Today was a very exciting day, both in the lab and at my desk. For most of the day I continued my experiments, using my latest batch of sample. The results are very neat and so far are yielding interesting results. Tomorrow will be the big test, trying to put all my new techniques into one simultaneous run.
In the afternoon I spent some time with my supervisor refining a grant application. Today was an internal due date at our institution, with the actual submission coming up in two weeks. We are working on a project which could provide me with a post-doc position once I finish my PhD. The project we suggest has been refined over the past month or so and I am pretty excited about it's current state and the fact I've been given an opportunity to have a hand in crafting the proposal.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Monday, January 19, 2015
An aside
I mentioned yesterday that today was a holiday. I didn't go into work this morning and I spent the afternoon volunteering. As such I don't have any progress to report regarding my thesis and research, but I do want to mention some work I am doing at home to prepare for the future. Assuming all goes well with preparing my thesis, I'll wrap up my PhD work at the end of July. While my primary focus is on working towards submission, I can't help but think about "what's next?" To that end I am starting to prepare for the job/postdoc position hunt. This weekend I started to prepare a LinkedIn profile to increase my web presence. I mention this here because as a service to fellow students, I'll chronicle not only my path to submitting my thesis, but also how I pursue work after my PhD. For now this business is in the background, but we'll see how it evolves over the next half year.
Week in advance: 18-24 January
This week my goals are the same as last. Namely continue experiments in the lab and push out prints to the machine shop. All this needs to be done in four days as tomorrow (Monday) is a holiday in Wellington (besides I'll be volunteering in the afternoon anyway).
My design work is wrapping up and the major work remaining is to take the solids design and make individual blueprints for each part. The workshop has already given me feedback over the past week and they know the work is coming. Once the job is in their hands it will be a race to get the material and finish production before I head overseas at the beginning of April.
Last Thursday I made up a new sample which needed to be mixed over the weekend. The plan is to run experiments in the magnet next week and depending on how things turn out, that could be the last data set for a significant chapter of my thesis. This would also let me finish up a paper I've been sitting on where part of the hold up was finalising the data collection.
There are plenty of other jobs I could add to the list or look at this week, but I want to completely clear these two tasks off my desk. I'll re-evaluate my priorities afterwards, but the important thing this week is to wrap-up these two items.
My design work is wrapping up and the major work remaining is to take the solids design and make individual blueprints for each part. The workshop has already given me feedback over the past week and they know the work is coming. Once the job is in their hands it will be a race to get the material and finish production before I head overseas at the beginning of April.
Last Thursday I made up a new sample which needed to be mixed over the weekend. The plan is to run experiments in the magnet next week and depending on how things turn out, that could be the last data set for a significant chapter of my thesis. This would also let me finish up a paper I've been sitting on where part of the hold up was finalising the data collection.
There are plenty of other jobs I could add to the list or look at this week, but I want to completely clear these two tasks off my desk. I'll re-evaluate my priorities afterwards, but the important thing this week is to wrap-up these two items.
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Week in review: 11-17 January
This week was productive and saw me shake off the sleep from my summer holidays. In addition to my research contributions over the past few days, I have also been working on the logistics for a pair of trips. First is a conference next month where I will be presenting a talk on our new hardware/methodologies. Second is a month long overseas trip to a lab in the U.S. I've mentioned this trip in the past, but have also avoided going into too much detail as I didn't consider this a "sure thing" until my airfare was booked.
While producing a thesis in the next couple months is certainly a drive force, these two trips will serve as small checkpoints. For the conference next month I'll present the data I collected last month and the work I hope to complete with my new sample next week. The journey overseas requires me to get my new designs to the machine shop and into production.
Seeing these trips mature over the past week I am even more pleased with my lab work from this week as I know I am working towards these milestones.
While producing a thesis in the next couple months is certainly a drive force, these two trips will serve as small checkpoints. For the conference next month I'll present the data I collected last month and the work I hope to complete with my new sample next week. The journey overseas requires me to get my new designs to the machine shop and into production.
Seeing these trips mature over the past week I am even more pleased with my lab work from this week as I know I am working towards these milestones.
Saturday, January 17, 2015
End of the week
Today I continued my recent hardware work and started preparing prints for my new parts. I had a quick follow-up chat with the workshop and I think we're in great shape; meaning we're on the same page and both parties are comfortable with the design. This should help the production phase move smoothly and quickly.
In the afternoon I spent some time with my supervisor discussing ideas for an upcoming grant application. Although my primary focus over the next 6 months is my research and thesis it's tough not to think about the future. Specifically what do I do come August? At this point I have no commitments once I submit my thesis, but I am passively (I said my focus was my thesis) looking for opportunities. As an extension, this evening I started a LinkedIn profile. Now I am not a social media person and this blog is perhaps my strongest presence on the web, but if some opportunity for after my PhD is to find me I think it's wise to cast a wide net.
In the afternoon I spent some time with my supervisor discussing ideas for an upcoming grant application. Although my primary focus over the next 6 months is my research and thesis it's tough not to think about the future. Specifically what do I do come August? At this point I have no commitments once I submit my thesis, but I am passively (I said my focus was my thesis) looking for opportunities. As an extension, this evening I started a LinkedIn profile. Now I am not a social media person and this blog is perhaps my strongest presence on the web, but if some opportunity for after my PhD is to find me I think it's wise to cast a wide net.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
The groove
For the first time since the holidays, today I feel as though I am finding a groove. Perhaps I just needed to get back in the mindset of work or maybe I had to build up a certain amount of momentum, but I feel as though I am starting to hit a stride.
My design work is coming together, I spent over an hour going through the current parts with one of our machinists. This gave me opportunity for some fantastic feedback before we move to production.
In the afternoon I focused on some laboratory measurements and after an impromptu talk at lunch with my supervisor, we came up with the idea to try a different sample. I prepared a batch and will run some measurements in a couple days. These could be the last experiments to get my current (growing) paper out the door. Also anything that's good news for a publication is also good news for my thesis.
My design work is coming together, I spent over an hour going through the current parts with one of our machinists. This gave me opportunity for some fantastic feedback before we move to production.
In the afternoon I focused on some laboratory measurements and after an impromptu talk at lunch with my supervisor, we came up with the idea to try a different sample. I prepared a batch and will run some measurements in a couple days. These could be the last experiments to get my current (growing) paper out the door. Also anything that's good news for a publication is also good news for my thesis.
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Smooth day
Today went particularly smooth and when compared to yesterday, it wasn't nearly as dramatic. At work I was able to finish the solids models for all my parts for traveling overseas. Tomorrow I've planned a chat with a couple folks from the machine shop so they can give input into the design. If my travel plans firm up as I expect, I'll need to have these parts back by the beginning of April, which is cutting it a bit close.
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