats impossible.' But, after thinking about it, I would somehow find a way to implement what he wanted; I learned so much from all of the ideas he had.

I didn't get anything too challenging from my college professors, but Dr Joe always had something to keep me busy. I'm grateful for this. Anybody who likes how this website works, all of the features, its popularity, or anything .. you all owe Joe a big thank you. It wouldn't be anything without his direct (and indirect) influence.

Thank you Joe, and good luck with everything you're working on.

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

There are not many people out there as passionate about FIRST as Dr. Joe is. He lives, breathes, speaks, and is the game. Every year he strives to help CD be the best, and at the same time tries to spread his knowledge around to everyone on these boards.

To another one of the original FIRST-a-holics...

Congrats Dr. Joe...FIRST would not be the same without you!

-Andy Grady

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Most heartfelt Congratulations go to you, Dr. Johnson! I read your bio and I definitely am glad you won this honor. Well done!

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Thank you so much for all your help, support, and advice last year. Congratulations just doesn't cut it.

-Shyra

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Congrads!!! Great people like you deserve this award!! It's great to have people to teach us and have fun along side with us crazy kids. Thanks for being a great help in the FIRST community.

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Dr Joe...
Congratulations on receiving this award.

You have helped some members of my past teams grow in maturity by means of the "Delphi Forum". There are a couple instances that I can only laugh about now.

Your teams have always been very serious competitors and alliances. In fact, many believe that your team's strength helped inspire "alliances".

Keep up the inspiration and keep sharing it with the rest of us.

dave

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Congrats Dr Joe....you make 47 a great team!

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

I was going to write something all long and involved and dribbly with sweet platitudes about how much Dr. Joe deserves this award, and all the great things that he has done for the program and his students, and how, after seeing him in the competitions and at work and at home, I know that he is just as dedicated in every other phase of his life as he is with his team, and etc. etc. etc. But then I realized that it can all be summed up with one phrase:

It's about @%^#% time! :D

Congratulations! This is one of the most appropriate UFH awards yet!

-dave

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Even before I knew who he was, Dr. Joe was an inspiration to me personally. He is a shining example of what Team Spirit is, and even more so, the spirit of FIRST. He is always the one who pumps Chief Delphi up at competitions, who leads them in cheering, and even after Team 47 has been knocked out of the Eliminations, he and his team are still cheering. He has inspired me to be as spirited about FIRST as he is, and I hope that others are inspired as well.

Thank you, Joe Johnson!

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Congrats Joe,
This award is long overdue and so very well deserved. For many there is no I in TEAM, but there is one for ours. You, my friend, have been the Inspiration in our team. It's been a pleasure and an honor to work with you. You have given so much to this program, it can't possibly be told in a few words. Thankyou for everything.
Mike

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

It was hard or me to believe that Joe had not already been selected as an UFH. It is really very difficult to express all that Joe has done for FIRST. The very latest being the NBD implementation and white paper he inspired.

My very first memory (not the most vivid - Mike Martus already explained that one) about Dr Joe was when we started corresponding on the then new CD forum in 1997. The CD team was the only team to go to all 3 available regionals that year. I noticed that CD seeded higher and higher as they gained experience, so I asked Joe if he thought that going to multiple regionals was an advantage. I do not remember his exact answer, but I vaguely remember getting the impression from him that strategy was just as important as a good robot design. They proved that in the National finals against Beatty when they used a delay tactic to negate some of team Beatty's advantage of quickly capping with torroids. He inspired me to start think a lot more about strategy.

Well, I can go on forever about Joe, but I will stop now and conclude by saying that he is one of the most special people that I have gotten to know in the FIRST family of friends.

OK, one more - Joe, I do not mind playing the straight man for your gags, even if it gets me all wet!

Raul

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

I Met Dr. Joe in 1996. Is was the rookie year both Dr. Joe and myself. I was a driver for the then unknown and unexperienced team #1. They weren't the Juggernauts yet.

I had the privilage of scrimmaging Joe and his robot.....in fact both of his robots. Yes folks, they were building two robots way back then! They put a a whoomp on us in the scrimmage and throughout the season. They were doing things in 1996 that are common place today....i.e. creating websites, distributing flyers and impressing us all with vision and tenacity unmatched by most even today!

Though Dr. Joe and I haven't been as close as I have been with some of the other exceptional people from the Chief Delphi organization I still consider him one of the most remarkable people I have ever had the privilage to meet and compete against. We're both in our tenth year....all I have to say is thank you Joe. Thank you for steering my career, ambitions, and desires to be an exceptional designer, mentor, and person all around.

Thank You!

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Dr. Joe -

Congratulations.

You were great in the IRI Talent Show, and your posts and messages her on CD are always thought provoking and insightful. Thanks for everything you contribute.

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Congrats Dr. Joe, you provide nothing but amazing insight and inspiration to us all with your dedication.

Thanks and congrats again!

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

The unofficial Dr. Joe flowchart:

Does it need to be done?
Yes >>
Is it being done?
No>>
Then I'll do it.

Does it need to be done right?
Yes >>
Then I'll make sure it's right.

Is it adequate?
Yes >>
Then I'll publish it.

Can it be made better?
Yes>>
Than I'll keep working on it and keep updating it.

Whenever we have a discussion about an idea, when someone says "well, according to Dr. Joe...." we just accept his opinion as the informed truth. That says alot about the quality of his work and his ethics. Thanks Dr. Joe.

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

I have known Joe from that very first day at Pontiac Central when I, along with other staff members were called into the office conference room to listen to a presentation from Delphi. Who or what was Delphi anyway?

What I was exposed to was a young ( he is still young) very spirited engineer pitching something called USFIRST. I was very reluctant but in the coming weeks I soon realized that Joe was about "Making a Difference" in the lives of young people - same philosophy I had. From the very start I had great respect for this man, that continues and grows today.

I will always remember Joe using an ordinary yellow pencil to question "Why". The students and myself were captivated with his interactive presentation. this concept given to me that day is the cornerstone of my Pre-engineering program at Pontiac Central High School.

His influence upon FIRST and The Community of FIRST are not measurable they are so vast and far reaching. However, like Joe has said, in other words, the impact is really on the lives of many students here at Pontiac Central as well as schools unknown.

Joe, I thank you for all you have done and will continue to do for the The Community of FIRST and most of all the influence you have had on my teaching career.

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Joe,
I must echo Dave Lavery's erudite exclamation earlier in the post.
I don't remember the first time we actually met, it was at MWR or CDI about 1998 (could it have been 97?). I had seen few people with boundless energy, flying through the pits as you were the first time I saw you. I wasn't prepared for the way you entered our pit and walked right up to Raul. I thought, anyone who could argue with Raul and hold his ground was someone that needed respect. Since that time, I have felt privileged when listening in on strategy discussions or mechanical explanations between you and other engineers. Thank you for helping me understand the meaning of Gracious Professionalism and for all you have done for the FIRST community, particularly here in the Midwest. I, as so many others, are better mentors, engineers, and people for knowing you.

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Dr. J.Johnson.... IT’S ABOUT TIME!!!!! :)

I meet you in at the anural NYC Regional in 2001 that was held at Columbia University.
From reading CD, I know exactly who you were, one of the heroes of FIRST. I came over introduced myself and spoke to you about the success of team 47.
I was quite excited to have met you and I was inspired by your work back in 2001. I am still inspired and impressed by your accomplishments.

So.... Congratulation! You have inspired many from coast to coast.

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Congrats Joe on a well deserved recognition.

You've made positive impacts in many ways and many areas.

The picture posted with the award says volumes: an uber-engineer, yes, but more importantly a dedicated father.

Hip-hip-hooray & oogah-oogah to Joe Johnson - Vince

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Congratulations Dr Joe!

Your papers on bullet proofing the 3/8 drill transmissions and charts on motor characteristics were the first things I downloaded from CD. Your latest, NBD, will certainly be a classic.

Thanks for all your help in these forums!

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

I too want to offer my congratulations, Dr. Joe.

You are truly one of the people that keeps FIRST going.

Maybe at the championship this year I will get a chance to talk to you more than a few brief seconds.

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Dr. Joe is quite a guy and an inspiration to many of us.

When I first showed up at a FRC Regional, our pit was right next to team 47's. I saw this tall, energetic man whipping his team's pit into a frenzy between rounds, getting everyone on his team excited about competing at the highest level they could. It was intimidating. At this point, I knew that this was going to be a fierce competition and people were trying their hardest to win. This was in '98, when ChiefDelphi won 3 regionals. Their shadow was large.

Over the next few years, ChiefDelphi developed as a team. As Brandon mentioned in this thread, this site was created with much input from Joe. The next thing we know, Joe is pushing for "sharing of ideas" between teams. This was that competitive guy in the pits? naaa... that didn't make sense to me. How can you be so good... so competitive, and then want to push the idea of sharing designs? It took me a while to get it. Joe had a vision: he saw that if ALL teams get better, FIRST will grow and reach more kids. With this growth would come the "change in culture" that we want to make. Bingo... it clicked with me. Joe's vision to make FIRST robots better, more innovative, more capable, more INSPIRING has made an impact on FIRST like no other person. His vision was to not only compete as hard as he could, but also allow, enable, and inspire other teams to compete at this high level. Essentially, Joe has been the Pied Piper of inspiration, raising the level of play for all teams in FIRST.

Many people get credit for raising this level of play in FIRST. Many people get credit for sharing ideas, white papers, and designs that help other teams out. No one deserves more credit than Dr. Joe. He pushed it early, before it was cool. He inspired many of us to take this idea and run with it.

I can truly say that Joe has impacted my life in a way that is immeasureable. This energetic, competitive, compassionate guy has made me a better person and given me a means to make an impact in other people's life. He has challenged me to raise the level of play in FIRST, and supported me in doing risky things that keep FIRST moving in a positive direction.

Cheers to you, Joe Johnson, my hero.

Sincerely,
Andy Baker

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

When I was honored as an UFH many months ago... the quote I chose to submit was:
“If I have seen farther than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants." - Sir Issac Newton


We all stand on Joe's shoulders..
Alll of FIRST. Everyone.
Even if you don't realize it, you still do.

His accomplishments over the years make FIRST what it is today.

Kudos to you Joe.
Thank you for all you've done, and continue to do!

John

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Dr. Johnson! Thank you for all you've done for FIRST and OCCRA :)

Dr Joe Speaks...
 

Dr Joe Speaks...







My 2 weeks of fame are almost up so I thought I had better respond before I move off stage for the next UFH.




I was surprised how much I have enjoyed being an UFH. I knew it was coming, but somehow when you actually ARE the UFH and people you know, respect, and, in some instances, love are saying all those great things about you, well… …I’ll tell you truthfully, it gets your throat all tight and your eyes all watery.



Of course I want to say thank you to all those who have said nice things about me. Thank you. But more than that, I want to thank OneAngryDwarf for nominating me and most especially the UFH committee for creating the conditions for so many great people to get some well deserved recognition. You are throwing the easy pitches for others to hit out of the park. Keep throwing those high ones right down the middle of the plate, it is a worthy endeavor.



As to the folks who responded to this message, I will thank you individually, but let me say to you all as a group, that I was moved by your compliments and stories. Thank you.



Now more about me and a bit of news that I will save to the end (I don’t want to lose my audience when my keyboard is just getting warmed up :-)



I believe much of life is a sort of Brownian Motion affair. We are like small bits of smoke whacked this way and that by the people we meet. Those who know me well know that I am a man of faith and that I believe in a higher purpose and plan to these “random” events. Even so, it is often hard for me to discern a higher purpose to most of these chance interactions. I am not so lucky as George Bailey to have my random walk mapped out for me. Reading the above thread, I have been reminded more than once about the Wonderful Life I have had.



But back to my Brownian Motion reference, the path of my life is so complex and the number of interactions has been so numerous and apparently random that it is hard to assign a cause effect relationship to the vast majority of my life. BUT the vast majority is not the entirety. There are some whacks that have changed the arc of my life so dramatically that it is hard not to link cause and effect.



Indulge me as I detail some of the impacts and the change in course they have caused.



If you would have spoken to the 8th grade boy that grew up to become Dr. Joe about his future plans, he would have told you straight away that “4 more years of this school stuff and I am DONE!” He would have been kind of fuzzy about what he was going to do to make his way in the world (perhaps he’d start some sort of business), but college was not in The Plan, that much was clear.





Mom & Dad. Fill in the usual boring stuff folks say about parents here but perhaps add that in raising me they found the right balance between the freedom to explore new things, the right limits needed to prevent permanent damage and the encouragement I needed to spread my wings and fly.



Mrs. Phillips. When Mrs. Phillips required everyone in her freshman science class to pick a career description card from a file box, read it and write a short essay on that career, I can remember thinking, “What a stupid assignment!” But, if they ever make a movie about my Wonderful Life, the score will crescendo as I read that randomly chosen 8 ½ by 11 sheet of paper with Mechanical Engineer in bold print across the top. It was like I was reading about a lost race of people that I never knew existed but that I now knew were MY PEOPLE. If four years of schooling were required to claim my birthright, what was that to me? Thanks to Mrs. Phillips, I was headed to college to get a THUNK on the head! I was off to get that B.S. degree, the stamp of approval that made official to the world what I knew in my heart: I belong to that strange and mysterious race called Mechanical Engineer.



Prof. Klein. Back to that movie script, the role of Prof. Klein, wise old curmudgeon, would be played by a Walter Matthau or Fred Thompson type actor I suppose. Professor Klein opened a whole new world up to me. The beauty of mathematics and the usefulness of automatic control theory. He was irreverent and idealistic at the same time. The way he taught engineering made me think, “Why isn’t all engineering taught this way?” He made me want to join the struggle to fix engineering education at Big Time Engineering Schools (which was and remains broken in many ways). But… …I needed another THUNK on the head to be able to get into the game. What are 4 or 5 more years when the stakes are so high? I was off to grad school.



Prof. Bajaj. Getting a Ph.D. in retrospect was a great thing for me, but not for the reasons I had decided to get one. I could write a novel on this but let me just leave it with these 3 points: 1) The more I learned about what most professors really do, the less I wanted to become one. 2) The best part about having a Doctoral Degree is that once you have it, you have it your whole life. I have years for the degree to pay me back for the pains it took me to obtain it. 3) Had it not been for the kindness and advice of Professor Bajaj (played in the movie by himself – Eastern mystic philosophers age very well, if at all ;-) I likely would have called it quits before reaching the goal.



Carl Visconti, hired me based solely on a single phrase on my resume, “I want to work with interesting machines.” What need did he have to hire someone with a Ph.D.? None, as far as I could ever discover. Lucky for me he couldn’t hire enough folks who loved interesting machines.



Dr. Barbara Sanders has been a mentor almost from the first day she stepped into my chain of command. At the time she was my Great Grand Boss (my boss’ boss’ boss). She has been a great mentor and personal advisor but she also played an important role in my introduction to FIRST.



The story of my introduction to FIRST still puts goose bumps on my skin. Ten years ago, the Sunday paper supplement, Parade Magazine, had a cover story on FIRST (then U.S. FIRST). As someone who has been looking to change the world since as long as I can remember, I knew that FIRST was the program for me. I cut out the article and made plans to pitch the idea to my management, specifically, the Director of Advanced Development, Dr. Barbara Sanders.



Before I continue I have to tell you a part of the story was unknown to me at the time. As it turns out, some weeks earlier, the General Director of Engineer from my division, Al Billis (my Great Great Grand Boss ;-), heard a pitch about a robot competition and high school kids from his counterpart at Delco Electronics. The seed landed on fertile soil. Subsequently, Mr. Billis forwarded the follow up letter from the Delco exec to one of his direct reports, the Director of Advanced Development, Dr. Barbara Sanders, writing in the margin, “Barbara, Make this happen, Al.”



Now back to me and that Parade article: it took me until Wed. to get on Barbara’s schedule. On my way to her office with the FIRST article in my hand, I stopped to check my mailbox where I found the very letter above forward to me, in turn, by Barbara with the following note below Al’s: “Joe, Come see me about this. BAS.”



So let me summarize: armed with an article about FIRST, I was on my way to talk to my management about sponsoring a FIRST team when I received a letter from my management asking me to come see them about setting up a FIRST team. There was a hot feeling in my face as my heart nearly beat out of my chest. I was slightly dizzy as I walked to Barbara’s office, but I knew that this was no random whack but a purposeful redirection of the arc of my life.



There are more stories I would like to share but this message is long enough. Besides you get the idea. Our lives are intertwined in complex ways. You never know when a “non random whack” will come. Even more importantly, you never know what direction such whacks will take you…



…Which leads me to the news bit of this thread.



As my team already knows, I have not been spending time helping Chief Delphi this year. Other personal priorities have pulled me away. That 8th Grade Future Dr. Joe may have been wrong about the 4 more years of school bit but he may have had it right about that starting some sort of business idea.



In any case, I am going to be taking time off of Delphi for a while, perhaps going part time or maybe a leave of absence. Even though my commitment to FIRST is as strong as ever, given my personal situation, I just can’t do FIRST this year. I will be curtailing even my advisory role with Chief Delphi and I will more or less have to abandon ChiefDelphi.com for the time being. On the positive side, I still plan to be a judge at the Great Lakes Regional and (perhaps) in Atlanta. Time will tell.



Failing some huge non random whack, I am confident that I will be back but not right now and probably not for months or years.



I thank you all (especially those who’ve made it this far down the page ;-)



I bid you fair well until we meet again.



Joe J.

(Alias Dr. Joe)

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Thanks for the insight Dr. Joe. Just so you know, I'd rather read a 10 page post by you all the way through then read any number of one line posts by most anyone else. If you take the time to write it I'll take the time to read it.

God Bless you and your family

Re: Dr Joe Speaks...
 

You will be sorely missed, Dr. Joe.

Re: UFH: Dr. Joseph Johnson
 

Well reading all of that really makes a person feel humbled. Joe, we've never met, but JVN has already said that you have influenced all of us, and you have. Those purposeful redirections in life are "whacks" that I'm acutely aware of as well. It seems as though those (not so) random events happen around FIRST more than anywhere I know. You've set a high standard and I promise that I will do my level best, along with all of those other lives you've touched, to carry the torch forward and take care of this culture changing movement as best we can until it is time for you to return.