Johnny Carson knew something about taking Americans somewhere they had never been.
For three decades, he did it from a television studio, turning “The Tonight Show” into a fixture of American culture and becoming one of the most recognizable entertainers in the country.
Long before Carson became a household name, though, he was a Nebraska student learning how to communicate with an audience and find his voice.
Decades after his death, his alma mater is helping another generation of Huskers explore technologies Carson never could have imagined.
For Mac O’Brien, that means the moon.
O’Brien, who earned his bachelor’s degree in emerging media arts from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in May, recently joined California startup Cislune as a 3D systems developer. He is working on SimMoon, a virtual reality program designed to study how astronauts might respond to emergencies at a lunar base.
Users will troubleshoot problems and repair equipment at a virtual lunar base with help from an autonomous artificial intelligence system acting as mission control.
A version of SimMoon also is planned for public use, allowing users to build their own lunar bases modeled after proposed NASA concepts.
For a graduate of an arts program in Lincoln, it is an unusual place to land.
But O’Brien’s path to the moon has an unexpected connection to a fellow Husker who spent his career embracing new forms of media.
Finding a voice at Nebraska
Carson was born in Corning, Iowa, in 1925 and grew up in Norfolk, Nebraska. After serving as an ensign in the U.S. Navy during World War II, he enrolled at Nebraska.
He studied radio and speech, with a minor in physics, and earned his bachelor’s degree in 1949.
His early broadcasting experiences were modest. He appeared as a milkman in a television documentary about the dangers of unpasteurized milk and wrote a senior thesis on “How to Write Comedy for Radio.”
Those beginnings led to radio, then television and, ultimately, millions of American homes.
From 1962 to 1992, Carson hosted “The Tonight Show,” helping define late-night television and giving generations of entertainers a national stage. The show earned six Emmy Awards, a Peabody and a Golden Globe. Carson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992 and the Kennedy Center Honors Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993.
But the Norfolk native never completely left Nebraska behind.
At the 1993 Kennedy Center Honors, the Cornhusker Marching Band surprised Carson with a performance of “There Is No Place Like Nebraska.”
The moment brought a broad smile to Carson’s face.
His connection to Nebraska went beyond the affection he showed for his home state. He invested in the university where his career began.
In 1969, at age 44, Carson made his first gift to Nebraska, donating $5,000. Over the years, Carson, his estate and the Johnny Carson Foundation gave tens of millions of dollars to the university, supporting the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film, broadcasting, the Lied Center for Performing Arts, renovations to the Temple Building and scholarships for Huskers.
Carson described the connection himself in 2004.
“I got my start in the Temple Building and have never forgotten the impact of my academic studies at the University of Nebraska on my life and career,” he said.
In 2015, the Johnny Carson Foundation gave $20 million to establish the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts.
The gift created a new opportunity for Nebraska students to explore emerging technologies and develop skills for careers Carson could never have imagined.
Carson died in 2005 and never saw the center open.
The center opened in 2019, giving students a place to work at the intersection of art, technology and emerging media.
O’Brien was among the students who would benefit from that investment.
Opportunity to explore
O’Brien came to the Carson Center interested in creating realistic 3D simulations rather than entertainment or games.
“I have always been interested in creating advanced 3D simulations based on realism rather than gameplay,” he said.
At Nebraska, he developed skills in 3D modeling, digital fabrication and game engine development and learned how to combine them to solve problems.
His capstone project brought several of those skills together. With support from a Hixson-Lied student creative grant, O’Brien created a virtual reality rowing machine that combined multiple technologies.
He found the Cislune internship through Dan Novy, an assistant professor of emerging media arts who posted the opportunity on the program’s message boards.
Novy already knew O’Brien’s work. After O’Brien took his Digital Fabrication and Physical Computing class, Novy asked him to return as a teaching assistant the following year.
Novy said O’Brien’s curiosity and willingness to learn stood out.
“Mac O’Brien is exactly the kind of emerging media arts student we’re engineering to produce,” Novy said. “He understands that the landscape of emerging media is vast beyond traditional entertainment or art mediums and has always been willing to absorb new skills into his skill set.”
O’Brien also was able to cover Novy’s class while Novy participated as a communications officer in a simulated Mars mission at the Mars Analog Research Station in Armenia.
For Novy, the experience is an example of where the skills taught at the Carson Center can lead.
“The sciences and engineering world needs artists and designers, animators and creative technologists to complete and communicate their work,” he said. “Our graduates are uniquely qualified to find and fulfill those positions.”
From Lincoln to lunar simulation
O’Brien interned at Cislune during the summer before accepting a permanent position.
Many of his current projects are covered by nondisclosure agreements, but he said he has used his 3D animation skills to provide animations for recent NASA contracts, in addition to his work on SimMoon.
The program is designed to give users an opportunity to experience problems astronauts could face at a lunar base and study how they respond when an artificial intelligence system is helping manage the situation.
“We want it to be the most accurate lunar simulation program in use,” O’Brien said.
A version of the program also is expected to allow members of the public to build their own lunar bases using proposed NASA concepts as a starting point.
O’Brien said students in emerging media arts often gravitate toward film, visual effects or game development. He encourages them to look beyond those familiar paths.
Before joining Cislune, he explored opportunities in museum exhibit design and technical animation for engineering firms.
“There are many other opportunities elsewhere, as well, that your particular skillset could have a big impact on,” he said.
His route to aerospace wasn't something he had mapped out when he arrived in Lincoln.
He was interested in realistic 3D simulation. He developed those skills at the Carson Center. Novy posted an internship opportunity. O’Brien applied, spent the summer at Cislune and eventually accepted a permanent position.
Now he is using those skills to help simulate what it might be like to live and work on the moon.
Carson’s career took him from the Temple Building to television screens across America.
O’Brien’s has taken him from an arts classroom in Lincoln toward a simulated lunar base.
“I am excited for this new opportunity at Cislune, and it feels great to work on projects that could make a difference in the future of aerospace and lunar technology,” he said.
