Introduction

For starters, my name is Jesse Johnson. I was born in Albuquerque, NM on March 16, 1978 and love it here. New Mexico has so much to offer if you know where to look. This state has a very rich history from the Natives of our pre-written history to the Manhattan Project during WWII to our current status as a center for high-tech research. We also have a wonderful ecological diversity, from mountains to desert, making this state great for outdoor activities.

A picture of me standing next to ground zero a the Trinity Site. On that exact spot, the worlds first nuclear device was detonated. Whether you look at that event as the day that mankind gained the ability to destroy itself, or as the beginning of the end of WWII, you cannot deny that it was a very important day in history.

A Little About My Background

I now have my resume online!

One thing that any of my friends will tell you is that I value education. I currently hold a BS in Physics from The University of New Mexico. I have also completed much of the coursework for towards an undergraduate degree in Computer Science, though I don't think I am going to finish that one. I intend to go to graduate school for Physics instead. I would like to research applying Genetic Programming toward scientific discovery.

• Java: This is the language which I am most proficient in.
• C++: I am not to fond of it, but I do know it.
• C: I am a little less proficient in it than I am in C++, but it would only take me a few days of using it to get my proficiency back up.
• Matlab: I haven't used this in a while for anything other than matrix operations, but I have written scripts in Matlab. It would take me about a week to be back up to speed with it.
• Scheme: Right now I probably couldn't write a functional program (pun intended!) in this language, but I have used it.

Affiliations

I feel that science and math education is vital to this country's future and economy, yet we are falling behind. I am a staunch supporter of improving our science and math education, which is why I not only belong to The Coalition For Excellence In Science And Math Education, but am on the board of directors as well. We are a 501c3 organization with the goal of improving science and math education for all.

I also belong to a skeptics group known as New Mexicans For Science And Reason. We have meetings on the second Wednesday of every month at 1900 at the UNM Law Building, Room 2402. Every meeting there is a different guest speaker, so people who attend meetings regularly get exposed to a variety of topics. (On a side note, I am restructuring their website To see what kinds of changes are taking place. *Material on here will be copyrighted by NMSR!!!)

What I Like To Do

• I like to do a lot of shooting. I used to shoot high power rifle competitively, at ranges from 200 yards to 1000 yards. I really want to get back into it. I practice regularly with both rifles and pistols. I am what most people would call a gun nut, even though it is hobby, just like building model aircraft.
• Hunting. I'll bet you would have expected this given the fact that I like to shoot, huh?
• Fishing. Was this a surprise?
• I also enjoy working on computers. I like programming (don't ask me why) and also see them as a great means of communication for people who live in different parts of the country or world.
• I like horses. Want to see me get mad? Mistreat a horse in front of me.