Taking engineering too far
Food, weight, and body image in grad school
This post is part of a special issue: “Mental Health Matters: Asking for Help & Reaching Out”. I can’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t trying to lose weight. When I’m sitting in my office and can’t focus on my work because I can’t stop thinking about how much fat I have […]
Where Computing Meets Brain Research
My first impression of the BCS Department at MIT
Three years ago, I first came to the U.S. for an international conference in Boston. As I passed through the MIT campus during a morning jog, I saw the beautiful sunrise on the Charles River. The sky was crystal clear and the great dome was golden brown. I was wondering how happy the students at […]
Iñupiuraallaniptigun Uqausiptigun Maŋŋuqaqtugut
With our Iñupiaq language, we have an identity
Aullaqisaaqta! Let’s begin! Iġñiġa Daał miluguuruq. My son Daał nurses often. I once read somewhere that Karl Marx had to chain himself to a library desk in order to finish Das Kapital. You might wonder what Marx has to do with nursing? Well, more than you might imagine. Baby Daał’ feeding habits have essentially tied […]
The Myth About Inbox(0)
Learning to manage my unmanageable email inbox in graduate school
After extolling the logistical heroics of Alexander the Great and his Macedonian Army, my military history instructor turned to the class and declared, “Good generals study tactics; great generals study logistics.” To my fellow graduate students, I offer a customized message: “Good graduate students study research methods; great graduate students study email.” In this digital […]
Biking Diaries of a Graduate Student
Why did I get a bike? I was just two-tired
“I guess I’ll just power through the weekend and get this P-set done,” I said to myself. This was a common refrain during the first year of my PhD program in Chemical Engineering. An endless stream of assignments from courses and self-imposed research deadlines meant that I ended up spending most weekends at home trying […]
