Dear All:
We hope that all of you are doing great and have enjoyed your research scholarship opportunity in Switzerland. We are looking forward to hearing from you and your experiences during the research stay. Please send your final report by August 31, 2007 to was.science@eda.admin.ch .
It is also important to us that you will stay in touch with the Embassy of Switzerland. We would be happy if you could provide us with any change in your address so we can keep you informed about our future events!
Petra and Pascal (on behalf of the program committee)
Monday, August 20, 2007
Friday, August 3, 2007
Update
Work is coming to a close, with 2 weeks left. Though things are moving slowly at this point because there is a lot being waited upon (I am studying quantum dot nuclear spins), but it's been good to learn new techniques and see the place.
I've also been doing a lot of travelling both in and out of Switzerland. Last Saturday I cycled from Lausanne to Montreux through the vineyards, and then on Sunday I went to Graubünden (southeastern mountainous province, the only one with a sizeable number of Romansch speakers), took a cable car up to the Arosa Weisshorn (2653m) and then hiked from the peak down through the Carmennapass, around the Plattenhorn, up to the Hòrnli, and down with a cable car. After that I took some rides around the Rhaetische Bahn, got off at Filisur and hiked to a viewpoint of the Landwasser Viadukt.
On National Day I saw a clear forecast for the Lauterbrunnen valley so I hiked up to the Schilthorn summit (2970m) from Gimmelwald (1400m), and then rode the cable car down from the summit and took off to Schaffhausen to see the incredible fireworks display over the Rheinfall at night. Happy (belated) National Day to everyone!
Photos from Switzerland ...
Wine terraces of the Lavaux, seen from Epesses.
[ More photos from Lavaux ]
A regional train from the Rhaetische Bahn passes over the Landwasser-Viadukt, viewed from a hiking trail starting in Filisur.
[ More photos from Graubünden ]
The steep trail up the Schilthorn (2970m) near Lauterbrunnen, with the Jungfrau in the background.
[ More to come later ]
Fireworks in celebration of the Swiss national day over the Rheinfall near Schaffhausen.
[ More photos from the Zürich area to come later ]
I've also been doing much travelling outside Switzerland to various things accessible by night trains that I haven't yet seen. A round up of my weekend trips to nearby countries by train from this summer...
Alberobello and Matera, Italy
Bled, Slovenia
Capri, Italy
Graz, Austria
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Plitvicka Jezera, Croatia
Sarajevo, Bosnia
Skocjanske Jame, Slovenia
Wien, Austria
Zagreb, Croatia
I also have a ton of photos from the Zürich vicinity (including Sankt-Gallen, Appenzell, etc.) but too many, so I'll have to sort through them later and post.
I've also been doing a lot of travelling both in and out of Switzerland. Last Saturday I cycled from Lausanne to Montreux through the vineyards, and then on Sunday I went to Graubünden (southeastern mountainous province, the only one with a sizeable number of Romansch speakers), took a cable car up to the Arosa Weisshorn (2653m) and then hiked from the peak down through the Carmennapass, around the Plattenhorn, up to the Hòrnli, and down with a cable car. After that I took some rides around the Rhaetische Bahn, got off at Filisur and hiked to a viewpoint of the Landwasser Viadukt.
On National Day I saw a clear forecast for the Lauterbrunnen valley so I hiked up to the Schilthorn summit (2970m) from Gimmelwald (1400m), and then rode the cable car down from the summit and took off to Schaffhausen to see the incredible fireworks display over the Rheinfall at night. Happy (belated) National Day to everyone!
Photos from Switzerland ...
Wine terraces of the Lavaux, seen from Epesses.
[ More photos from Lavaux ]
A regional train from the Rhaetische Bahn passes over the Landwasser-Viadukt, viewed from a hiking trail starting in Filisur.
[ More photos from Graubünden ]
The steep trail up the Schilthorn (2970m) near Lauterbrunnen, with the Jungfrau in the background.
[ More to come later ]
Fireworks in celebration of the Swiss national day over the Rheinfall near Schaffhausen.
[ More photos from the Zürich area to come later ]
I've also been doing much travelling outside Switzerland to various things accessible by night trains that I haven't yet seen. A round up of my weekend trips to nearby countries by train from this summer...
Alberobello and Matera, Italy
Bled, Slovenia
Capri, Italy
Graz, Austria
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Plitvicka Jezera, Croatia
Sarajevo, Bosnia
Skocjanske Jame, Slovenia
Wien, Austria
Zagreb, Croatia
I also have a ton of photos from the Zürich vicinity (including Sankt-Gallen, Appenzell, etc.) but too many, so I'll have to sort through them later and post.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Wrapping up!
I'm preparing to wrap up my research project here in Switzerland and will be heading back to the U.S. next week. I've collected behavioral data on lots of healthy controls and a few lesion patients, and my advisor and I will start to take a look at the results this week.
Had a great time in Bern last week. It was a really beautiful day, and it was interesting to learn more about Swiss-American relations. I wasn't aware that Switzerland is the protecting power for the U.S. in Iran and Cuba. And the next day, I went to the Montreux Jazz festival with some friends--there was such a great vibe and the setting on the lake was gorgeous.
Had a great time in Bern last week. It was a really beautiful day, and it was interesting to learn more about Swiss-American relations. I wasn't aware that Switzerland is the protecting power for the U.S. in Iran and Cuba. And the next day, I went to the Montreux Jazz festival with some friends--there was such a great vibe and the setting on the lake was gorgeous.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Meeting at Bern and More
The meeting at US Presence in Bern was great. It was a perfectly nice day to be outside. We had a nice meeting with Mr. Lucien Aegerter followed my meeting with Mr. Marco Crugnola and a presentation by Mr. Claudio Fischer. We came to know about the swiss US partnerships amd the Siwss initiatives for Science and Technology, University system. We also had a brief discussion about the swiss education approach where college education is a right to anybody passing highschool.
Following the meeting, there was an excellent visit to the Museum portraying Einstein's life. The walk of a legend in Scientific world. It was very illuminating. The collection was impressive. I have a few photos on my web album at http://picasaweb.google.com/sumankalyan/ThinkSwissMeet.
Bern is a beautiful city. The city tour with Ms. Margaret was nice. Though we were a little tired by then and the heat was taking over we made a walk accross the city covering the Cathedral, the arcade and the clock tower. The 500 yr old clock mechanism is in true sense a mechanical marvel of its time.
I am towards the finishing of my work here. Working on the final array of tasks, before I present. Presently trying my hands on the real weather station to find out holes that I can mend. :)
Following the meeting, there was an excellent visit to the Museum portraying Einstein's life. The walk of a legend in Scientific world. It was very illuminating. The collection was impressive. I have a few photos on my web album at http://picasaweb.google.com/sumankalyan/ThinkSwissMeet.
Bern is a beautiful city. The city tour with Ms. Margaret was nice. Though we were a little tired by then and the heat was taking over we made a walk accross the city covering the Cathedral, the arcade and the clock tower. The 500 yr old clock mechanism is in true sense a mechanical marvel of its time.
I am towards the finishing of my work here. Working on the final array of tasks, before I present. Presently trying my hands on the real weather station to find out holes that I can mend. :)
pictures are worth 1000 words
The trip to Bern was great. Here are some of the beautiful sights of Bern. I especially like the fountain of the ogre that is eating a baby.
Tess update
EPFL
My new mentor has been wonderful, both monitoring my work and giving suggestions as to which directions to focus on as I progress. I have completed the first section of the project (creating a 2D model of the knee under load) and will hopefully now move onto working on 3D models. I have just been informed that I am expected to make a lab presentation on my project before leaving, which makes me nervous, but hopefully I will have guidance creating it.
This project has been especially useful for me because the background information that I am learning for it (knee anatomy and mechanics, finite element analysis) will be very useful for a undergraduate thesis project that I am considering: beginning the design of a low-cost prosthetic knee for amputees.
Geneva
The past couple weeks have led to some more exploration of the city. We were on our way to go swimming in the lake and ran into the Lake Parade (photos to come), which was 'fabulous.' It was interesting to talk to the people in a stand distributing information on the risks of drug use (including alcohol) and precautions to take. They said it is a program associated with the city of Geneva and they also work in nightclubs and other large events. I have never seen something like that in the States.
My new mentor has been wonderful, both monitoring my work and giving suggestions as to which directions to focus on as I progress. I have completed the first section of the project (creating a 2D model of the knee under load) and will hopefully now move onto working on 3D models. I have just been informed that I am expected to make a lab presentation on my project before leaving, which makes me nervous, but hopefully I will have guidance creating it.
This project has been especially useful for me because the background information that I am learning for it (knee anatomy and mechanics, finite element analysis) will be very useful for a undergraduate thesis project that I am considering: beginning the design of a low-cost prosthetic knee for amputees.
Geneva
The past couple weeks have led to some more exploration of the city. We were on our way to go swimming in the lake and ran into the Lake Parade (photos to come), which was 'fabulous.' It was interesting to talk to the people in a stand distributing information on the risks of drug use (including alcohol) and precautions to take. They said it is a program associated with the city of Geneva and they also work in nightclubs and other large events. I have never seen something like that in the States.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
4 weeks
We finally finalized my project. I will make a list of the top Humanitarian Organizations and then I will interview them and ask them things like number of employees they have, number of those employees are in Logistics etc. all the relevant questions have not been finalized yet. Last week I was still doing research on 2 earthquakes and comparing how the logistics performed. I am glad that I am no longer writing reports since I am not big on writing. I can’t believe that I have already been here for 4 weeks. Time flies when you are having fun.
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