Driven by passion.

Jay Harrison is a largely self-taught entrepreneur and robotics whiz with a decidedly humanistic take on his life's ambitions

Climb aboard your time machine and set the dial for 1980. Then head over to the Harrison household on Detroit's east side and meet a teenager named Jay.

While you're there, ask him to show you the voice-activated robot he put together "just for fun" when he was in the sixth grade. Or the Star Trek computer game with the extra photon torpedoes he added himself while in high school.

Getting the impression that this is not your average kid? Believe it.

Over the next two decades, Jay Harrison would accomplish far more than most of us do in a lifetime (see box on page 13). Most notably, at age 21, he and three partners would found Deneb Robotics Inc., a computer graphics software company that would grow and grow and grow. Twelve years later, they would sell the company for a cool $105 million.

Along the way, this largely self-taught entrepreneur would become the principal architect of a pioneering technological process that is now an integral part of the pre-production phase in the automotive manufacturing and aerospace industries.

Detroiter: Your history is amazing! Do you think there was a period when you were growing up that your parents looked at you and thought to themselves, "Where did this child come from?"

To be sure. I was the youngest in the family and spent a lot of time by myself. I was completely into science -- all things science. I had my own chemistry lab when I was in middle school. I almost burned up the house a couple of times. Or blew it up.

Detroiter: How did your parents influence you?

I wasn't heavily driven by my parents. They tried to help me do whatever I had an interest in, and I thought that was great. There was a bit of a push when I went to high school for me to become a doctor from my mom -- but I overcame that [laughs) and decided I liked working with silicon better than actual flesh. I think it was really good that my parents didn't push anything down my throat as far as what I had to be or do. I thought it was great that they supported my interests. That was really, really important. They didn't necessarily understand the stuff I was doing, but they would do whatever they could to help me develop it.

Detroiter: When did you first become interested in computers and robotics?

In middle school, sixth grade, I made this robot for a science project. Just for fun. It was a box with lights. I got a Radio Shack electronic kit. I made a circuit that was a basic voice-operated relay switch so that when you came up and said anything to the robot, it turned on a relay that played a tape that I had recorded and lights came on. That's how I got interested in robotics. In high school, I discovered that I wanted to get into computers when I was in like the 10th grade. I started making computer games on an early Radio Shack model. Once I got into the game, I wanted to modify it. It was a Star Trek game. I gave myself extra photon torpedoes. From there I thought, "What if I wrote my own stuff?" So I looked at the program and figured out how to program and started writing stuff myself.

Detroiter: You did all this on your own, with no instruction? How do you account for that?

There's the desire. I like creating things. I like making something new and different.

Detroiter: You were just 21 when you helped found Deneb Robotics?

Yes. There were four of us. I wrote the language for a 3-D computer graphic virtual reality (then called simulation). You could see cars moving and robots doing their job. You could find out how long it took a robot to do a task. You could see if the robot could reach a point it needed to reach.

Detroiter: And then what?

We were profitable in about a year. We all had very low salaries, of course, to start with. And we worked long, long hours making the systems. After a year we sold our first system to Chrysler. So the company grew and grew and we added more products. I designed a product called Quest, which is a discrete event simulations system. I designed it from ground zero on up. Then, on Dec. 31, 1997, we sold the company to Dassauit Systems, which is one of the world's largest CAD companies, the maker of Catia, for $105 million. So that was a very happy day.

Detroiter: A happy day, indeed! Then what?

I stayed on for about three months after the acquisition and then did a sabbatical. I bought a house in Aruba. I did some consulting during this hiatus. And then I thought, "Well, now I can retire, right?" But what I found out is that I can't retire. I love the technology. I don't want to retire. It would not necessarily be healthy if I did. Because I don't like the technology simply for technology's sake. I really like solving problems and solving problems for people and having people use the things that I make.

Detroiter: So how did you end up where you are now?

I took a look at a number of Internet companies around this area and picked this one (Internet Operations Center). I didn't want a fulltime job when I came here. They made it worthwhile and flexible enough to do it. I love working here. It's something different every day. The technology is pretty much unlimited.

Detroiter: You're a problem solver, aren't you?

Yes, absolutely. Often people just look at the final thing and become overwhelmed because it's so complex. I feel the capacity to learn is more important than what you know. Your ability to attain more knowledge by understanding and breaking down problems effectively is more important than your store of knowledge. I want to stay on top of the technology and continue to learn all my life.

Detroiter: Do you think you were born with something different, something that sets you apart?

I'm relatively impatient. That's why computers and technology have been my calling. With computers and technology, I don't have to wait on other people. If I write the program, I immediately see the results. Even though I've designed systems that take two to three years to implement, you see the results. That's rewarding in itself.

Detroiter: So what do you see yourself doing 10 years from now?

I would like to get involved in some space activity program. They're slowly moving to a commercialization of space, which would take it away from just government and get it into the private sector. I'd like to be somehow involved in that.

Detroiter: What makes you different from others in your field?

One of the things that's different for me is the importance of people, of humans. Some programmers/scientists would rather deal with the computer than deal with other people, whereas I really like dealing with other people. As chief technology officer here, I'm always out on client visits and talking to people about how to solve their problems. Because you can't do things like that in a vacuum. You need to ask people the right questions because ultimately that's who you're working for.

Detroiter: How would you describe yourself in one phrase?

Driven by passion. I have three main passions -- computers, photography and music.

Detroiter: Music and photography, too?

"Yeah, I've got a studio with about 20 or so synthesizers, and I really got into synthesizers from an engineering/technical point of view. I produced a CD and actually got an honorable mention from Billboard magazine for one of the songs I did called "Urgency." It really spells out my passion, my beliefs. It talks about not being afraid of the person you need to be and following your passion before it's too late. And make sure that you don't hurt others in the pursuit of your passion.

Detroiter: As you look back, what do you consider your greatest challenge?

When I left the University of Michigan (after a year) and was figuring out what I was going to do. I didn't want to be a bum. I said to myself, "OK, I don't have a college degree and I don't have a bunch of money to go to college." So it was a matter of deciding what I was going to do.

Detroiter: And finally, here's a real heavy-duty question. What do you see as your purpose in life?

I want to inspire, I really do. If you can impart a deeper feeling or deeper understanding that transcends your lifetime, if you inspire someone to be nice or to help others or to make a positive change, if you inspire to make a positive change, then that again grows and grows and ultimately, after a few hundred years or so, the world IS a significantly better place to be.

File on Jay Harrison

Early years -- Born in Cleveland on April 20, 1964, moved to Detroit with family two years later. Grew up on Detroit's east side, the youngest of five children of two Chrysler workers. Graduated in first four-year class at Renaissance High School. Dropped out after a year at University of Michigan, attended classes as non-student at Wayne State University.

Business track -- Started one-person operation tutoring Wayne State students struggling with first- and second-year computer science courses. In 1985, at age 21, co-founded with three partners Deneb Robotics Inc., a computer graphics software company. Sold Deneb 12 years later to French-based Dassault Systemes S.H., one of the world's largest CAD/CAM/CAE companies and maker of the Catia CAD system.

Notable achievements -- Principal architect of the pioneering Quest 3-D graphical discrete event simulation system, a technology now required in the pre-production phase of the automotive manufacturing and aerospace industries. Key designer of the IGRIP robotic simulation system.

Current position -- Chief technology officer at Southfield-based Internet Operations Center Inc. Researchers, develops and implements strategic initiatives as part of a team that has produced a 40-percent-growth rate. Board member, Detroit Charter School for Industrial Arts.

Awards and honors -- NAACP National Arts & Sciences Fair, Gold, Award (1982); Detroit Metropolitan Science Fair, Grand Award (1982); Metro Times photography contest, first agency (1993); Billboard magazine song con test, (1995); recognized for exemplary work for simulation-based design by General Dynamics in conjunction with U.S. Defense Advanced Research Products Agency (1996); Grain's Detroit Business "Forty Under Forty" (2000).