It’s Not About the Weather
Don't choose a grad program for the location or climate
I’m a first year graduate student in Materials Science and Engineering, or “Course 3” to anyone who’s familiar with MIT’s classification system for majors (more on this later). I’m on my way to a PhD (or as my good friend calls it – Permanent Head Damage, Piled Higher and Deeper, Pretty Huge Diploma, etc.). For […]
The MIT School of Witchcraft & Wizardry
How I learned to enjoy getting lost in the maze of MIT
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. No! Thank you but no. I will not be going. Your magic and professors and creatures are wondrous, sure. But your stairs? They move. See, Hogwarts, I was born without a sense of direction. To me you’re […]
Defining a Real Sloanie
A guide for first-year Sloan students
I still remember when I was about 5 years old, it was my first day at kindergarten and I was scared to meet so many new kids. But I recall it being less scary for me than for most of them because I knew how to tie my shoes. Spending my first few weeks helping […]
Handmade Research
How building and repairing equipment with my hands has made me a better scientist
When I first took my parents to my lab, my father was appalled. “This place is worse than my shop.” To truly understand this insult, consider that my father is a farmer who works in a 40-year-old shop with concrete floors and metal walls. Seed is sometimes stored in the back, the machining equipment is […]
How I Learned to Drink from a Firehose
Learning to filter and focus to prioritize my learning needs
Only three weeks into my time at MIT, I was so busy that I was barely getting any sleep. I slept with my laptop and dorm room lights on; the sole reason to catch some sleep was to wake up and get going on things for the next day. I grabbed food for survival at […]
