Rome and Reflections - Ariel Slepyan

I can’t believe my internship at IMEC is almost over. Knowing that I only have two weeks left is really hard to believe!

With mixed feelings, this also means our presentations are coming up. Next Friday all of us interns will be presenting our summer work to our departments, and although preparing can be slightly stressful, I am excited to share my work and learn about what the other interns have been working on in more detail.

Recently, I have not been running many experiments and have been focusing on creating computer simulations. While it is not as exciting as being in the lab, learning how to use sophisticated and powerful software like COMSOL will help me a lot in the future. Moreover, COMSOL can create beautiful, and very colorful figures. It allows me to simulate and visualize complicated phenomena like a non-uniform electric field inside of a microfluidic channel.

Simulating non-uniform electric field inside a microfluidic channel using COSMOL

Two weekends ago I went to Rome, which is an amazing city and walking through it feels like one big outdoor museum. While I was travelling to Rome, my little sister was travelling to Russia. We decided that she could make a pitstop in Rome and we could enjoy the weekend together. I was really happy to see her, and it was great exploring an ancient city together.

Visiting the Pantheon in Rome with my sister Dana

Overall, when I look back at my time this summer, I feel that I have really grown as a person. Being in a foreign country was the first time I was truly independent. At first it was a little scary realizing I was thousands of miles from home, but after a while the sentiment became appealing and I imagine I could living abroad for years.

One of my biggest learning moments was how to cook dinner meals for myself. Before this trip I relied on FFC and Nolan’s as my top two sources of food. But in Belgium I was forced to learn how to prepare my own meals and this is very helpful for next year when I am living off campus – and without a meal plan.

The experience has also taught me to worry less about the little things, and while travelling to just enjoy my time. From what I have realized, I feel that over planning and coordinating can be useful, but sometimes spur of the moment decisions and a lack of planning make for great experiences.