Physics Nobel Prize
Ah, I've been away too long! I'll like to think it's all the hustle and bustle of adjusting to the US and to being a graduate student. The transition's actually not as hard as in my undergraduate years, perhaps in large part because I knew several people prior to arriving at Stanford. Of course, having familiar housemates helps too, then we can cook familiar, nostalgia-filled, traditional meals, or whatever semblence of that. Although, admittedly we're still adjusting to everything and the way of life here, so we're not quite into cooking just yet.
Anyway, I was kinda hoping that the Physics Nobel Prize would be won by someone at Stanford (not that I had anyone in mind). You might have heard that Andrew Z. Fire from Stanford won the Nobel Prize in Medicine (shared with Craig C. Mello). It was on the front cover of The Stanford Daily yesterday, and my friends had a free meal over at the Med Sch (I think!) in celebration of his award. So naturally, being properly inaugurated as a graduate student, I would look all out for free food locations, and wanted a similar reception for the Physics department... Oh well. Seriously though, it'll be quite nice to have someone in your own university department winning a Nobel Prize (there are a few in Physics/Applied Physics who have got awards before, I think...) during your time there.
So, before I end of to read on photonics, have a look at who won the Physics prize here. Hey, one of them is from Berkeley! It's not that far to go for free food...
More next time!
Anyway, I was kinda hoping that the Physics Nobel Prize would be won by someone at Stanford (not that I had anyone in mind). You might have heard that Andrew Z. Fire from Stanford won the Nobel Prize in Medicine (shared with Craig C. Mello). It was on the front cover of The Stanford Daily yesterday, and my friends had a free meal over at the Med Sch (I think!) in celebration of his award. So naturally, being properly inaugurated as a graduate student, I would look all out for free food locations, and wanted a similar reception for the Physics department... Oh well. Seriously though, it'll be quite nice to have someone in your own university department winning a Nobel Prize (there are a few in Physics/Applied Physics who have got awards before, I think...) during your time there.
So, before I end of to read on photonics, have a look at who won the Physics prize here. Hey, one of them is from Berkeley! It's not that far to go for free food...
More next time!
posted by Female Fizzicist at 2:30 PM
3 Comments:
Hey, the 2006 Nobel price for Chemistry is also won by Stamford U, Prof Roger Kornberg. You are in good company...
Looking at my daughter's next year applcation for undergraduate study. She filed in Cambridge to do Natural Science, and I notice she also put Stanford U as one of her choices.
May I have your take please: to do what you did, first do a Cambridge undergrad then follow post-grad in US uni, or straight to US...Sciences in US is hot...isn't it...
All the best in Stanford, many thanks..
Bee
Aye, you're right! He's in the structural biology department, this Prof Kornberg.
Righty, about universities. It's a good question, because I know friends who studied in US and went to grad sch in UK, or vice versa, and even some who stayed on in UK or US to complete their undergrad and post-grad degrees.
So either way, there's good company!
The undergraduate course in the UK is a lot more specialised and focussed, so you got to declare, somewhat, your major quite early. You haven't got much variety in subject choices. It's very different in the US, where students don't even know their majors when they apply, and they take a myriad of courses, whatever interests them. It's good for breadth, but not so much depth. For people who are very sure about their major, this system might be a waste of time. It's subjective though.
Having gone through the UK system, I'm glad my background appears to be more rigourous and stronger. I possibly can waive some of the grad course requirements here in the US because of that. (Only if I haven't forgotten them by working for a year...)
I do sometimes, however, think I've missed out on a slightly more holistic education as a result.
For grad school, I chose the US for a change of environment, and also because I wanted the course work to build on my fundamentals which will be useful if I were to go into academia later. The good thing is that here at Stanford I get to rotate and work with a few professors before deciding on my PhD topic, while in the UK, you usually have to decide pretty much which area of research you want to go into during your application process.
But the PhD in the UK is much shorter! Probably about 3.5 years or so. I should be taking about 5 years for mine over here, and that's a very optimistic estimate already!
All that aside, I do think the Americans are more outwardly friendly than the British! But it's good to have a feel of both countries if you have the chance to.
Cambridge is a pretty place! As is Stanford. Though the latter's more expensive, I think (in terms of school fees), and the Cambridge town makes living and getting around more convenient without a car!
Hope your daughter likes where she goes!
Thank you for sharing your experience, it's informative and very useful.
5 years may seem a long time, do take time to enjoy the journey...
Bee/Beijing
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