Dr. Brynteson: Welcome, WNIJ listeners, to The Sound of Science. I'm Dr. Kristin Brynteson, director of NIU STEAM. Today, I'm joined by Dr. Muthuswamy, associate professor in the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology. Welcome!
Dr. Muthuswamy: Hi Kristin. Thank you.
Dr. B: So, at NIU STEAM, we talk a lot about the lifelong journey of education and how learning is something you do your entire life. So tell us about your journey through education and learning.
Dr. M: As humans, we are always wanting to learn. We always want to grow, right? Whatever we have, it's never enough. We always want to know what's the next thing? So the growth is part of being us, humans.
I graduated from NIU and then I went and worked in the industry and I'm like, "what's next?" So after having a child I said I'm going to go back to school again. So I got my PhD in Industrial and Systems Engineering and came back into academia.
The learning never really stops. Even now, I'm learning a new language. I'm learning how to sing. That's the fun part. That's the way our brain grows: only when we challenge it.
So I am going to challenge you to try something new, even if it's for a minute. Because there are so many studies that show that new habits can develop by just doing it for a minute or two. Once you start for a minute, you know, it never really stops there. It becomes part of you more and more.
It can be learning a language, going out for a walk, run, swim. Whatever it is that your heart wants to do.
Dr. B: Thank you for listening to The Sound of Science on WNIJ, where you learn something new every day.
