From the skies to AI, Bill Reed M’26 isn’t one to turn down a challenge.
After dedicating most of his adult life to fighter jets in the U.S. Navy, Reed is taking a different turn in life – learning everything that modern artificial intelligence technologies have to offer. Currently, he’s enrolled in Merrimack College’s data science master’s program with a concentration in AI and machine learning.
“It seems like with ChatGPT, everyone’s an Einstein now,” he explained. “It kind of intrigued me, and I wanted to get in on it.”
Reed enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1990. Originally, he started as an aviation safety equipment personnel working on ejection seats for F-14 fighter jets. After a few years, he transitioned to a P-3 flight engineer, which involved much schooling and training to become the subject matter expert in charge of preflight, inflight and post-flight duties.
Reed’s work took him and his family all across the world, including California, Virginia, Florida, Hawaii, Washington, and Japan. Within the last 5 years, however, his home base has been Connecticut.
“I really wasn’t interested in going to work for any of the aerospace companies (after the move to Connecticut),” he said. “I figured I had to do something since I was so used to always being on the go. AI was starting to get really big and I started to dabble in it. I figured this is what I wanted to do. It’s really cool to automate things.”
Through Veteran Readiness and Employment services, Reed was able to enroll in Merrimack. AI is a far cry from Reed’s educational background. While on active duty in 2013, he earned his bachelor’s degree in professional aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
“I’ve never been a computer guy before,” he said. “I’ve always been hands-on. Programming wasn’t really in my wheelhouse. It made me a bit nervous, but with AI, there’s some coding and some no-coding.”
Reed said he’s working hard and loving the challenge. He’s currently taking his third class in predictive modeling.
“It’s my Navy background,” he explained. “Learning in the Navy is through a firehose, extremely fast and high volume.”
