Launching into the new year
Experiencing my first rocket launch
Though I’ve been called a space nerd and a rocket scientist before, I’ve never felt that I never really earned that title. After all, I’ve never witnessed a live rocket launch before—that is until this past MIT’s Independent Activities Period (IAP) in January 2020. After finishing my first term as a Ph.D student at MIT, […]
Mayan, what else?
Take the time to breathe and do what you like
I was tired. My first semester at MIT was tougher than I had expected. I still have vivid memories of that defining evening of November. I was making my way back home with research ideas spinning in my head and started to feel anxious about the three p-sets I had to finish by week’s end. […]
Hunting for what we lost
How the MIT Mystery Hunt Reminded Me Of How Bleak Pandemic Life Is
It is a unique feeling to be having such a fantastic time that you make yourself hopelessly, achingly sad. During the Independent Activities Period (IAP) this past January, the annual MIT Mystery Hunt took place, and I competed with my undergraduate team, NES*. For those that don’t know, the MIT Mystery Hunt is a puzzle […]
Pandemic pupils
How Covid-19 has transformed my perspective on outreach and education
Going to graduate school anywhere can be a form of culture shock. Often, the transition is from cosmopolitan to erudite and razor-focused, or team-based and casual to more isolated. But moving to do graduate school in a northeastern city in the U.S. from somewhere more rural, such as southwestern Virginia (where I came from), can […]
Join today, plan for tomorrow
Why you should join your professional society
Whether it’s IEEE, ASME, AIChE, APS, or a different acronym, you are probably familiar with your field’s specific professional society. I became a member of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) as a college freshman in 2013. Eight years later, serving on the ANS board of directors and working toward a PhD, I credit ANS with […]
