Hi/Hei/Hé ! My name
is Kevin and I’m a rising senior studying Materials Science and Engineering,
and a first timer here in Europe!
I flew into Brussels a few days before the program started
and zoomed on a high-speed Thalys train to Paris. Although a good bit jet-lagged (watching
movie after movie on the plane didn’t help), I was able to explore the
super-touristy sights such as the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, and the Louvre
Museum. After wandering around for a
while I lost track of time –I was surprised to find that it was already 10PM
and I hadn’t eaten dinner yet! One cool
thing in Europe is that the sun sets very late (and thus allowing for more
sightseeing). The next morning, I fulfilled a dream of going to Roland Garros, the tennis French Open,
to watch my favorite players battle it out on clay. It was a terrific, lively atmosphere and I
had an absolute blast.
After a couple days I headed back to Belgium and took a
train to Leuven, which is where we would stay and work. After a ~slight~ complication (where I walked
into the completely wrong residence hall of a nearby Christian school and got
lost) I finally found my bearings and settled into Wisteria, a dormitory for KU
Leuven students. My luck seemed to take a
turn for the better as I got a double room with a queen-sized bed and rooftop
access with a terrific view. I then met
up with the other interns and we had our first Belgian meal together!
The first few days at IMEC have been mostly paperwork,
training, and most importantly, obtaining a bike. I let my bike (who I named Archibald) choose
me – and although it’s rusty and beaten up, it hasn’t broken down yet (the same
cannot be said for my other fellow interns).
My work is on designing a switchable light scatterer to project and
manipulate light, hinged on phase and refractive index-changing materials. I’ll be simulating different designs and
exploring various materials for these few weeks.
Last weekend, all of the interns and I went to Brussels
where we indulged in Belgian waffles coated with melted chocolate and
strawberries, fantastic architecture (including a statue of a pissing boy,
named Manneken Pis), and generous
naps in the central park.
More to come soon! Thanks for reading.
 |
|
Diego eats so many waffles that he becomes a waffle…
|
 |
|
When I thought it was 8PM but it was actually 10:00PM (Louvre Museum, Paris)
|
 |
|
Wishing that I was playing on that court! (Roland Garros, Paris)
|
No comments:
Post a Comment