One's destination is never a place, but always a new way of seeing things. -Henry Miller
As a CIT Travel Grant recipient, I'm required to keep a blog documenting my experiences this summer. I thought I'd start before I leave, for reasons I'll explain in a bit.
First, why I'm researching abroad. This semester, in Biomedical Engineering Lab, I did my literature review project on the biocompatibility of carbon nanotubes for nerve tissue regeneration. Research groups worldwide are studying whether or not adding carbon nanotubes to an injury in the spinal cord or other nerve tissue can help neurons regrow and form new connections. This could help victims of paralysis or brain injury regain lost functions for daily living, a remarkable feat. The key word in that blurb was "worldwide" -- the experiments I read about were conducted all over the world, from Italy, Korea, the UK, and Spain.
As someone who is interested in research and graduate school, I find it fascinating that diversity of location and culture engenders diversity in approaching a scientific problem. I want to explore this phenomenon further through researching abroad. Last summer, I studied carbon nanotubes at Nagoya University in Japan, and I hope to compare and contrast that experience during my work in Israel. Being able to analyze problems with a myriad of perspectives will make me a more effective researcher. Being able to communicate appropriately with other researchers during international collaboration also seems like a crucial skill to develop during my time as a student.
Not to mention that I can get exposure to research areas which may not be fully represented at Carnegie Mellon. My current research lab in the BME department studies nano-bio-electronics. I am helping to develop self-rolling electrodes to measure cell activity and improve in vitro assessment of drugs and personalized medicine solutions. At the Technion in Israel, I will be creating the mechanisms for personalized medicine instead. I view this summer research project as a continuation and enrichment of my work at CMU.
Of course, that's just the tip of the iceberg. I love to travel, having grown up in New Jersey all my life (sorry, New Jersey). I am excited to explore Israeli culture, which I expect will be very different from Japanese culture but equally beautiful. I want to meet a lot of people, and hear about their lives, learn about what they enjoy doing. I want to try all different cuisines, and visit breathtaking historical sites. There's definitely the tourist in me who's going insane with excitement at this once-in-a-lifetime chance to visit Israel for three months. But beneath that, there's someone else, I guess I'll call her the philosopher, who's a bit overwhelmed.
During my stay in Japan, I experienced a tremendous amount of personal growth. That's really what I'm getting at with the Henry Miller quote. Although Carnegie Mellon is a unique experience, life is not. What I mean is, I'll experience the same insecurities, encounter the same types of people, find the same type of work, wherever I go in the world. What will be different is how I respond toward everything around me. That's something that definitely changed for me in Japan, and I hope will change again this summer as I continue my search for self-improvement.
Part of this change will be due to culture shock, which I'm hoping to alleviate as much as possible before I leave the U.S. Last year, before I went to Japan, we had seminars about Japanese culture, how to speak to people (honorifics), logistics of transportation and food, the language, etc. This year I won’t get any of that, so I’ll have to recreate it as best I can. I have my Transport in Materials final on Monday, but after that I'll have time to focus on learning as much about Israel as I can. Here are my goals for the rest of the week:
Until next week!
-Shivani