15 Seconds Of Fame

After a very, well... eventful lunch this afternoon (thank you An Tuath Nua, TG4!), I finally got to practise some soldering in preparation for the connecting of laser and drivers. I soldered absolutely every wire onto every breadboard within reach. I'm pretty happy to do the real job now of connecting the 15-pin jack to 9-pin jack for the driver (with Michael's verification that I've matched the correct pins together in case of laser-explody issues).

This week I have focused on my IRCSET application more than anything (and my homework due for next week has suffered - but it's all about priorities, isn't it?). The application form takes a healthy chunk of time to complete mainly due to the personal proposal and project proposal. Writing 2000 words on why I am so wonderful and perfect for an MSc is tougher than you think!

Since the beginning of this project and making the decision to apply for an MSc with the group, I have realised there are many 'hidden extras' involved in working in Tyndall. Some extras are nice, like the French summer school for newbies. Some extras are surprising - my participation in the Cork City Marathon comes to mind... But then, there's the Journal Club. Public talking is just one of those things, isn't it? I'm scheduled to do a Journal Club talk on March 14th. Originally, I choose the paper written by Brambilla, Murugan, Wilkinson, Richardson dealing with bead velocities in evanescent fields. But then Michael gave a talk today on dark matter and the accelerating universe, so I was inspired to pick a completely random, off-the-wall paper rather than a quantum optics one. And I found an absolute cracker about spiderman suits and gecko gloves! My next aim is to mention Bose-Einstein Condensation somewhere during the presentation...

Oh and, the title of the post was a reference to our lab being featured in the TG4 programme 'An Tuath Nua'. Except, it actually wasn't featured at all despite Sile, Michael and Thejesh's efforts. We still got the free lunch though.