Every time I meet a new person here at NTNU, I am faced with the same four questions. Since I'm just starting out this blog, I thought running through these questions would be an appropriate way of introducing myself. Here are my somewhat well-rehearsed answers, although I occasionally edit them down depending on how interested my new acquaintance actually seems.
Q: What's your name?
A: Michael
Q: Where are you from? ... What part?
A: The United States... I went to school in Minnesota, but originally I'm from Iowa.
No use getting any more specific when they haven't heard of towns with fewer than 20,000 people. Sometimes upon request I give a city name. Typically their response is a clueless expression, and I'm left doubting that they knew any cities in Minnesota or Iowa in the first place.
Q: What do you study?
A: Materials science.
So this was a lie until classes started a week ago. Still, it was the easiest answer I could provide without explaining my whole transition from math/physics undergrad to materials science grad school. In fact I tried to explain all of this to my flatmate, but I just ended up confusing him. He couldn't believe I could change fields without starting over with a new bachelors program. But yes, I can. Because math and physics are that good.
Q: So why Norway?
A: well... uh... meow.
"Why Norway?" is usually less of a question and more of a statement. And it's always spoken in a tone that suggests I am crazy for choosing to come freeze my butt off for a year in the most expensive country in the world. So I really need a good answer to justify my decision to come to Norway. Unfortunately, this is by far the hardest of the four questions for me to answer. Not because I don't have good reasons, but because I don't have a simple, straightforward answer. Partially my decision was based on NTNU's hilarious commercials, but I sometimes I need people to take me seriously. Accordingly I usually ramble through some combination of the following: Norwegians have a good attitude toward the environment and getting outdoors, NTNU has some of the best energy-related research in Europe, and a good chunk of my ancestry traces back to Norway. Luckily this typically satisfies the Norwegians. I'm often tempted to tack on to my answer a sarcastic snip somewhere along the lines of "And yes, I know what snow looks like: I've seen it in several movies."
29 August 2011
28 August 2011
I'm finally here! And why?
I have been admittedly horrible at keeping family and friends updated on my life. So in hopes of fixing this as quickly as possible, I have started this blog. Feel free to check up on me here, or send me an email.
To get this blog started, let me take a minute or two to run through where I am now and why. I just graduated from Carleton College in June with a B.A. in math and physics. Both are great fields of study, but I've always been more interested in their applications. Plus someday, maybe not for a while, but someday I'll need a job. Preferably a reliable one. For me this points to materials science and engineering.
Three weeks ago I arrived in Norway as a Fulbright grantee for materials science research and studies. Many of my friends are only familiar with Fulbright English teaching assistantships, so let me clarify: I am not teaching English, as fun and rewarding as that would be (no sarcasm intended). Instead I will be taking classes and doing research in the Materials Science Department at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). I found a sweet research group in the department that happily agreed to take me under their wing for a year. Since Fulbright is paying my bills, who wouldn't want a free research assistant? The general focus of the research group is silicon crystallization for solar cell materials. Given the chance, it would be stupid for me not to study energy technologies right now, and solar holds the most potential for promising advances (yeah I said it). So after trudging through a marsh of an application, jumping through several flaming hoops to accept the grant, and wandering through a hazy maze of immigration procedures, I am finally ready to go here in Trondheim.
Background information: check.
To get this blog started, let me take a minute or two to run through where I am now and why. I just graduated from Carleton College in June with a B.A. in math and physics. Both are great fields of study, but I've always been more interested in their applications. Plus someday, maybe not for a while, but someday I'll need a job. Preferably a reliable one. For me this points to materials science and engineering.
Three weeks ago I arrived in Norway as a Fulbright grantee for materials science research and studies. Many of my friends are only familiar with Fulbright English teaching assistantships, so let me clarify: I am not teaching English, as fun and rewarding as that would be (no sarcasm intended). Instead I will be taking classes and doing research in the Materials Science Department at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). I found a sweet research group in the department that happily agreed to take me under their wing for a year. Since Fulbright is paying my bills, who wouldn't want a free research assistant? The general focus of the research group is silicon crystallization for solar cell materials. Given the chance, it would be stupid for me not to study energy technologies right now, and solar holds the most potential for promising advances (yeah I said it). So after trudging through a marsh of an application, jumping through several flaming hoops to accept the grant, and wandering through a hazy maze of immigration procedures, I am finally ready to go here in Trondheim.
Background information: check.
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