Apparently I aim for bi-annual entries
This time we start with the important things:
I PASSED MY QUALIFIER EXAM!!!!!
This means I get to stay in the PhD program and /all/ I have to do now is research, write/defend Proposal, research more, write/defend Dissertation.
That sounds simple enough, yes?
Regardless, having that done and passed is a huge relief! The test is a month and a half long process of being given a question, researching it, writing a white paper proposal on it, and presenting that proposal and answering questions from a four person committee for 100 minutes. And this year's pass rate was only ~ 60%. o_O Course, now I know lots of things about superalloys I didn't know before. Since that was the question I did and before I started I didn't even know what a superalloy /was/.
Prior to that this summer I had gone to a week long Gordon Conference up in New Hampshire on High Temperature Corrosion. It was actually pretty awesome, very casual sort of conference so I felt pretty comfortable. Met some nice/interesting people as well. Also...me, adviser and office mate /drove/ up there. 12 hours. Fortunately for me we took advisers car! Which is stick shift...which I don't drive. So I got to just be along for the ride! Far superior.
Two days after that I flew with adviser to Dayton, Ohio, for a one day project review meeting. And the flights there were ridiculous! Delayed in Cville airport for ~7hours, made it to DC in time to run out to our plane on the tarmac which technically the gate had already closed for to fly to Dayton. It was crazy! Though on the flight to DC I got to look out the window and see red lightening! It was sooo cool! The flight back thankfully was smoother.
And last week I took off (the day after finished presentation, returning two days before they actually gave us the results) and went to my parents lake house to relax and then my brothers house to visit with family. Got to help my mom babysit the two boys while everyone else was at the Packers game. The boys are both still soooo cute!
And now it is time to get some serious research done and try and make some good progress. If only that pyrometer that I ordered in June were here yet..... Argh, lab set up is sooo slow.
I PASSED MY QUALIFIER EXAM!!!!!
This means I get to stay in the PhD program and /all/ I have to do now is research, write/defend Proposal, research more, write/defend Dissertation.
That sounds simple enough, yes?
Regardless, having that done and passed is a huge relief! The test is a month and a half long process of being given a question, researching it, writing a white paper proposal on it, and presenting that proposal and answering questions from a four person committee for 100 minutes. And this year's pass rate was only ~ 60%. o_O Course, now I know lots of things about superalloys I didn't know before. Since that was the question I did and before I started I didn't even know what a superalloy /was/.
Prior to that this summer I had gone to a week long Gordon Conference up in New Hampshire on High Temperature Corrosion. It was actually pretty awesome, very casual sort of conference so I felt pretty comfortable. Met some nice/interesting people as well. Also...me, adviser and office mate /drove/ up there. 12 hours. Fortunately for me we took advisers car! Which is stick shift...which I don't drive. So I got to just be along for the ride! Far superior.
Two days after that I flew with adviser to Dayton, Ohio, for a one day project review meeting. And the flights there were ridiculous! Delayed in Cville airport for ~7hours, made it to DC in time to run out to our plane on the tarmac which technically the gate had already closed for to fly to Dayton. It was crazy! Though on the flight to DC I got to look out the window and see red lightening! It was sooo cool! The flight back thankfully was smoother.
And last week I took off (the day after finished presentation, returning two days before they actually gave us the results) and went to my parents lake house to relax and then my brothers house to visit with family. Got to help my mom babysit the two boys while everyone else was at the Packers game. The boys are both still soooo cute!
And now it is time to get some serious research done and try and make some good progress. If only that pyrometer that I ordered in June were here yet..... Argh, lab set up is sooo slow.