Emma Freeman '19 is a Computer Science and Studio Art major. She is also a Digital Projects Assistant at Olin Library and the House Manager of Open House. In her free time, enjoys merging her interests in code and art, and also pursues stand-up comedy and improv.
We visited Apple (http://apple.com), a global company that designs and produces premium hardware and software technologies. Apple’s main headquarters is the Infinite Loop in Cupertino, CA, but we were at a satellite campus, also in Cupertino.
Apple has over 100,000 employees worldwide who work in many different teams, even among the engineers. We visited Senior Vision Engineer Paul Johnson, an ‘08 Wes alum who majored in Mathematics and Biology with a Bioengineering certificate before receiving a PhD in Bioengineering from UC Berkeley.
Paul explained that his degree in Bioengineering was especially concentrated in the study of optics. At Apple, he was able to translate his educational background into work with the visuals of user interaction, specifically with the True Tone feature on the newer iPhone models, which modified the warmness of the screen based on the lighting in the user’s environment. He felt that his bioengineering background was helpful in the engineering process, even though he had not necessarily envisioned working at Apple during most of his years of study.
Paul had worked at Apple for a few years, but felt that even at such a large company, he was able to contribute valuably to technology he believed in. While he kept mum about projects that were in the works, he shared that he was excited about the work that he did there.
