This week we've had a conference on in Wellington - the biennial MacDiarmid Institute conference on advanced materials and nanotechnology. Of all the conferences I've been to, it's the one that I always get the most out of (this was the 5th one).
But I've found out this week that having a conference in your own city can be more tiring than if it's somewhere else. When you have to travel for a conference, you stay in a hotel nearby, you can focus on it, and you don't have all the other stuff that you have to deal with when you're at home such as cooking, washing, etc.
Anyway it was a good meeting and while there's still a little bit of entertaining of international visitors to go (bbq on Sunday afternoon, Monday hosting Mike at IRL), it'll be much less intense than the past week has been. Then come Wednesday, Mike and I are heading down to Queenstown to do the Routeburn track. Last year we did the Tongariro Northern Circuit, which was fantastic. Having seen pictures of the scenery and looking at the weather forecast, I am really looking forward to this!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Being (in)famous
Here's the link to the SLAC Today article featuring yours truly.
And here's what we got up to after the interviewer had gone... (click the picture to see a bigger version)
(SAXS = small angle X-ray scattering)
And here's what we got up to after the interviewer had gone... (click the picture to see a bigger version)
(SAXS = small angle X-ray scattering)
Friday, January 21, 2011
The post-beamtime blues
I arrived back home yesterday, having managed to get 7 hrs of unbroken sleep on the flight from San Francisco to Auckland. The day before that we had packed up, cruised around the Stanford campus for a few hours, and eventually driven out to the airport. The intensity of working basically every waking moment for 6 days straight, after a previous 4 days including a single 23-hr stint, has definitely caught up with both of us. I slept for 11 hrs last night which is a lot for me. Today I'm feeling a bit better, but it is only 9:30 in the morning! Still, I am glad I decided to take the day off, because my brain is really not in gear to do any serious work. I'm thinking it might be fine for weeding and scrubbing the front fence - both of which need doing.
While we were at SSRL we were interviewed for the SLAC daily e-newsletter. I'll post the link as soon as it appears - should be sometime this week.
This weekend a bunch of us from work are aiming to tramp the Southern Crossing (from Otaki Forks to Kaitoke). So this afternoon I will have to pack again, but at least I won't need to take my passport and electrical adapters :)
Oh, and the SAXS experiments worked soooo much better than the XRD, which is a bit of a shame but there's not much we can do about it. Now we have over 200 GB of data to analyse so that will keep us busy for the next few months.
While we were at SSRL we were interviewed for the SLAC daily e-newsletter. I'll post the link as soon as it appears - should be sometime this week.
This weekend a bunch of us from work are aiming to tramp the Southern Crossing (from Otaki Forks to Kaitoke). So this afternoon I will have to pack again, but at least I won't need to take my passport and electrical adapters :)
Oh, and the SAXS experiments worked soooo much better than the XRD, which is a bit of a shame but there's not much we can do about it. Now we have over 200 GB of data to analyse so that will keep us busy for the next few months.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
California
Happy new year all!
I've been in California this past week and have another week to go. It's another trip doing experiments at the Stanford Synchrotron. They have made a few upgrades to the facility, some of which are good and others which were not so good. For example, they now run the electron beam (which generates synchrotron X-rays as the electrons are deflected using magnetic fields - we use the X-rays that are produced to do experiments) in what is called 'top-up mode'. It used to be, the electrons would be injected 3 times a day, but then over time some of them are lost due to a variety of reasons. So over the course of 8 hrs between fills, the electron beam current - and therefore the X-ray beam intensity - would drop by about 40%. Now they top up the electron beam every 10 minutes, and they are running at a higher current than before, so all in all it generally means more stable experiments with no interruptions for the beam fills. So this is good; however the beam line (experimental station) we have been using for the last few days has not liked us for some reason. The X-ray beam shape and position seemed to move around, which was really annoying. Then the computer developed some kind of hard disk and/or power supply error (mind you, it is pretty antiquated so probably not surprising). Last of all the chemistry didn't work as well as we had hoped. But true to form, all the best results were obtained on the very last night at about 2 am.
Now I have 2 days off and am planning to veg out a bit, probably go for a short drive this afternoon, and generally rest up ahead of the next stint. On Wednesday we change beam lines and start new experiments. We'll be using the same chemistry etc. but it's a different technique: small-angle X-ray scattering, or SAXS for short. Probably the most provocatively-named technique there is (apart from SEXAFS - surface extended X-ray absorption fine structure). So it's not uncommon to have a conversation along the lines of:
"What are you up to next week?" "Oh, lots and lots of SAXS."
Or, "If we'd done the SAXS earlier, we would know if things were working or not."
In fact, at one point last year I gave two talks at work about some computer programs I have been developing to analyse SAXS data. I called the first, 'Getting the most out of SAXS' and the second 'Getting even more out of SAXS.' Strangely enough, hardly anybody came along. Then there's the all-popular title, 'Everything you wanted to know about SAXS but were too afraid to ask.'
Man, I need to get some sleep!
I've been in California this past week and have another week to go. It's another trip doing experiments at the Stanford Synchrotron. They have made a few upgrades to the facility, some of which are good and others which were not so good. For example, they now run the electron beam (which generates synchrotron X-rays as the electrons are deflected using magnetic fields - we use the X-rays that are produced to do experiments) in what is called 'top-up mode'. It used to be, the electrons would be injected 3 times a day, but then over time some of them are lost due to a variety of reasons. So over the course of 8 hrs between fills, the electron beam current - and therefore the X-ray beam intensity - would drop by about 40%. Now they top up the electron beam every 10 minutes, and they are running at a higher current than before, so all in all it generally means more stable experiments with no interruptions for the beam fills. So this is good; however the beam line (experimental station) we have been using for the last few days has not liked us for some reason. The X-ray beam shape and position seemed to move around, which was really annoying. Then the computer developed some kind of hard disk and/or power supply error (mind you, it is pretty antiquated so probably not surprising). Last of all the chemistry didn't work as well as we had hoped. But true to form, all the best results were obtained on the very last night at about 2 am.
Now I have 2 days off and am planning to veg out a bit, probably go for a short drive this afternoon, and generally rest up ahead of the next stint. On Wednesday we change beam lines and start new experiments. We'll be using the same chemistry etc. but it's a different technique: small-angle X-ray scattering, or SAXS for short. Probably the most provocatively-named technique there is (apart from SEXAFS - surface extended X-ray absorption fine structure). So it's not uncommon to have a conversation along the lines of:
"What are you up to next week?" "Oh, lots and lots of SAXS."
Or, "If we'd done the SAXS earlier, we would know if things were working or not."
In fact, at one point last year I gave two talks at work about some computer programs I have been developing to analyse SAXS data. I called the first, 'Getting the most out of SAXS' and the second 'Getting even more out of SAXS.' Strangely enough, hardly anybody came along. Then there's the all-popular title, 'Everything you wanted to know about SAXS but were too afraid to ask.'
Man, I need to get some sleep!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Christmas is coming
Sorry for not having updated this blog since I was in Melbourne last. I'm now back home until early January, when my next trip is to the US - probably my last one before my J-1 visa expires in June.
I'm also not sure if I'll get around to updating this before Christmas - not that I haven't sorted out all my gifts yet, which I have, but just because I don't see much point in writing anything if nothing's happened, if you know what I mean!
This week just been has gone at a fairly steady pace. I've made quite good progress on a number of things at work, and other things have proved a bit more elusive but overall it's been good.
Anyway, if I don't get around to saying so later, I hope everyone reading has a great Christmas and new year, and that you'll take some time out to remember the reason for the season!
I'm also not sure if I'll get around to updating this before Christmas - not that I haven't sorted out all my gifts yet, which I have, but just because I don't see much point in writing anything if nothing's happened, if you know what I mean!
This week just been has gone at a fairly steady pace. I've made quite good progress on a number of things at work, and other things have proved a bit more elusive but overall it's been good.
Anyway, if I don't get around to saying so later, I hope everyone reading has a great Christmas and new year, and that you'll take some time out to remember the reason for the season!
Friday, November 26, 2010
Another two weeks in Melbourne
I'm at the Australian Synchrotron at the moment, having attived on Tuesday last week. Cue 5 days of experiments (Wed-Mon), then the annual user meeting (Mon-Wed) then another 5 days (Thurs-Tues), the latter of which is where I am now.
Our first experiments were looking at crystallisation of zinc oxide from sol gels using X-ray diffraction. Conceptually quite easy (especially compared to other experiments I've tried to do here), but not without its challenges. Most of the problems were sample related rather than beamline so that's ok - and we have thought of some ways to alleviate many of those if we come back a second time.
On our final day I was at the beamline at around 4:30 am, finishing off a temperature calibration and tidying up. From there it was straight into the city to go to the user meeting, after which a group of us decided to go to dinner, which was nice, but made for a very long day! I had a poster to present which was a bit of a rush job given the timing but hey.
The user meeting finished on Wednesday afternoon and I managed to get a ride with someone back to the synchrotron, where I met up with collaborators who had started preparing things for soft X-ray spectroscopy experiments the following day. This brings us to right now, day 2 of experiments with another weekend of work looming. I will be glad to get home!
Our first experiments were looking at crystallisation of zinc oxide from sol gels using X-ray diffraction. Conceptually quite easy (especially compared to other experiments I've tried to do here), but not without its challenges. Most of the problems were sample related rather than beamline so that's ok - and we have thought of some ways to alleviate many of those if we come back a second time.
On our final day I was at the beamline at around 4:30 am, finishing off a temperature calibration and tidying up. From there it was straight into the city to go to the user meeting, after which a group of us decided to go to dinner, which was nice, but made for a very long day! I had a poster to present which was a bit of a rush job given the timing but hey.
The user meeting finished on Wednesday afternoon and I managed to get a ride with someone back to the synchrotron, where I met up with collaborators who had started preparing things for soft X-ray spectroscopy experiments the following day. This brings us to right now, day 2 of experiments with another weekend of work looming. I will be glad to get home!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Pics from Hobart
Here are some pics from my trip to Hobart in mid-October. The trip was for a badminton tournament, but there was also enough time for some sightseeing.
Day 1, Salamanca Markets.
The next day we walked (a long way) to the Botanic Gardens.
Later in the week the weather warmed up a lot and I had a whole afternoon to myself, so chose to hire a bike and head up Mt Wellington (4000').
This is about as far as I got - about 3 km short of the top but the view was well worth it and so was the adrenaline rush heading back down!
On the last day I went on a tour to Richmond...
... Tasman Peninsula...
... Port Arthur...
... Port Arthur...
... and a Tasmanian devil wildlife sanctuary...
... where they also had a birds of prey show. Bumped into some other ladies from my team there, one of them got to hold the tawny frogmouth.
I won't be going to another badminton tournament, but I wouldn't mind spending more time in Tasmania. It was quite laid back and just adds to my theory on the comparison between New Zealand and Australian cities:
Sydney = Auckland (big, bustly, not the capital but would like to be)
Melbourne = Wellington (arts centre, cafe culture)
Adelaide = Christchurch (gardens - and I only found out recently, they are actually sister cities)
Perth = Tauranga (laid back, nice beaches, place where people go to retire)
Hobart = Dunedin (southern-most, really laid back, friendly people, has a building that looks like a castle, Cadbury factory, both even have a Portobello Road)
I won't be going to another badminton tournament, but I wouldn't mind spending more time in Tasmania. It was quite laid back and just adds to my theory on the comparison between New Zealand and Australian cities:
Sydney = Auckland (big, bustly, not the capital but would like to be)
Melbourne = Wellington (arts centre, cafe culture)
Adelaide = Christchurch (gardens - and I only found out recently, they are actually sister cities)
Perth = Tauranga (laid back, nice beaches, place where people go to retire)
Hobart = Dunedin (southern-most, really laid back, friendly people, has a building that looks like a castle, Cadbury factory, both even have a Portobello Road)
Pics from Queen Charlotte
So I finally got around to sorting through my pictures. Here is a selection of shots from the Queen Charlotte Walkway (10-12 October).
There were a lot of shots like this!
Krista and Amanda on the track, day 2.
More nice views, although this pic is mainly to prove that I was there.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
300
I don't know if you know this, but today (27 October) is the 300th day of the year.
300 days since I started my devotional blog: The Honest Truth - where I'm taking one Bible verse a day and writing a short piece about what it means, or why I like it.
300 days since I started my devotional blog: The Honest Truth - where I'm taking one Bible verse a day and writing a short piece about what it means, or why I like it.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Hobart
I have one more day and two more nights in Hobart. The town actually reminds me quite a lot of Dunedin in a weird sort of way... quite hilly, cold, laid back culture, etc. (Sydney = Auckland, Melbourne = Wellington, Adelaide = Christchurch. Perth = Tauranga?)
There was snow on Mt Wellington on the first couple of days we were here, and with temperatures around 11-12 degrees (Celsius) we realised we hadn't packed enough warm clothes. But here we are at the end of the week and it's 25 degrees - shorts and T-shirts...
The badminton games have been reasonably good, but all the socialising has grated on me a bit. Particularly the relationships between me, the people in my unit, and the people next door. Anyway I'm trying not to dwell on that.
Then everyone is saying, 'See you again next year', and I'm thinking to myself, 'No you won't!' None of this has really been my cup of tea. Being a midweek ladies' tournament, the average age of the participants is probably around 55-60. But despite this, the mid-week dinner we had consisted of food, then music almost as loud as the conference dinner at ICONN earlier this year. I simply could not stay - and I don't know how the old people coped, but they were all up the front dancing... seems that they all see it as a time to get away from their families and let their hair down. I can't really relate to that. I guess I just haven't fitted in to anything. Was I expecting to? Probably not. Am I bothered? Not now. I had a good time by myself yesterday - had the afternoon off after playing early in the morning, so I hired a mountain bike and went for a ride up Mt Wellington. I made it as far as the chalet (about 3 km from the top), decided that was far enough so I turned around and rode down - biggest adrenaline rush I've had for a while :)
Tomorrow I'm going on a tour to Richmond, Port Arthur, and a Tasmanian devil sanctuary place. By myself (i.e. not with the people from my unit). Then on Sunday it'll be time to go home - and not a day too soon. I am so over all of this. It's just like school really - girls all giggly and stupid, gossipy and backstabbing. No, I won't be going to another ladies' badminton jamboree thing.
I haven't got around to downloading the photos off my camera (for both the Queen Charlotte trip and Hobart) but as soon as I do I'll put them up here...
There was snow on Mt Wellington on the first couple of days we were here, and with temperatures around 11-12 degrees (Celsius) we realised we hadn't packed enough warm clothes. But here we are at the end of the week and it's 25 degrees - shorts and T-shirts...
The badminton games have been reasonably good, but all the socialising has grated on me a bit. Particularly the relationships between me, the people in my unit, and the people next door. Anyway I'm trying not to dwell on that.
Then everyone is saying, 'See you again next year', and I'm thinking to myself, 'No you won't!' None of this has really been my cup of tea. Being a midweek ladies' tournament, the average age of the participants is probably around 55-60. But despite this, the mid-week dinner we had consisted of food, then music almost as loud as the conference dinner at ICONN earlier this year. I simply could not stay - and I don't know how the old people coped, but they were all up the front dancing... seems that they all see it as a time to get away from their families and let their hair down. I can't really relate to that. I guess I just haven't fitted in to anything. Was I expecting to? Probably not. Am I bothered? Not now. I had a good time by myself yesterday - had the afternoon off after playing early in the morning, so I hired a mountain bike and went for a ride up Mt Wellington. I made it as far as the chalet (about 3 km from the top), decided that was far enough so I turned around and rode down - biggest adrenaline rush I've had for a while :)
Tomorrow I'm going on a tour to Richmond, Port Arthur, and a Tasmanian devil sanctuary place. By myself (i.e. not with the people from my unit). Then on Sunday it'll be time to go home - and not a day too soon. I am so over all of this. It's just like school really - girls all giggly and stupid, gossipy and backstabbing. No, I won't be going to another ladies' badminton jamboree thing.
I haven't got around to downloading the photos off my camera (for both the Queen Charlotte trip and Hobart) but as soon as I do I'll put them up here...
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