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Posts in category Other funny things

Resurrection?

I suddenly get an urge to galvanize my old business blog. It looks like the significance I assign to work life has recently increased. If the galvanization attempt is successful, I’ll post about most important events of two last months – all back-dated. Wish me some luck.

Inaugural speech prof. Pieternel Levelt

has taken place today. If I understood correctly, she mostly works at Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute and is in charge of important task: she monitors the trace gases in air with the aid of sattelite-based spectrometers and thereby watches the climate changes and air quality over the globe. Important job, this contibutes to unbelievable stability of her research: the plans are made till 2030.
It was a good lecture, and I’ve learnt a couple of funny things. The struggle to impove the quality of air can contribute to global warming if done without thinking: some trace gases help to cool. Air pollution is not limited to (compact) industrial regions: major ship routes are clearly seen on a map that shows NO2 concentration in athmosphere.

Alina Hriscu

has obtained her PhD title today by defending the thesis entitled Theoretical Proposals of Quantum Phase-slip Devices. I had a pleasure to promote her.

Alina Hriscu was my first female PhD student, and four years with her were full of unforgettable experiences. In my speech I compared these years to a rough cross-country ride that brought three very good publications.

Han Keijzers

has been declared PhD yesterday by his promotor Leo Kouwenhoven. The PhD thesis was entitled “Josephson effects in carbon nanotube mechanical resonators and graphene”. I was naturally present as a member of the committee. If I were not I would have come anyway since a big chunk of the (already relatively) recent research of me and Ciprian has originated from occasional chat with Han by the bicycle stall three years ago. Since that we have had many chats, yet the only solid conclusion we have drawn and confirmed by hard theoretical work and numerous experiments is that the physics of Josephson nanotube resonators is far more complicated and less spectacular than we have assumed three years ago.

Han did impressive work and his PhD thesis is a way thicker than an average one. I find it remarkable that the opponents spoke during the defence almost as long as the candidate: their questions were long and sometimes complex-structured while the answers came quickly and to the point.

Han has now switched from nanotubes to gigatubes: he has found his way in Dutch industry. Somebody else should go about the superconducting nanotube resonators, that’s it.

And today, the day after the defense, we have received an acceptance note of our
http://lanl.arxiv.org/abs/1112.5807, the work done in collaboration with Han.

Nano-troubles

It’s like more than three days I exprerience an enormously increased rate of little nuisances and troubles. I’m spending much time to fix those with little effect. Optimistically, all of them at nano scale like punctured tires, missed appointments, undocumented software bugs, wrong buses taken… Yet if I sum all up I get unpleasantly surprised. Moreover, the pest seem to start biting my friends. Do I have to prepare myself  for something?

Advanced Quantum Mechanics Book

is been processed enourmously fast: perhaps Cambridge University Press started to use computers. Anyway, we have the proofs!

Therefore: if you are interested in an informal evaluation copy, please contact me.

 

Chirst is risen

for me as well. I’m bound with all things I have or had to do urgently and experience a hopelessly collapsing schedule. My Lord, let my brain and typing fingers to attend these matters and set my soul free to enjoy your feast.

Christ is risen, dear reader!

 

Thanks for 1 MB views!

So I am pleased to report another doubling of number of views. It took 531 day to achieve this. Thank you very much, dear reader, for sticking to this blog despite all the variety you can find elsewhere. This is motivating. I am happy with this.

International Women’s Day

is taking place today. It is an official holiday in Afganistan and several other countries. Congratulations, my reader!

Let it be

This is what is read in the church today: (Isaiah 2:4)
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

The message is clear: at least at the surface level. Make love no war. A detail: let’s beat the swords into plowshares was one of the heavily-used slogans of leftish peace movements in the second half of twentieth century. Being mostly atheistic, they never gave ref to the source. I know for a fact that many people of my cultural background regard the phrase as a stamp of communistic propaganda being unaware of its true origin.

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