DC Diaries: Day 2. Moving on.

Something I learned today: If you ever want to publish anything in the field of Electrical Engineering, and I can only speak for the area of power electronics, there are a few keywords that MUST be present in your publication title. A bad title may be the sole reason your paper gets rejected from a conference or journal. These keywords are: "novel", "new", "improved", "sensorless", "optimized", "optimization", "superior", "cost-effective', and etc, etc. You get the idea. Though I'll admit if I ever see a paper titled "Cheap, inefficient, inaccurate something that gets really hot yet does the bare minimum of what you need" I would definitely go see that talk an read that paper. Funny thing is my paper has the word "improved" in it, which I chose before learning about this trend.
Something else I learned today: I don't always realize how famous/accomplished the people I work for are. Power electronics is big, and the fact that everyone I meet knows the names of my professors feels kind of weird, though admittedly pretty cool.
Today the morning was a bit slow. I attended some good talks and schmoozed with companies. We had the afternoon off and so we went sight seeing. We visited the Capitol Building, the Library of Congress (LOC), the National Mall and the Space and Air Museum. The LOC was my favorite, they had a special exhibit on Abraham Lincoln, which was really interesting, but I mostly fell in love with the architecture and paintings of the building. The ceilings, the details, the finishes, arches, the frescoes, it was all awe-inspiring. We went back to the hotel and while everyone decided to attend a talk on the future of electric vehicles, which sounded awesome, I decided to be responsible and retire to my room to do homework :-(

I have said it a million and times and I'll say it once more. I HATE homework. Despise it. I have been a student for too long, and I know it was my choice, and I am working with it. But honestly, I'm so sick of it. Siiiiick!

In the evening we had thai food for dinner, then some beers at an Irish Pub, called "Murphy's", which has to be the most common name for an Irish Pub in the world. We met some Canadian and Spanish students at dinner, but they were being lame and didn't want to drink with us. All and all a pretty good day, laid back, not too much to report.
I think I will practice my presentation once tonight and then go to bed. The big day is on Thursday. Peace.


Currently feeling: At ease
Currently listening to: "Comtine D'un Autre Ete: L'apres Midi" by Yann Tiersen