Many undergraduate research students lack the strong will and character needed to innovate and excel. It takes dedication in the real world yet many of these kids in college care more about screwing around than the research they are doing in their undergraduate program. Since many are on scholarships or public money for education this is unacceptable because if they signed up for these research fields they need to get with the program, because they are taking up a slot which could have went to someone else who was more dedicated to the cause. The work ethic and lackadaisical attitude is often appalling and unfortunate. I for one am disappointed in many of these young students who act as if they are still freshmen in High School.

For those students in robotics and sciences that have military value these undergraduate students often put in little effort? One would think with a war going on that they would work extra hard to help things come along faster and volunteer extra hours whenever they could to the research and study and work thru the complex steps to get to the next step in the technologies they are working on. Recently while brainstorming online with a researcher in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle technologies and their military uses in theatre to help our troops I noticed the attitude of no worries, be happy, no worry, be happy now come out a little too often. Well when bring new technologies to market in the fast paced world of high-tech or the race for better weaponry to win wars and protect our nation and our troops this blas attitude is a little unnerving indeed. Here is a copy of my comments to one such student who made excuses for not moving the project forward after he claimed he was busy and did not have time;

Big deal I am running a whole business; http://www.carwashguys.com . Did you go out with your buddies for pizza and beer this week? Instead you could have been thinking and developing a system to protect the nation and kill the enemy. Your comment is that of a slacker. Unacceptable. You could have been at the library or in the Lab using a cad cam or down out the hobby shop buying materials to build a prototype model to demo. I would have, I have no respect for excuses?

Look you have 400-million years of evolution in that brain of yours? At least your Tree Shrew evolutionary ancestors and the rats were gathering nuts and supplies for the weather ahead to combat their enemy; "Winter!"

http://www.americazoo.com/goto/index/mammals/83.htm .

Instead you have not been organizing yourself to accomplish the mission. Work harder and smarter, do more with less and become more efficient, think in terms of warfare that way; efficiency in protecting the Blue Force and culling of the The Red Force.

After this comment his comment back to me was not one of admission of poor work ethic, but rather one of political correctness and borderline empathy like an over paid under utilized mind of a psychologist. And thus he stated in his email reply; I sympathize with you and your situation. I tell you these college and university undergraduates just dont get it at all. They are so caught up in the panty waste liberal professor brain washing that they just dont get it. So I replied back to him;

I do not want sympathy, what do I look weak to you? But would like to see pull your own weight in the UAV community.

You see what we have here is a failure in the sciences of our education system, like it is some kind of a joke, get a degree, get a high-paying aerospace job and then you are home free? What about the mission? If we allow our next generation and afford them such low expectations, well then may I ask who in the World is going to protect this nation in the future? I dare to ask the question, because I am tired of whiners, crybabies and mediocrity in our school, education system and Universities. Think on this, because folks it aint good enough for the next step in human evolution or to maintain our current civilization at the top of the food chain.