USING HIS HEAD OFF THE FIELD : TEEN GETS KICKS WITH ROBOTICS JUNIOR AT QUARTZ HILL HIGH ALSO LEADS SOCCER TEAM IN GOALS.

Byline: Lee Barnathan Daily News Staff Writer

Maybe one day, Hiram Johnson will build a soccer team with Robby the Robot, HAL 9000, C-3PO and R2D2 as teammates.

Don't laugh. This 16-year-old Quartz Hill High forward has an affinity for robotics, lasers and artificial intelligence. His ultimate dream would be to win a Nobel Prize for creating artificial intelligence. He also would like to invent robotic designs for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

``I remember reading in Popular Science that one student invented a land rover for NASA, and he got paid $400,000,'' Johnson said.

So when Johnson's parents, Donna and Marvin, don't see their son for hours at a time, they aren't worried. They know he's likely in the garage or in his room working on his various projects.

``One of these days, he's gonna finish it,'' Donna Johnson said.

Even as a child, Johnson displayed a love for gizmos. All of his Lego sets had moving parts. He would spend hours making Lego vehicles.

Johnson became enamored with artificial intelligence and lasers when, as a pupil at Desert Christian School, he visited a science fair.

``I remember a real powerful laser. You couldn't see the beam, but they threw dust on it. There was this bright, illuminating red beam. I had never seen anything like it,'' he said.

Since then, he gets his hands on as much literature as possible. He regularly reads Popular Electronics, Electronics Now and Popular Science magazines as well as the books ``Robot Builders' Bonanza'' and ``Gadgeteers' Gold Mine'' for tips on what to build and where to get parts for less money.

``It can be quite expensive if you don't know where to look,'' said Johnson. ``I need to mail order.''

That's where his parents come in. Since he's just 16, his mother writes the checks and he pays her back.

He has completed a helium-neon laser used to make holograms and light shows, and is one motor away from completing his six-leg walker robot with an arm that will pick up and bring him small items.

The laser is nothing like what's shown in science fiction programs. In fact, it can't be seen unless dust, baking soda or other small particles come in contact with the beam.

This disappoints his friends. When he tells them he has a laser, they think he can blow something up with it.

``All I can do is shine it on the wall,'' Johnson said. ``It's like seeing a flashlight.''

Still, he can have his own light show by pointing the laser at an apparatus that reflects various circle and star shapes. Shown on a wall, it resembles a kaleidoscope. He also can project holograms by pointing the laser at a slide.

His robots are more complicated. It takes so many parts to build his 3-foot-by-2-foot-by-2-foot walker that he has an entire armoire full of components. Some of the pieces are so small that if he drops them, he loses them. He might find some looking through the vacuum bag.

His mother wishes he would finish some of his projects. But he's discovered one other teen-age pursuit: the car. His Mazda doesn't resemble a robot.

He admits these aren't the average teen-age pursuits. Johnson spends as much as 10 hours a day during the summer working on his projects, although he lately spends more time with video games, dating and sports.

Johnson was a linebacker on the Quartz Hill football team and currently is efficient at scoring goals for the soccer team. Heading into Wednesday's Golden League opener against Lancaster, he led the league with 13 goals. At 5 feet, 10 inches and 175 pounds, he's not afraid of mixing it up with defenders.

``Forwards are often smaller, finesse guys and they'll get knocked off the ball,'' Quartz Hill coach Mike Kuper said. ``Hiram's tough to get knocked off. He takes on the defender.''

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Photo: Quartz Hill High School soccer forward Hiram Johnson, who is the Golden League's scoring leader, hopes to work for NASA someday.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News