Arrival in Zurich

My name is Charlotte Whitehead, and I am coming from the Civil Engineering (CE) program at the University of Texas at Austin. I will graduate in May 2009, and hopefully go on to attend graduate school in Transportation Engineering, a specialization within CE.
On Wednesday, August 20, I arrived in Zürich after a week in Copenhagen and Oslo. I checked into my new room here and headed toward ETH Hönggerberg, where I will spend the next 4 months working at the Institut für Vehkersplannung und Transportsystemme (IVT). My first project will be to model and predict vehicle purchases of those living in Switzerland, but so far I have only looked briefly at the data. From my understanding, my results will be a part of a larger model that aims to determine just about every single travel decision made on a daily basis here in Switzerland, which includes a lot more than just cars.

So far I have had a great time meeting the other students in my group. I had hoped to travel a bit on the continent during my time here, but I think I will have plenty to keep me busy between my housemates, co-workers, and the Alps. The pictures below are from a group hike in the Alps on Sunday. I am looking forward to a great semester!