This summer, by design, I was able to relax basically the whole time. I was able to attend graduation parties, visit relatives in India, attend a wedding in New York, spend time with family & friends, and not worry about work a whole lot. Of course I was able to get a bit of work for my old UROP done too, especially as I'd like to turn it into a paper, but I didn't really feel pressure to be working on it all the time. In fact, working on that and a few other projects was mainly how I filled my downtime, but I never let those things get in the way of relaxing and having fun. Anyway, this summer is about to end, and that would make it my last formal summer break ever. In two days, I will be moving to Princeton to start a PhD program in the Electrical Engineering department; it'll likely be about photonics, quantum optics, or Casimir physics, but I have a semester to figure out the details. I'm really excited to be starting that, and I hope the journey will be a good one overall (though I have no doubt that there will be both ups and downs). If you're starting school, college, graduate school, a new job, or any other sort of new venture, good luck!
Showing posts with label break. Show all posts
Showing posts with label break. Show all posts
2014-08-28
2014-06-08
Featured Comments: Week of 2014 June 1
There was one post this past week that got a comment, so I'll repost that.
Thanks to that reader for that comment. As of two days ago (from this writing), I have graduated MIT with a degree in physics! I am back home for basically the whole summer, so my posting frequency will increase during that time (with a few exceptions). Anyway, if you like what I write, please continue subscribing and commenting!
Reflection: My Undergraduate Experiences at MIT
An anonymous reader asked, "please for a mint cinnamon review".Thanks to that reader for that comment. As of two days ago (from this writing), I have graduated MIT with a degree in physics! I am back home for basically the whole summer, so my posting frequency will increase during that time (with a few exceptions). Anyway, if you like what I write, please continue subscribing and commenting!
2014-06-03
Reflection: My Undergraduate Experiences at MIT
Commencement is a few days away, so I don't have too much more time on campus. I've finished all four years of my undergraduate education. It has been a really wild and amazing ride, and now that things are marginally quieter, I think I could use a little reflection on those 4 years (or, at least, the highlights, learning experiences, and more recent parts that I remember). I am no poet, so a lot of this may sound repetitive, awkward, or stilted; believe me when I say this is really how I feel. Follow the jump to read more.
2014-05-21
Done with 8th Semester!
I'm done with my eighth and final semester of my MIT undergraduate semester! (Actually, I was done on Sunday, May 18 around 3pm upon completion of my last problem set, but I didn't get around to writing this until today.) It was extremely satisfying to see a bit about nanoparticle scattering of infrared light in a new UROP project and write about that in my thesis, along with getting excellent results for my ongoing photonic crystal UROP project and writing about that too. My thesis gave my the most trouble in the two weeks leading up to its submission on May 9, though I started writing during spring break itself. In terms of classes, I had the most trouble in 8.334 — Statistical Mechanics II (Statistical Field Theory), as the problem sets and exams alike were quite challenging, and the final project was an 18-hour marathon on Friday, May 16. Also annoying was 14.15 — Networks; it wasn't taught or organized very well, and the final project gave me and my group partners a fair amount of stress too. More manageable was 8.962 — General Relativity, which only had problem sets, and most of those were quite reasonable and straightforward. Anyway, I don't have any final exams this semester (by design), so I'm really done, and all I need to worry about now is commencement! (I will have a longer post reflecting on my time at MIT in the coming days, so stay tuned for that.) After commencement, I plan to spend most of my summer time relaxing and picking up small projects at home; I may also travel for a bit too.
2013-12-18
Done with 7th Semester!
It finally happened! The end of the semester rushed in and washed over just as quickly. My classes — 8.07 — Electromagnetism II, 8.09 — Classical Mechanics III, 8.333 — Statistical Mechanics I, and 14.12 — Economic Applications of Game Theory — were all together a bit more challenging than I anticipated. On top of that, I worked a lot on my UROP, and of course I had to submit graduate school applications by last weekend. Thankfully, my classes and graduate school applications are done. Now I can go home, relax, enjoy the company of family and friends...and probably work on my UROP. Of course, I'll be continuing my UROP over IAP, but I hope to be transitioning into a new project then, so I hope to get a fair amount of my current project done during the break. Happy holidays everyone!
2013-08-16
Reflection: 2013 Summer UROP
Wow. This summer has been incredibly busy, productive, and fun all at once. I can't believe it's already over!
So what did I do this summer?
My primary concern this summer was my UROP. I have been able to bring it very close to an end point; I wasn't able to finish it up completely, but I guess that was an unrealistic expectation because that's just not how science works. It doesn't wrap up cleanly; it's an ongoing process. I learned a whole lot more about Scheme and MEEP in the process, though, which was great.
On a related note, another UROP project fell by the wayside (as I wrote about earlier this summer) once I realized it was based on flawed calculations. To be honest, I'm not really sure if I want to pick up that project again and try to bring it to some sort of conclusion or if that's really worth my time.
My secondary concern was preparing for graduate school. I took the GRE this past Tuesday, and I am happy to say that went quite well. I have also been studying for the Physics GRE, along with making my list of graduate schools/programs/professors that I want to further investigate and send applications.
My tertiary concern was making another video for the MIT-K12 project. That went off successfully as well.
Apart from that, not being around my usual set of friends for the summer had a silver lining. While I would have certainly liked to have been able to hang out with them more, I was able to become a lot closer to a few people who usually live on my floor during the semester and hang out with them a lot more. Compared to the end of last semester, where I would basically just say "hi" to them but not a whole lot more, I now intend to hang out with them significantly more during this coming semester.
What didn't I do? These things didn't happen because I didn't have the time or energy to carry them out.
I wasn't able to edit and publish all the videos I took of 8.033 lectures from 2 years ago. In fact, I couldn't really look at those at all.
I wasn't able to do much work for OCW as I had planned.
(Actually, that's mostly it.)
I'm excited for the coming semester. My classes all look quite exciting, and I'm still deciding what I want to do regarding my UROP once my current project can truly said to be concluded. That said, I feel a bit sad that this has been my last summer at MIT, and it is already over. After that, I only have 9 more months at this place. I hope I can make those 9 months really special. Before that, though, I'll be going on a vacation with my family for a few days and then spending the remaining 1.5 weeks of August at home. Yay!
So what did I do this summer?
My primary concern this summer was my UROP. I have been able to bring it very close to an end point; I wasn't able to finish it up completely, but I guess that was an unrealistic expectation because that's just not how science works. It doesn't wrap up cleanly; it's an ongoing process. I learned a whole lot more about Scheme and MEEP in the process, though, which was great.
On a related note, another UROP project fell by the wayside (as I wrote about earlier this summer) once I realized it was based on flawed calculations. To be honest, I'm not really sure if I want to pick up that project again and try to bring it to some sort of conclusion or if that's really worth my time.
My secondary concern was preparing for graduate school. I took the GRE this past Tuesday, and I am happy to say that went quite well. I have also been studying for the Physics GRE, along with making my list of graduate schools/programs/professors that I want to further investigate and send applications.
My tertiary concern was making another video for the MIT-K12 project. That went off successfully as well.
Apart from that, not being around my usual set of friends for the summer had a silver lining. While I would have certainly liked to have been able to hang out with them more, I was able to become a lot closer to a few people who usually live on my floor during the semester and hang out with them a lot more. Compared to the end of last semester, where I would basically just say "hi" to them but not a whole lot more, I now intend to hang out with them significantly more during this coming semester.
What didn't I do? These things didn't happen because I didn't have the time or energy to carry them out.
I wasn't able to edit and publish all the videos I took of 8.033 lectures from 2 years ago. In fact, I couldn't really look at those at all.
I wasn't able to do much work for OCW as I had planned.
(Actually, that's mostly it.)
I'm excited for the coming semester. My classes all look quite exciting, and I'm still deciding what I want to do regarding my UROP once my current project can truly said to be concluded. That said, I feel a bit sad that this has been my last summer at MIT, and it is already over. After that, I only have 9 more months at this place. I hope I can make those 9 months really special. Before that, though, I'll be going on a vacation with my family for a few days and then spending the remaining 1.5 weeks of August at home. Yay!
2013-05-24
Done with 6th Semester!
I'm done with junior year! The spring semester was a bit more manageable than the fall semester, but was still challenging nevertheless. I intentionally chose to take only 3 classes: 8.06 — Quantum Physics III, 8.14 — Experimental Physics II, and 14.03 — Microeconomic Theory and Public Policy. I did this so that I could spend more time on each of those classes (especially 8.14 — Experimental Physics II) as well as on my UROP. Speaking of my UROP, things were progressing rather slowly in the beginning of the semester and only slowed further from there, until just after spring break, at which point progress went extremely quickly. I'm really looking forward to being able to make more such progress in the summer; plus, I may even be able to start on a new project about the Casimir effect, about which I wrote a paper for 8.06 — Quantum Physics III. Before that, I'm spending two weeks at home. For these next few days, I'm just going to relax and spend time and travel with family. After that, I'll probably be able to start work again on my UROP; a few weeks into the summer, I intend to start looking seriously into graduate programs in physics. Anyway, at last, it is summer!
2012-12-19
Done with 5th Semester!
Wow. This semester was longer and far more difficult than any previous one here. Most of that is courtesy 8.13, though 8.231 and 14.04 were certainly contributing factors. Final exams were also fairly challenging as well this time. My only regret is that my UROP somewhat fell by the wayside as a consequence. I really enjoyed learning what I did in my classes, and the experiences I gained were immensely rewarding in the end, but I am so glad that I am done with it now. Right now, I'm just focusing on going home in a few hours and spending quality winter break time with family and friends. I will be back over IAP to continue my UROP. After that, in the spring semester, I intend to take fewer classes, because I realize that I may have bitten off a little more than I could chew this semester. Anyway, happy holidays everyone!
2012-08-09
Reflection: 2012 Summer UROP
The long-term reviews I have been doing this summer have been on the desktop that I have been using for my UROP work this summer. Most of my thoughts about that have basically been along the lines of "UROP work went fine today". But I've realized that I haven't properly discussed what I've done this summer, I figured that I should share a little bit about that today because tomorrow is my last day here for the summer before I go home for a few weeks' break.
Let us start with the basics. A dielectric is essentially any material medium that changes the average speed at which light propagates due to the interaction of the electromagnetic field with the atoms and molecules constituting the dielectric. A photonic crystal is a periodic array of dielectric, and this periodicity can be found in 1, 2, or 3 dimensions. The photonic crystals that I was modeling this summer are in 2 dimensions; specifically, they are rectangular slabs of dielectric material with cylindrical holes of air/vacuum punched through the center along one axis. These sorts of periodic structures are special because they have certain bands of natural resonant frequencies at which the electromagnetic field is very well supported and other bands of frequencies where the field basically can't exist in the structure at all. This allows for very efficient manipulation of light at various frequencies. For instance, last fall, I was looking at optimizing photonic crystals to absorb the most light at various angles of incidence given a range of frequencies. This summer, I have been characterizing the electromagnetic energy flux from the photonic crystal structure that I mentioned before as a function of frequency and wavevector; the energy flux comes from localized current sources embedded in the dielectric material, and this models spontaneous emission. Such spectra should and do show peaks near the resonant frequencies. I was working closely with a postdoctoral associate and graduate student who had previously determined the functional dependence of the flux spectrum analytically and verified it experimentally. I was essentially providing a third method of verification through numerical analysis in MEEP. I have also asked the graduate student with whom I work about the ultimate applications of these flux spectrum modeling techniques, and the closest thing I have gotten to a good answer is that many macromolecules look like photonic crystals locally, so knowing the resonant frequencies and wavevectors for the flux spectrum makes imaging said macromolecules much easier.
In the process, I've become much more accustomed to using MEEP. I'm no longer scared of Scheme despite my C++/JAVA programming background; in fact I'm almost used to using Scheme. I've gotten a better handle on the tricks of the Linux terminal. And this was the first time that I was able to have a good level of appreciation for what I was doing, because this was the first full term that I was able to UROP after the lecture in my 8.04 (Quantum Physics I) class in 2012 May about photonics. Overall, I would say that my UROP was a success in that I really enjoyed every bit of it!
Let us start with the basics. A dielectric is essentially any material medium that changes the average speed at which light propagates due to the interaction of the electromagnetic field with the atoms and molecules constituting the dielectric. A photonic crystal is a periodic array of dielectric, and this periodicity can be found in 1, 2, or 3 dimensions. The photonic crystals that I was modeling this summer are in 2 dimensions; specifically, they are rectangular slabs of dielectric material with cylindrical holes of air/vacuum punched through the center along one axis. These sorts of periodic structures are special because they have certain bands of natural resonant frequencies at which the electromagnetic field is very well supported and other bands of frequencies where the field basically can't exist in the structure at all. This allows for very efficient manipulation of light at various frequencies. For instance, last fall, I was looking at optimizing photonic crystals to absorb the most light at various angles of incidence given a range of frequencies. This summer, I have been characterizing the electromagnetic energy flux from the photonic crystal structure that I mentioned before as a function of frequency and wavevector; the energy flux comes from localized current sources embedded in the dielectric material, and this models spontaneous emission. Such spectra should and do show peaks near the resonant frequencies. I was working closely with a postdoctoral associate and graduate student who had previously determined the functional dependence of the flux spectrum analytically and verified it experimentally. I was essentially providing a third method of verification through numerical analysis in MEEP. I have also asked the graduate student with whom I work about the ultimate applications of these flux spectrum modeling techniques, and the closest thing I have gotten to a good answer is that many macromolecules look like photonic crystals locally, so knowing the resonant frequencies and wavevectors for the flux spectrum makes imaging said macromolecules much easier.
In the process, I've become much more accustomed to using MEEP. I'm no longer scared of Scheme despite my C++/JAVA programming background; in fact I'm almost used to using Scheme. I've gotten a better handle on the tricks of the Linux terminal. And this was the first time that I was able to have a good level of appreciation for what I was doing, because this was the first full term that I was able to UROP after the lecture in my 8.04 (Quantum Physics I) class in 2012 May about photonics. Overall, I would say that my UROP was a success in that I really enjoyed every bit of it!
2012-05-24
Done with 4th Semester!
Oh my goodness. I am done with half of my undergraduate career at MIT. This is crazy!
This past semester was even more crazy than the one before that. The great thing was that my classes this semester were way more interesting on the whole and will be far more useful especially towards the UROP that I will be doing over the summer.
For now, though, I'm not thinking much about my UROP. I'm thinking about what I'll do to relax and unwind at home. And by the way, one of the things I had originally intended to do was write a few more reviews, but because I stupidly forgot my USB flash drives in my dormitory room, that will not be happening until I get back to campus. Oh well. I'll find other stuff to do too!
This past semester was even more crazy than the one before that. The great thing was that my classes this semester were way more interesting on the whole and will be far more useful especially towards the UROP that I will be doing over the summer.
For now, though, I'm not thinking much about my UROP. I'm thinking about what I'll do to relax and unwind at home. And by the way, one of the things I had originally intended to do was write a few more reviews, but because I stupidly forgot my USB flash drives in my dormitory room, that will not be happening until I get back to campus. Oh well. I'll find other stuff to do too!
2011-12-21
Done with 3rd Semester!
I'm finally done with my 3rd semester! Yay! Although this semester I was just taking the classes for my major/that I wanted to take, thanks to the combination of 4 classes (all of which have problem sets and exams), a UROP, and grading, this semester was way more grueling than any previous semester. Thankfully, I think I've done fine, so I feel like I would be better prepared to do the same (4 classes, a UROP, and grading) next semester.
But before I need to worry about next semester or even IAP, I get to go home for winter break! Woohoo!
But before I need to worry about next semester or even IAP, I get to go home for winter break! Woohoo!
2011-05-29
Featured Comments: Week of 2011 May 22
There was one post that got a couple comments this past week, so I'll repost both of those.
Commenter Znurre said, "My vacation is starting June 13. I don't really have any plans other than taking it easy. This will be the first free days for me since I started working after graduating about one year ago :)"
Thanks to those who commented on this past week's posts. This coming week, I will have at least one review as well as a related article out. Remember, if you like what I write, please continue subscribing and commenting!
2011 Summer: First Day at NIST
Reader somethingquarky responded, "Science! And, beer!"Commenter Znurre said, "My vacation is starting June 13. I don't really have any plans other than taking it easy. This will be the first free days for me since I started working after graduating about one year ago :)"
Thanks to those who commented on this past week's posts. This coming week, I will have at least one review as well as a related article out. Remember, if you like what I write, please continue subscribing and commenting!
2011-05-23
2011 Summer: First Day at NIST
My summer break started last Thursday, and this summer I'm working at NIST again. Today was my first day, and it was alright; it wasn't great only because orientation took the entire day, and it was kind of boring. That aside, I finally found out what I'm working on: I will be measuring the efficiencies and color qualities of various commercial LEDs (and hopefully progress from there). This is also my first paid internship, so that's also exciting.
To readers: has your summer started yet? What are your plans for the summer?
To readers: has your summer started yet? What are your plans for the summer?
2011-03-19
Back at Home for Spring Break 2011
I'm halfway through my second semester of freshman year, and I'm back home now for spring break. I came back on Megabus; although I left half and hour late, I arrived on time, which was nice. The bus had free wi-fi, but that didn't matter to me because I slept almost the entire time (it was a night bus). The only annoying thing was that some Disney movie was playing on a tiny screen at the front of the bus at a rather loud volume, so I couldn't really sleep well then.
Now that I'm back home, I'll have a bit more time to write here, but ironically, I don't have too much planned. Well, I'll think of something. Stay tuned!
Now that I'm back home, I'll have a bit more time to write here, but ironically, I don't have too much planned. Well, I'll think of something. Stay tuned!
2011-01-27
Second Semester Starting Soon
Well, I had a nice, long winter break by virtue of the fact that this time I chose to stay home during MIT's winter session. That's come to an end, and I'll be heading back tomorrow.
I'm glad that I've been able to write as much stuff here as I did over the last month and a half. Unfortunately, that's probably going to end for a while, as classes start next Tuesday (and this semester will be a little more stressful than the last due to the introduction of grades (as opposed to pass/no record for first-semester freshmen)). I'll try to have something here at least once a week (it'll probably be a little more), but in any case, don't expect much more than that.
Thanks to all the readers who have read and commented on these posts and subscribed. Please do continue!
I'm glad that I've been able to write as much stuff here as I did over the last month and a half. Unfortunately, that's probably going to end for a while, as classes start next Tuesday (and this semester will be a little more stressful than the last due to the introduction of grades (as opposed to pass/no record for first-semester freshmen)). I'll try to have something here at least once a week (it'll probably be a little more), but in any case, don't expect much more than that.
Thanks to all the readers who have read and commented on these posts and subscribed. Please do continue!
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