Schooling:

Jackie is currently a sophomore attending the University of Wisconsin Madison studying electrical engineering.  She is interested in a number of applications of electrical engineering and also a variety of different fields.  It has taken her almost two years to decide on becoming an electrical engineering major as she also has a great interest in biology with an emphasis on neurology and may choose to double major in that field.  Regardless, Jackie chose electrical engineering for three reasons.  Reason number one is that she is greatly interested in power production and alternative ways to produce electricity (which is what attracted her to the CLC competition in the first place).  Mitigating climate change has always been quite a passionate issue for her.   Reason number two however is that, being also greatly interested in neurology, Jackie hopes that through electrical engineering she can learn the nitty-gritty most fundamental parts that result in a large scale full functioning computer.  She wants to someday be able to apply her future knowledge of computer circuitry to the more complex circuitry of the human brain that somehow gives rise to consciousness.  She wants to know what gives us the ability to think and use such things as ambiguous natural languages verses the primitive unintelligent computers which can perform miraculous tasks quite quickly but are unable to pass a Turing Test.  Jackie feels that by studying electrical engineering she will have taken a unique approach to studying neurology that may give her an edge in the field.  Reason number three is simply that the wide variety of classes that the degree offers coincides with those of the physics major.  Jackie originally wanted to study physics but switched at the last second (literally during orientation) to engineering. 

Hobbies and Interests:

Jackie also has a passion for theoretical physics and abstract mathematics and enjoys on occasion researching such topics as gravitation radiation and fractal geometry.  Apart from academics she has a deep passion for the environment and the Earth.  Jackie loves hiking in the woods, swimming and fishing on open lakes (enjoying the peace and quiet).  She enjoys stargazing and, even taking her dog for walks out to the western edge of her hometown to watch the sunset.