My project is on quantum mechanics and it involves coding with python, a programming langage, to investigate the dynamics of a particular class of phase transitions happening in the quantum realm. Specifically, I am…
Becoming a Laidlaw Scholar has prompted me to give greater consideration to my post- university career. Whilst the programme has provided tangible benefits- the bespoke leadership training and practice of doing real…
I have decided to use this opportunity (my second blog post) to talk about an instrument without which my experiment would have been impossible – a stereoscope. To be honest, until 2 weeks ago its mechanism was a bit…
The world has become such a fast-paced environment that it feels like we can’t succeed if we’re not constantly moving in some sort of direction. In the craze of trying to keep up, we often lose sight of the big picture…
The atmosphere in a research lab is completely different to the day-to-day activities of being a student. In a university there is a clear hierarchy and lines of authority. There are clearly defined boundaries of roles…
Both research and leadership concentrations of the Laidlaw program heavily promote self-direction, entrepreneurship, and self-reliance. In short, Laidlaw is an exercise in independence. That said, reflecting on my…
As I near the end of my second year as a Laidlaw scholar, it seems like a good time to reflect upon how the program has helped me develop over the past year. This blog post is directed to anyone thinking of applying…
I’ve had nearly a month now to reflect on my first five weeks of research and appreciate the winding dusky forest path that academic research takes. I am undertaking a History of Science project with a background in…
The second summer of my Laidlaw research took me to South Africa, where a small piece of the Earth’s crust provides a window into what Earth was like 3.5 billion years ago. During that time there was no oxygen in the…
“If there is a job to be done in Africa, someone is employed to do it.” This was reiterated by my Laidlaw colleague Lot Koopmans, as we continued our journey through the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. At every…