Yes, who is this Bill Porter character and why do I want to get into his mind? That is the question.

Bill Porter is quite a common name. If you Google ‘Bill Porter’ you get an overload of results from a salesman born with cerebral palsy (there was a movie made about him), a jazz band, an animator, to even a guy that ran sound for Elvis Presley. But if you are reading this, you are not interested in those Bill Porter’s. But I know a thing or two about this Bill Porter.

Ok, you got me. I am this Bill Porter. So let me tell you a little about myself. Look me up on Facebook and this is what you get:

Though I think I can do a better job than that.

Born and raised in South Florida, I was a typical Florida kid. Though instead of getting into football (They really tried to get me to play) I seemed to have inherited the family’s knack for engineering. Or maybe it was all those times I stuck a knife into a outlet as a kid? Anyway, I was the last of the true RadioShack generation; learning circuits the old way with tons of “100 in 1 Learning Labs” scattered about. All those springs and jumper wires, I loved those things. No Arduino, not much on the internet, the only way to learn was with one of these babies. I was on a first name basis with the manager of the RadioShack that was within biking distance of my house. I loved being a kid! I even kept some of them through college, they are handy to have around.

Fast forward through high-school (Go Raiders! ) and 3 years of drama productions; through college (Go Noles!) and many, many soldering irons and now I’m an Engineer for the U.S. Navy building Unmanned Systems. What is that? That is the fancy way of saying I work with and build really cool robots. Here’s one of the few public released videos about what I do:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipIQ6ckJ9NQ[/youtube]

No, I wasn’t interviewed, but that’s me in pretty much every other shot. Building robots at work is a blast, and I love the free time I have at home compared to being in college. That’s why I started this site; I wanted to document my projects for the benefit of others. I have a million ideas in my head, and this is where I let them out. So I hope you enjoy my site…

O wait! I forgot to tell you the best thing about working for the government! The federal STEM programs! I can get funding to support bringing science to kids. Did I mention I love kids and promoting science? The true testament to that is my unending effort into a program called the “Science Brothers”. The following is a news special on the program:

[flv w=360 h=264]http://www.sciencebrothers.org/wp-content/uploads//2011/04/ScienceBrothersNews1.f4v[/flv]

[flv w=360 h=264]http://www.sciencebrothers.org/wp-content/uploads//2011/04/ScienceBrothersNews2.f4v[/flv]

For information on the ‘Science Brothers’ read this and then check out the “Science Brothers” homepage.

Beside the show, I also have attended local and long distance STEM events:

Yup, that’s me with a robot and a whole lot of elementary kids.

That’s me talking to kids at a Miami High School about robotics. More about it here.

That’s just some of the events I get to do, and it is a blast. There’s also mentoring FIRST robotics teams and visiting class rooms. Currently, I’m working hard to bring a science camp program where kids learn by building an ROV to a local Museum. I’m also putting together a traveling stage act (think Bill Nye the Science Guy, but on a cafeteria stage) to get more elementary kids interested in science. In fact, some of the current projects on my site (and several works in progress) are for use in this science show. I’m out to ignite the flame of curiosity in kids. I think it’s one of the most important things we can do.

Well, that’s the quick and dirty on this Bill Porter. Feel free to browse around and ask me a question if you like.