diff --git a/_posts/2024-04-15-Monday-April-15th.md b/_posts/2024-04-15-Monday-April-15th.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000..a30a29501c89a --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2024-04-15-Monday-April-15th.md @@ -0,0 +1,92 @@ +## Visiting CMU! + +## Hello from CMU +- I have been here since Sunday around noon, and it's been incredible and another highlight for me again this year! +- I was picked up from the airport by a mutual friend and PhD student I had met at a summer school last year, +dropped off my hotel, and then I met up with Jenny (who was flying out the following day!), who took me out to dinner and showed +me around the city. It was incredibly clear, and we headed to campus for a brief tour. This was pretty smart of her, because +it really facilitated my heading to campus the following day to work and get stuff set up for the talk, as well as meeting persons. +- What they did was really smart; in the evening, the day before my talk, she sent out several emails to faculty and students +to let them know I was in town, and to connect me with relevant people I should meet. It meant that the following day, my +inbox was pretty much overflowing with people who were interested in meeting me, excited to hear about my talk, show me what +they were working on, and the whole experience was really just quite incredible. +- I had been meeting with students and faculty since 9:15am, all the way up to 3:30pm, and we started the talks at 3:30pm, and +they were all really interesting! I found out that in their lab, PhD students have to all give a talk to the department each +year, and they are given feedback on how to improve, etc. It's such a really creative and helpful way to help PhD students +get accustomed to talking about their work and communicating their work. I was also told that sometimes this can be traded +if one has given a talk at a conference, so that is also a motivation (if you didn't want to give a talk to your department) +to publish and get your work accepted at a conference! +- I can't reiterate how thoughtful and kind everyone has been! I really, really enjoyed my time there! +- I was also able to finally meet a professor with whom I have been chatting for several years, who is a mentor to me. +We were supposed to meet briefly, for five minutes, but we ended up chatting for around 17 minutes, and I am so sorry to his +students for making him late today! But it was such an incredible experience to finally meet him, and one of my highlights +was hearing him talk about a postdoc he hired; he spoke about his students in such a caring way; it was inspirational to hear +someone just care so much about seeing their students succeed! +- Finally, I got back to my hotel and did laundry; amazingly, my hotel has laundry! I haven't felt in a long time like I +have connected so much with a lab in such a short time! It was the chillest, kindest group of people and quite a whirlwind. +I'm grateful to have had the opportunity! + +## Here are some photos! + + +- spinach and shrimp dumplings! So good! + + + +- sesame balls! Since Berkeley, I have been going hard on these things; they are so good! I'm hoping during summer +I can find some more since I'll be back in the Bay! + + + +- Fish fillet with rice. Also very good! + + + + + +- This sort of just blew my mind! So amazing! + + + +- The three sisters were visible. It was so clear but also windy in Mt Washington. + + + + + + + + + + + +- downtown Pittsburgh + + + + + +- Okay, obligatory photo together for my friend from Berkeley, who told us we were his two favourite people and so +we had to meet! Did not disappoint! + + + +- Sam took me on a tour of one of the highest spots in the area, which was at the University of Pittsburgh. +We went up to the 36th floors and the views were incredible! + + + +- How can you ever have a bad day with this view!? + +## Thrilled and happy! +- Visiting the lab and the campus was a thrilling experience I will never forget. I left thinking so highly of this +place and all the people I met. They were just great people, super passionate, creative, and genuinely lovely people. +I've felt like it's been such a gift this year to have been giving the opportunity to be in such a positive space, both +during this time and at Berkeley. Also, in the midst of all of that, I was working on research and a paper, and I felt +like they really made it a healthy and productive space within which I could work. You really got the sense that the people +here work hard but are also just good citizens, and that was something I super appreciated. Again, I'm super thankful for +the opportunity and had an absolute blast! +- Also, I bought another quantum book today, as I got a gift card from an organization I'm in. I'm hoping it arrives in time +for my next flight, so I can read it along the way! + +## And that's it!