Saad's Stories

If you’ve been around longer than 20 years, you’ve done a lot of things, a lot of things have happened to you, and it becomes hard to remember why you chose one path and not another. In my case, I’m in my second year out of school and working, and I have to admit that if someone asked me in high school, “Where will you be in 10 years?” the answer would not have been working on the next generation of materials and their interaction with humans and the environment.

I’ve been working on a series I call Connecting the Dots of my Career to help myself make sense of where I’ve been and how my interests have grown and evolved, so I may better understand where I’m looking to go next. The writing is driven by my school and work experiences, but I’ve found that many of my personal relationships are inextricable from the narrative. I’ve been writing it in parts, and here is each one with its own teaser.

Part 1. My plan changed a few times in college:

I chose Chemical Engineering. Why I made this choice, I cannot remember today. But 3 useful things came out of that choice:

#3 - Because of a scheduling error, a ChemE course in Cell Engineering that all of us wanted to take junior year conflicted with the required Physiological Foundations course… What course did we end up taking? Micro/Nanotechnology.

Part 2. Laying the groundwork for breakthroughs unknown, in my first two years of grad school:

The funny/unexpected thing about all those AFM hours is that it ended up being a minimal component of the ellipsometry work… but later it was crucial to my report on free-standing films and for measurements of sub-nanometer thickness graphene sheets.

Part 3. The lowest point of my time in grad school occurred, but I turned things around to graduate on a strong note, while several useful ideas were planted, in my last three years:

Looking back at it now, I realize I effectively staked my PhD career on this technique… I faced a lengthy struggle to make it work well… An accumulation of frustrations gave rise to self-doubt. Thoughts of “file paperwork to get the Masters degree and leave” crossed my mind.

Part 4. To Sweden and back, with a clearer understanding of the impact I want my work to have:

Nanomaterials will improve many technologies, and consumers will compel us to prove that the materials don’t harm them. Having come down this path, immersing myself in nano-health-risk studies and gaining a deeper understanding of the challenges in using CNMs commercially, I’ve begun to envision my potential next step. I believe my knowledge can contribute to the development of actual products, not just published papers and patents. I think the following two areas are ones in which my understanding and skills may prove effective…

The title of these posts, Connecting the Dots of my Career, is inspired by the first story in the famous Steve Jobs commencement speech.

This is a smoked reindeer sandwich. You can find smoked reindeer in the deli section of your local grocery store where it’s called rökt renstek. I didn’t remember the Swedish word for turkey, so everything in the store was mystery meat except for renstek – see the logo on the packet. Also, it is delicious and I will probably eat a lot of it in my time here.

Props to scientist Carl Linnaeus for getting himself on the C-note.

This is Swedish money. In addition to the bills there are coins for 10, 5, and 1 kronor. The 10 kr coin is worth a bit more than $1 US, so it’s useful for tipping in bars and restaurants. The other coins are as useless as pennies.

Elsewhere: I lined up a 1-BR apartment for the summer and I stopped by the office (here) to apply for my key, access card, and online passwords. Got to chat with a few colleagues, and the conversations reinforced my belief that this was the right place to come work. The scientists are talented and the work in the group leans more toward applied science. I am excited to get started.

Future blog posts will revolve around my work and adventures in this new place, so if you’re interested in reading my stories and seeing my photos, take a moment to subscribe to the email notification on the right sidebar.

I went to Borders tonight because I had $15 in Borders Bucks that needed to be spent this month before they expired.

Retail price of book: $25.95

-Apply 40% off coupon-

Subtotal: $15.57

-Apply Borders Bucks-

Subtotal: $0.57

TN 9.25% Sales Tax: $0.05

Total: $0.62

Saving money is one of my interests, but what does it have to do with nanotechnology research? Read more…