ERIP Students’ blog
Improving solar cells for a brighter future
“If you want to change the world, even if you can’t, at least you die trying.” – Such were the words emblazoned above the door of my office at LIMNO (Laboratory for Molecular Engineering of Optoelectronic Nanomaterials – led by Prof. Kevin Sivula), which was the lab I spent my 3 months of summer at. (…)
Work hard, hike harder
Three months have never flown by so quickly. From the first day I arrived, I began my busy summer of exploration, work, and adjustment to life in Switzerland, supported all along the way by my fellow interns and boxed ice coffee from Migros. Let’s start with my lab. I interned this summer in the Medical (…)
A wonderful summer
My first impression of Switzerland came from reading one of Einstein’s biography books. The greatest physicist ever lived, went to school in Zürich and worked at the Bern Patent Office, and developed his theory of relativity. Since then, the impression that Switzerland is a land of science was imprinted on my mind. So as an (…)
To the land of cheese and chocolate – and science!
After living, studying, and working in Lausanne for 8 months (on two separate occasions), I consider the city of Lausanne as a second home. In 2016, I had the opportunity of studying abroad for one semester of my undergraduate degree at the Université de Lausanne. Evidently, these five months in Lausanne weren’t enough for me. (…)
The hills are alive
I have dreamed of visiting Switzerland since I discovered that The Sound of Music was filmed there in sixth grade. The endless, rolling hills, the majestic snow-capped peaks–even as an 11-year old, I couldn’t conceive there to be any other place in the world quite as stunning. By the time I received my internship acceptance letter nine (…)
Life, study and work in Switzerland: a sweet mid-summer dream
Between June and August, I was part of the EPFL Research Internship Program. At the time, I was studying physics at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, United States of America. Specifically, I was doing research on Computational Condensed Matter Physics at Institute of Theoretical Physics of EPFL, being advised by Prof. Oleg Yazyev. It was also (…)
Research and raclette: a superb Swiss summer
Between May and August of 2016, I was a part of the EPFL Research Internship (RI) Program. At the time, I had just finished the third year of Mechanical Engineering at the University of British Columbia. I had never been to Europe before, so I was both excited and nervous for the opportunity to work (…)
Chemistry, nature, and everything else
My three months of summer were spent living in an AirBnB room in a pretty Swiss house hidden somewhere in the peaceful town of Préverenges, a five-minute walk from the shores of Lac Léman, and working in a small inorganic chemistry lab tucked away in a corner of the CH building in EPFL, where many (…)
Switzerland withdrawals
Sion is a homey town where bus drivers greet pedestrians on the streets, the capital of Canton Valais Wallis, and the site of the EPFL Energypolis campus where I had worked for the past summer. Energypolis consists of seven research laboratories that focus on renewable energy, health and environmental sustainability, lead by professors affiliated with (…)
What an amazing country
This summer, I went to EPFL as a Research Intern. And no surprise, it has been one of my best summers ever! Working at EPFL has been a great experience. I worked at Automatic Control Lab under Mechanical Engineering Department. As a Mechatronics student, it has been a extremely valuable experience to me because the (…)