Dr. Felix Aguilar

Christa, Makaria, and me

It is a real honor -- and a surprise -- to be a professor at Taylor. Christ came into my life after I turned thirty. My education was complete; my career launched; and my wife Christa and children Felix and Alexandra were the wonderful center of my life. As a scientifically trained person, I thought Christian belief and reason to be utterly at odds. "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:
'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.'
Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" (1 Cor 1:18-20) Through a series of miracles and the evangelism of a fellow engineer in the workplace, the Lord brought me to himself. What had been foolish to me, became profoundly rational. That's why I love being at Taylor. Our ethic is integration of faith and learning, and it is more than a slogan.

Most of my career has been in the power generation industry. I've worked on various safety issues (loss of coolant accidents) of commercial nuclear power stations, engineering automation, and business process integration. The deliverable of my work has almost always been a computer program or the implementation of an information system. I've worked in the capacities of engineer, manager, and executive.

One of the nice "perks" of my second career as a professor is having summers off to indulge the passions of my life: reading, sailing, and hanging out with Christa. Christa and I live aboard our sailboat Makaria as we cruise the Chesapeake Bay from late May to mid-August every year. Makaria means "blessed", and that is how I feel - blessed with the time and means to enjoy my boat. More importantly, I am blessed with family, the Taylor community and the privilege of being a child of God. Amazing grace! How can it be!

Questionnaire

Favorite book?

Hard to pick just one. I've read Joseph Heller's Catch 22 four times, and I enjoy it more (and laugh harder) with each reading.

Most famous person you ever met?

Martin Luther King, Jr. He had just appeared on the cover of Time magazine, and my father recognized him in the airport one day. We walked up and chatted with him for a few minutes. I was maybe 14 years old.

Favorite part about your job?

Interacting with students -- seriously!!! Christa and I are delighted whenever students visit us on our boat in the summer.

First computer you had or used?

It was an IBM mainframe at Virginia Tech in 1965. I can't remember the model number -- a 7040? Who knows. I do remember we talked to it by submitting boxes of cards -- hanging chads and all!

First program you wrote? In what language?

First program I wrote (Don't think I ever got it to compile) was to solve a heat transfer problem for a junior-level engineering course. It was written in WATFOR FORTRAN.

Vim or Emacs

Huh? What's that?

Worst bug you had to track down?

Too innumerable!

Preferred operating system?

Whichever makes business sense for a given situation. I don't have many technical biases.

How does your relationship with God affect the way you use computers?

I use computers as little as I can! Some of this is personal preference, some is obedience to God. Since coming to the Lord, I've learned the importance of relationships -- with Christa, my children, my friends. PC's -- like TV -- can very easily crowd relationships out of my life. Also I'm appalled by -- and vulnerable to -- the real evil that can invade my home, invited and uninvited. That's why I don't have an Internet connection at home. I've only owned one PC and we're thinking of trashing it. We don't use it often, it's ugly, and it occupies too much space on my desk. Our boat, by the way, has no TV nor PC. Summers are blissful!

Favorite Bible verse?

Jeremiah 29:11 (I know the plans I have for you ...) and Philippians 3:10 (I want to know Christ ...)

Favorite quote?

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."
President Coolidge

What's the most prestigious thing you have done in the computer science / business field?

I am proud to have formed an R&D group of engineers and computer scientists at our company in the mid 80's to develop artificial intelligence tools to do engineering design. We used Lisp and Symbolics hardware, special Lisp-processing computers. These applications were in production use at our company long before object-oriented design became a commonplace in the engineering and computer science fields. We made dramatic improvements to the engineering design process and to the business.

When did you first know you were interested in Computer Science? What attracted you about it?

I am not a computer scientist. I am an engineer by training and a substantial part of my career was spent doing engineering R&D. Computer programs were the vehicle for delivering engineering analyses. I got into information systems through the back door: engineering, then engineering design automation, then manager of information systems (engineering and business), then information systems director (CIO), and finally computer science professor. Go figure!

Cat or dog person?

Neither!

E-mail client you use?

I use whatever is included in the standard platform supported wherever I work. So today it is Outlook. As a former IS manager, I'm into standard desktops big time!

Favorite type of cheese?

Camenbert

Favorite nonprogramming language?

I struggle with English, but it's my favorite.

Favorite place to visit?

Too many places to choose just one: Chesapeake Bay, Greece, the Carribean

Do you prefer Next Generation or Original Star Trek?

I watched and enjoyed the original Star Trek in the late 60's. I haven't traveled back there since.

Favorite author?

Stephen Ambrose: Band of Brothers, Undaunted Courage, and many more.

Favorite SciFi author?

I'm not into scifi.

Favorite fantasy author?

Brothers Grimm

Favorite smell?

Baking bread

Coffee or tea?

Coffee, of course!

Favorite beverage?

I better not say.

Do you pronounce SQL as "sequel" or do you say each letter?

Please! Say: Structured Query Language!

Favorite programming paradigm?

Paradigm?

Favorite TV series?

I watch the new mostly, but I do like the old Seinfeld and Cheers episodes.

If you could have a super power, what would it be? Why?

Weather forecasting. I'm a sailor.

When you go to a restaurant and they serve you a beverage, do you use the straw or take it out?

Real men don't sip from straws.

If you take it out, would you consider using it to throw spit wads at the table across the aisle?

No, but I do save the little paper umbrellas for a rainy day.

Favorite band/composer/artist?

Band: Spooky Tooth, Composer: Mozart, Singing Artist: The Supremes

The following space has been left empty on purpose. Improve upon its emptiness.

I'd rather be sailing!