In our research group, we have a lab and an office.
Everyone usually sits in the office. Unless, you’re doing experiments, in which case you’re in the lab.

I’ve decided as of today that I am moving my desk into the lab. Ideally, I want to spend as much time as I can for the rest of the year in the lab.
Being close to my experiments at all times feels very important now.

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This is the first time I successfully setup a collaboration with another scientist at a different university.

The short version is this – I had been reading a couple of papers by this scientist and his lab has developed a unique apparatus. Couple of weeks back, I was at a conference and he happened up come by my poster and we had a brief discussion.

After a couple of rounds of debates with my boss, I told him that for me to be able to have a successful thesis, we needed to have this professors help in building our own apparatus and surely our research efforts could be combined for mutual benefit.
It took a couple of weeks but things seem to be working out well.

I wonder, really, how critical is this apparatus for my PhD? I don’t know. But I do know, that without trying, I’ll never find out.

Worst case, it’s just a couple of months of my life.

Best case, we discover something interesting. Something very interesting indeed!

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I consider myself an experimentalist. It’s interesting I think that because both my published papers are on numerical simulations. But I think like an experimentalist and I aspire to be one.

However, there is a subtle interest I’ve noticed. Just doing blind experiments is not satisfying to me. Lately, I’ve been trying to understand the physics behind my experiments and attempting to describe them with a simple model.

Without a model or a theory, experiments can only describe one half of the story. To tell a good story, one needs both. And in two years, when I write my thesis, I intend to narrate as complete a story as I can.

Experience without theory is blind, but theory without experience is mere intellectual play. ~ I. Kant (?)

The post A complete story. appeared first on Saad Bhamla.

Even though time may have passed linearly, my memory of it is non-linear. For the first sixteen years or so of my life, I have one or two memories. Apparent growth seemed to be almost zero. And then development started its upward incline. An exponential burst. An explosion of activities – college, relationships, adventures, failure. Till I reached 25, which was in February of last year.

Growth now seems a little slower. And sluggish. Life as is in my head is no longer at full volume. There are some silent  moments. The line is thicker now. And richer in experience. If it was possible, there is a certain depth in the growth. Or in other words, the speed is slow, but the torque is high. So is the confidence and self-belief.

To put it simply, I have never felt more comfortable in my own skin.

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Recently I have been reading science fiction books. Not the Isaac Asimov types, but fictional stories which are loosely based on scientists.

The Sky’s Dark Labyrinth Trilogy was an excellent series with stories about Kepler, Newton, Galileo and Einstein.

Another book which I’ve just finished is Measuring the World, which portrays the lives of Gauss and Humboldt. I have to say, I love these kinds of books. As I progress through my life as a graduate student, it’s nice to read about the lives of other scientists (even though if they are through a fictional account).

I wouldn’t say these books inspire me, but they do give me fodder for thought.

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Measuring the World was even made into a movie. Here’s the link to the trailer.

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I had decided earlier in this year, that 2013 would be a year dedicated to research and improving as a scientist. I spent the first two years at Stanford focusing on various activities – traveling, running, triathlon, blogging etc.

Lately, I’ve realized that it’s time for me to take a year and focus on my research. It’s May so far, and I’m definitely seeing improvements in myself. I’ve become more disciplined with work, I have more ideas related to my research, I’ve been reading and analyzing more papers and my relationship with my advisor has become better as well.

My recent personal initiative was to facilitate a research collaboration with a professor across the country, which I hope will add to my thesis considerably.

So, come December, I look forward to looking back at a great year.

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I met Gigi last year, when she visited Stanford as a prospective student during visiting weekend. Gigi chose Stanford among the many schools she had gotten admitted to. And she shares her perspective (and dilemma) of choosing the right graduate school. 

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People choose graduate studies for different reasons. For some, it is the prerequisite stepping stone to a professorial career or to becoming a senior research fellow. Others are drawn to the scientific frontier, nature’s own Sirens. It is enough to make them jump aboard into a rocky 5+ year voyage. I want to complete a Ph.D in Chemical Engineering, because graduate school offers a spectrum of opportunities. Not only do I find scientific research rewarding, but a Ph.D offers me a greater role in choosing what sort of research I can do—the content and direction.

We agree that many social and scientific problems exist in our world. It seems to me that an advanced science degree would alleviate some of the friction that I’d encounter in choosing which problems I want to work on (like catalysis for sustainable energy or food production). If I were to enter technical consulting or create my own company, a graduate degree in engineering would merit more trust in my abilities to provide sound solutions. Don’t get me wrong—I love (inorganic) chemistry! I also appreciate my transport, kinetics, and thermodynamic fundamentals when I observe them in my daily life. But I see graduate school as a means for honing critical-thinking abilities and developing other skills that I’d like by the end of graduate studies.

Of the seven schools that I’d applied to as a prospective Ph.D graduate student, most were in the top ten for chemical engineering research, and luckily, most of them accepted me. This meant that regardless of which school I eventually attended, I was guaranteed a reputable program with technically competent students and distinguished researchers. Given that the schools were on an even playing field, my choice of a program boiled down to my personal fit with the program and campus. Many people that I’d talked to during my graduate school visits agreed with this philosophy. In fact, many felt an instinctive “rightness” about the place and committed. Take my boyfriend for instance (Sorry ;- ) !). He and I thought that he’d choose MIT or STANFORD, but he made a startling U and chose Caltech, which had been the innocuous contender.

I found much to like at each of the schools that I’d visited—UT Austin, Princeton, Stanford, UCSB. Austin was exhilarating! Exciting projects in battery and catalysis research were everywhere, like an explosion of wildflowers in early spring, yet mellowed by the touch of honest Southern hospitality. Princeton was dear with its small community, its refinement, and its history of intellectual rigor across all departments. I felt very posh and calm while there and could see why Albert Einstein had happily chosen the “liberal atmosphere of Princeton.” The Chemical Engineering Dept. of UCSB offered not only a gorgeous beachfront view but also down-to-earth professors with whom I struck a personal connection with through comical conversations. Everyone, everywhere, was very friendly. So why did I choose Stanford?

I still can’t present the answer as a neatly wrapped package. The bow hasn’t been tied yet. I can only say that it probably was the overall pleasant feeling that I had about Stanford, especially regarding the people. Everyone, most notably the students, radiated vibrancy. Not just raw energy, for Texas had plenty of that. No, what I really liked about Stanford was that I felt directed energy. People were full of purpose and channeled passion into their research and extracurricular activities. In five years, I want to see myself excited about my role in the scientific and larger community. During visit weekend, I felt that the people I met were most grounded. Not only were they competent researchers, but they were confident, proactive in many areas, and the most responsible and engaging group of host students that I’d met during my visits. I could see myself as one of them and as a Stanford Ph.D graduate who would be prepared for anything. Entrepreneurship? The start-up culture thrives in the Silicon Valley, with many veteran mentors located around Stanford. Community engagement? Visit weekend demonstrated to me that many of the graduate students lent their technical knowledge to developing solutions for communities in need, such as countries with potable water concerns. Personal health and work-life balance? I met people at Stanford who biked, swam, and participated in marathons and triathalons! One could say that they push through mental and physical sorts of tour de force! Stanford had the academic caliber, the industry connections, and the people who shared my values. It had the best combination of everything I wanted. It is also close to my family home, but that could be interpreted as both a boon and a bane.

I will not know whether I made the right decision to choose Stanford until I wet my feet in graduate school, but I have a good feeling… Here’s to optimism! I’d also like to thank Saad for his good humor and advice throughout my visit to Stanford. He said to me something along the lines of, “It’s like a relationship… You decide what you can compromise on in a graduate school and run from there.”

The post Guest Blog Post: The lucky prospective’s dilemma: Every grad school is good! by Gigi Lin appeared first on Saad Bhamla.

I’ve been using a Mac for over four years now. But I’ve still been clinging on to Powerpoint. I have my PhD reading committee meeting in three weeks and I have to prepare a presentation for it and I thought it’d be a great idea to make it using Keynote. I just finished creating an outline and placeholders slide in Keynote, and so far I’m impressed.

But more importantly, I can’t believe I already have a reading committee and I’m giving them a presentation so soon. I feel like I just started my PhD last year.

Sometimes I forget how a PhD is supposed to feel like a long drawn boring process. Mine feels as if it’s just happening too fast.

Oh, how the time flies..

Noting updates for 2013 so far:

1. Bought a car with Genya. Pic below.

2. TAed advanced fluid dynamics.

3. Went skiing a couple of times.

4. Hosted a nobel-caliber professor from Caltech.

What’s coming up:

1. Reading committee meeting.

2. ARVO – conference in May in Seattle

3. Road-trip in May to Seattle with Genya in our new car (hopefully).

4. I’m going to be the TA for a windsurfing course next quarter. Yay!

The post Reading Committee and some updates for 2013 so far. appeared first on Saad Bhamla.

The past is like a black sphere to me. A big black pulpy sphere of ideas and facts. I have vague notions of historic events, I know some popular names and civilizations and some connections between them. The fault could be in the way I was taught (or not taught). Add to the fact that learning history and geography can rarely be an enjoyable process, I am not surprised I have turned out this way.

At some point, I thought to myself, that there had to be a better way. Good writers had to exist. People who had solved this problem for me and presented this information in a manner I could digest. And understand. Not memorize. But connect to. And make connections. In some sense, I wanted to learn relative history, not absolute history, i.e., events and ideas in relation to each other and their interpretations, and not just hard cold facts presented in a bullet point form.

Plus, I knew that I needed a hook. Something to start adding things to. It’s like trying to wind string together. By itself it’s a mess and gets all tangled. But take a wooden peg, and then you can start wrapping infinite string on it and it just forms layers on top of each other.

So, some years ago, I found my peg. It was science. I liked this new world. Where things are measured, calculated, estimated and presented in pictures, plots and equations. I involved my self in worrying about and understanding how to develop newer things, understanding complicated phenomenon and building on existing knowledge. In a sense, I was training myself to look at the future.

But what about the past? What about this mass of pulp that I knew I could learn tons from.

So, I started looking for books that would have science in them, but at the same time, wouldn’t neglect the personal connection. The emotional aspects. The interpretations. And present science, religion, history all in relation to each other.

And I found great books..Guns, Germs and Steel, Man who knew infinity, Music of Primes, Origin of Species, Life & Legacy of G.I. Taylor, Double Helix.. to name a few.

In the last couple of years, I’m realizing a slow pattern form in my head. I can now connect events. I can draw some conclusions or hypothesis for myself. I have learnt not to take things at their face value. And that there is always more than one reason for things to happen. The past is not just a series of random events. It’s a story. Environment, science, ideology, theology and technology, are all inter-connected. There’s a pattern.

Coming back to the book. Stuart Clark does a great job of telling the story of how Kepler and Galileo strived to convince the world of what they believed in – that truly the Sun did not revolve around the earth and that planets did not move in circular orbits. It’s based on the truth, but to make it into a novel, he takes certain liberties. But I’m okay with some romance and emotion thrown in my history lesson. I don’t doubt that they lived as emotional beings (and not robots) and had feelings and believed in various things which might seem ridiculous to us now.

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I know from talking to Genya, that in literature, they are in the process of mapping out the correspondence and letters between  philosophers and writers living in certain periods like the 17th and 18th century.

I think it would be a great idea to do the same for scientists living in the 17th, 18th and 19th century. And make this information digital. I’d be fascinated to read a letter from Galileo to Kepler. Or one from Newton to Leibniz.

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Teaser of a play..

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Some quotes:

Kepler (from Wikiquotes)

Nature uses as little as possible of anything.

We do not ask for what useful purpose the birds do sing, for song is their pleasure since they were created for singing. Similarly, we ought not to ask why the human mind troubles to fathom the secrets of the heavens. The diversity of the phenomena of nature is so great and the treasures hidden in the heavens so rich precisely in order that the human mind shall never be lacking in fresh nourishment.

I much prefer the sharpest criticism of a single intelligent man to the thoughtless approval of the masses.

I used to measure the heavens, now I measure the shadows of Earth.
Although my mind was heaven-bound, the shadow of my body lies here. (Epitaph)

Truth is the daughter of time, and I feel no shame in being her midwife.

I am indeed casting the die and writing the book, either for my contemporaries or for posterity to read, it matters not which: let the book await its reader for a hundred years; God himself has waited six thousand years for his work to be seen.

Galileo

I esteem myself happy to have as great an ally as you in my search for truth. I will read your work … all the more willingly because I have for many years been a partisan of the Copernican view because it reveals to me the causes of many natural phenomena that are entirely incomprehensible in the light of the generally accepted hypothesis. To refute the latter I have collected many proofs, but I do not publish them, because I am deterred by the fate of our teacher Copernicus who, although he had won immortal fame with a few, was ridiculed and condemned by countless people (for very great is the number of the stupid). (Letter to Kepler) 

Philosophy is written in this grand book — I mean the universe — which stands continually open to our gaze, but it cannot be understood unless one first learns to comprehend the language in which it is written. It is written in the language of mathematics, and its characters are triangles, circles, and other geometric figures, without which it is humanly impossible to understand a single word of it; without these, one is wandering about in a dark labyrinth.

The post Of Kepler, Galileo and the Sky’s Dark Labyrinth appeared first on Saad Bhamla.

Today was the last day for the graduate fluid dynamics course that I was TAing this quarter. This was my second time TAing, but I think I enjoyed it much more this time.

I haven’t blogged in a while because we had a class of 40 students, and between recitation class, preparing homeworks, grading and office hours, I didn’t get much time for anything else. Even my working out sessions have taken toll. The last time I worked out was a two weeks ago.

Nevertheless, I had a ball. I know now for sure, that teaching is something that gives me immense pleasure. I loved it. Every second of it.

Being a graduate level course and especially  being a advanced fluid dynamics, it’s a really challenging one. So, there was a special kind of joy when they handed in their final exam today. It’s almost as if we travelled together on a journey together. And successfully made it to the end.

Gerry hosted a barbecue at his place and invited all the students. We had a nice time eating and making S’mores over an open fire. I feel like I know all of them so well. I have to admit, I’m very proud of each and every one of them.

Thanks to them, I now know what I want to do with my life.

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