This is a blog I used to maintain before I started my PhD (up until 2012). Popular posts include: my advice on applying to a PhD, my reflections on what I did right and wrong in college, my thoughts on summiting Monte Rosa, and my series on my year in Cambridge as a Churchill Scholar.
Updated on October 20, 2012
Reflections on a year as a Churchill Scholar.
Updated on October 19, 2012
Advice for future Churchill Scholars (and other Cambridge students) from a former Churchill Scholar.
Updated on May 20, 2012
Being £20 north of the Continent (thanks Ryanair!) necessitates frequent travel.
Updated on April 21, 2012
Life in Cambridge, the 700-year old university that doesn't look a day over 600.
Updated on April 19, 2012
Being an American in England feels like being a golden retriever puppy at a funeral - incongruously enthusiac.
Updated on February 09, 2012
Life at Churchill College, home of Cambridge's engineers and Americans.
Updated on July 07, 2011
How to choose where to apply, how to put together a good application, and how to decide where to go.
Updated on June 01, 2011
Reflections on five years at the University of Southern California.
Updated on August 04, 2010
Microfinance & science, scientific reproducibility, and how to attract more researchers to open science.
Updated on July 25, 2010
A physicist's first impressions of neuroscience.
Updated on May 15, 2010
Musings on Turing machines inspired by Sipser's 'Introduction to the Theory of Computation.'
Updated on April 11, 2010
Why today's tests are unnatural and some thoughts on how to improve them.
Updated on April 06, 2010
One unexpected consequence of the digital age - no objects to evoke memories.
Updated on March 28, 2010
Strategies and actions that have helped me learn and retain material.
Updated on February 28, 2010
How should we define and measure randomness?
Updated on February 20, 2010
Less lecturing and more collaborative problem-solving.
Updated on February 01, 2010
How should a young scientist choose a field with lots of opportunity?
Updated on September 29, 2009
How to parse the terse, unfamiliar language of the scientific paper.
Updated on July 29, 2009
What went through my mind climbing my first glacier in the Italian Alps.
Updated on July 15, 2009
No one really believes cubicles foster creativity - so why do work in them?
Updated on July 11, 2009
Why are Americans, and their plates, so large?
Updated on July 06, 2009
Few scientists write about their work for the popular audience, but here are some of my favorites.
Updated on June 29, 2009
That time I lived in the foothills of the Italian Alps for the summer.
Updated on January 25, 2009
The damaging effect of history's focus on the powerful and tangible.
Updated on January 18, 2009
The romantic, analytical, and evocative approaches to viewing a scene.
Updated on January 12, 2009
Our attention is often so trained that we miss the most interesting stories around us.
Updated on December 26, 2008
Our current monetary system doesn't always reward those who deserve it.
Updated on December 25, 2008
How should we define and measure randomness?
Updated on August 11, 2008
The (mis)adventures of USC students trying to bring clean water to an Indian village.
Updated on July 26, 2008
Some defining moments for my summer in China.
Updated on July 10, 2008
A weekend trip to Luoyang for mountains, temples, and crypts.
Updated on July 01, 2008
A weekend trip to Nanjing for WWII museums, temples, and ancient city walls.
Updated on June 25, 2008
UNESCO World Heritage status is usually considered an honor, but it has its drawbacks.
Updated on June 19, 2008
A weekend in Hangzhou with the other USC Global Fellows.
Updated on June 18, 2008
There's a big difference between how nationals and foreigners are treated in China.
Updated on June 13, 2008
As we learn more about the world, everything becomes engineerable.
Updated on June 12, 2008
Hiking one of China's most famous and beautiful (and crowded) mountains.
Updated on June 11, 2008
Even hiking a mountain involves waiting in line.
Updated on May 17, 2008
My goals for my summer (internship) in Shanghai.
Updated on May 16, 2008
What I expect for my summer internship in Shanghai.
Updated on May 15, 2008
I'm being paid to work in Shanghai for the summer and I'm gonna write about it.