Faith Restored (it's not what you think)

The start of classes is quickly closing in: next Monday we kick things off with the program's orientation meeting. Four years after finishing at Goshen, it'll be interesting to see what it's like back in the academic rhythm. Maybe I'll even get some proper study habits, in contrast with my previous schooling. It should be a good atmosphere, though - the other students that I've met so far seem like a really bright, motivated, energetic group of people. Studying appropriately will be much easier when everyone else is heading in the same direction and running into the same walls. The previous couple years of students have clearly formed a very cohesive group, and it's exciting to see how that energy can build off itself and keep everyone going.

After a couple years as a research tech, I never saw the classes side of the experience, only the lab side. I heard a little about classes, but they were simply one of those things that happened to other people. The Miller lab was great to work in because people interacted so well on both social and professional levels. I really enjoyed seeing the dynamics that come out of those situations - where people are comfortable enough to relax around each other, but still focused on the problems at hand that the lab is tackling. That's one of my favorite aspects of the academic/research world in general.

Not to overblow the situation, but it's almost on the level of "restoring one's faith in humanity" to see a group of people who respect each others' abilities consult with each other and work together to figure out not who is right so much as what is right. That step from competitive to collaborative is one of the biggest ways I can think of to ensure a positive work culture.  Going beyond concepts of "synergy," teamwork, divide-and-conquer, and all of those ("synergy" gets quotes because I refuse to give it status as a legitimate word. I maintain that it's the bastard child of business school and buzzwords), the collaborative atmosphere shows respect for and legitimizes all contributions and ideas (and contributors!) rather than only rewarding the most successful. So to make a long story short, that's why I appreciate the work atmosphere I've experienced in academia.

In other news, I'm still functionally homeless. Well, functionally sheltered but technically homeless (sleeping on someone's floor... thanks, Gerick!). I've seen about 7 apartments so far and have just as many more visits planned within the next few days, so eventually one of these people will give me a piece of paper to sign and I'll be on my way!

Turn the Page

No, I haven't started a new phase of my life since the post-biking phase. I'm still post-biking. "Turn the Page" is simply referring to Bob Seger's song, because I'm on the road again. But this time I'm killing the atmosphere in the process (with my car). Eh. Whatever. I think there are about 2100 miles of solo driving planned between this past Thursday (when I came out here) up through September 22nd, when I should be arriving back in Archbold from Columbus, Ohio.

I have not been quite as proactive as perhaps I ought to in the job search. So far, I have only applied for maybe 6 or 7 jobs, with only a few more lined up in CareerBuilder that I plan to apply for. I spent much more time exploring graduate programs online. The future that currently looks fun is to work 1 - 4 years, and then study to get a Ph.D. (Ph.D. is cheaper than a Master's, and only takes a few years longer). Where? I don't know. In what? Right now I'm thinking Neural Engineering.

You may wonder, what is that? Well, it's studying the brain to figure out how to plug various machines into it - robotic arms and legs for amputees, small circuits that can simply bypass a damaged segment of nerve to keep the electric signals travelling between the brain and the limb that is on the other side of that damaged nerve, and so on. An example of an electronic prosthesis that is already available is the cochlear implant. Basically, a few signal processors are implanted into the cochlea (the part of the inner ear that translate sound vibrations into electrical signals to send to the brain) while a hearing aid is worn behind the ear. Though each implant can only process a narrow frequency range, they can now put enough in that it give very nearly ability to sense the standard frequency range, quite literally giving hearing to the deaf (my grandma got this 5 or 6 years ago; it does work).

I'm not actually as interested in the cochlear implants, but that's what is actually commercially available now. Also in the works are mechanized arms and legs, and even an optical implant (though right now they have only brought that up to being a 4x4 pixel sensor, giving a total of 16 pixels of sight, which would barely help in sensing movement). The optical implant is some distance from implentation I think. But all this is getting there and terribly exciting.

So, Biomedical Engineering, here I come. The deaf will hear, the blind will see, and the lame will walk (and even have fully functioning robotic hands). It's the new Jesus major. (Can I actually say that?). There are many sub-areas of research related to this, some more engineering, some more physiology, some more materials science, but all of it is interdisciplinary and quite fascinating. I guess I will be taking some biology after all. But for now, to continue making supper and enjoy the rest of my visit to Syracuse, etc.