What Keeps Me Going

It's about the science.

I've spent the last month or so writing an NSF proposal.  It's mentally exhausting work.  I feel glad to be done.  This idea has been percolating in my head for almost 2 years so it needed to get out.

Anyway, part of the proposal writing process is to put together a document about the facilities and equipment you have at your disposal.  To show that you know what it takes to do the work, and that you have what it takes.  The topic of my proposal is little particles that propel themselves through liquids.  I'm very interested in what happens when you put a bunch of these particles together, especially to the liquid around them.  So in the facilities document, I described an apparatus that we're planning to build for what's known as particle image velocimetry (PIV), which is a common technique for measuring fluid velocity fields.

And I got this rush of excitement.

I need to remember that feeling.

Amidst all the chaos of meetings, reviewing papers for journals, writing proposals, teaching, there is the science.  The feeling washed over me that I might actually get to do PIV, to learn something new about the velocity field generated by a group of microswimmers.  And it felt good.  It motivated me.  Just the prospect of getting to play with lasers and measure fluid flows was exciting to me.  And that's what will keep me going through these next few years.

It's about the science.

I need to remember that.

Side note: I will listen to damn near anything that comes out of Chris Thile's mandolin.  His music is a salve.

Moving Forward

"You just have to get started." - Mark Zuckerberg

"It's hard to do the hard thing.  That's why they call it the hard thing...Just jump into that cold pool of the thing you don't want to do, and if you can't, don't be too hard on yourself." - Hank Green

I've learned over the past few years that repetitive, consistent activity, repeated over long times, can produce results.  I've managed to learn a healthy amount of Spanish that way on Duolingo.  In this job, I'm obviously hoping to grow as a scientist, engineer, and educator.  This means daily practice at the things I'm weakest at.  Chip away, chip away, a little every day, and watch the results build up over time.

A few areas where I need growth:

• Expertise in designing and running experiments
• Advising students on research projects
• Working efficiently and getting things finished, even if I don't think they're 100% perfect.

For me, the key is to just jump in without thinking too much about it.  My conscious mind is very good at stopping me before I commit to something.  The solution, I'm finding more and more, is to jump in.

Oh George!

Well, I'm an assistant professor now.

First up: Thermodynamics.  I'm really looking forward to teaching it. 

Watching the video that won the flame challenge, explaining what energy is, was a good kick in the pants for me to start my own YouTube channel while I go through my faculty career.

It reminds me that Academia Nuts is actually a good thing to do.  It helps me shake the cobwebs off.

Also, working out to begin the day helps get things started on a positive note.  I must continue this trend.