Pinch Me!

The first week of my internship here in Saarland has been phenomenal. I'm working at the Fraunhofer Institut near Saarbrücken, a biomedical research institution. (That's Fraunhofer, not to be confused with Frauenhof...although that would surely also be a great place to work...)

My supervisor had given me two options for the summer:
1) Develop a program to analyze impedance data for spherical cell models
2) Study the effect of nanoparticles on cells

I liked the first option because it had a definite goal and sounded very concrete. The second option, however, seemed like a really fun biotech project. It was tough to decide, and I wanted to get more information from my supervisor on the first day.

Ah, the first day. I kind of had this feeling they weren't really ready for me. Of course that could have been because I forgot to set up a time with my supervisor and ended up just coming really early. When I finally spoke with Herr Doktor Supervisor, he didn't stare deep into my eyes and gauge my biotechnological competence like I feared; he simply asked what I wanted to do, and I told him both, and he said a'ight.

Ok, I may remember the conversation being a tad more casual than how it really went down, but it's not far from the truth. In this research hotbed where lots of people are finishing up doctoral studies, the team is young and the official pants are blue jeans. This place gives me a loose, locker feeling. I have the freedom to do as much or as little as I want. Right now I'm choosing the former, but the topics really interest me and I enjoy the workload. Well, it's not so much a "workload" per say, but I sure am keeping myself busy trying to learn as much as I can.

More to Come, Jin Quei