Open doors day at Mitaka Campus

Last Friday and Saturday, it was the Open Doors Weekend in the Mitaka Campus of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, NAOJ, the place where I work. As every year since I work here, I joined the event as staff. The biggest difference this year was that I could speak "acceptable" Japanese, so I became part of the team who has to explain our work to visitors... Let's say I tried my best... and anyway, next year, I will be more fluent! :P

What can we see during this event in the campus? Is there really an astronomical observatory not so far from central Tokyo? The answer is yes. Our campus is the original campus of our institution and there are many historical places in it. For example, the Japanese Standard Time position was defined at the beginning of 20th century from a position in the campus. Besides, there are many old nice telescopes and some new ones!


 

I work in the so-called Advanced Technology Center in the development of the Atacama Large Millimeter/Sub-millimeter Array receivers. I will not explain what those receivers are, but I will post some photos. If you want to listen to the explanation, you will have to come to the event next year! ;)

 

Besides this great opportunity to see and even touch state-of-the-art astronomical receivers, there are some interesting technology and physics demonstrations. In my opinion, the coolest is the Meisner effect experiment. The core of our receivers is superconductivity and we have to deal with it every day. Therefore, it is nice to show some really cool effect based on it which makes kids really amazed! The Meisner effect is magnetic levitation due to superconductivity and it is used for the Maglev trains. Basically, when a metal becomes superconductor no magnetic lines can enter into it. So, if you put a magnet on it, the magnetic lines cannot enter the metal and create the magnetic levitation of the magnet. Of course, to get a metal to become superconductor, you have to cool it below its critical temperature, Tc, which can be close to 0 degrees Kelvin. If you use a High-Tc superconductor like YBCO, you can get superconductivity at around 77 K which is liquid Nitrogen temperature. That's what we do every year and get cool results like I show you below!

Of course, after all visitors left and we cleaned all the building, we relaxed with some beers and snacks! or Hanseikai 反省会.

歓迎会 Kangeikai

Recently, our group at work has one new member, Kojima-san. He used to be a PhD student in our group some years ago and did a great job. After graduation, he tried his luck in NTT, a big company, and after some years, decided to come back to superconductors and astronomical receivers (yes, that is my current job too ;) ).

Yesterday, we all met together and went for dinner to welcome him back. That is a very typical situation in a Japanese company. When a new member joins the work group, there is always one dinner to welcome him/her, the so called Kangeikai 歓迎会. When one member leaves the group, than there is a farewell party or Kansoukai, 歓送会.
 


If you have ever come to Japan, you must have noticed that Japanese people love drinking with colleagues. Actually, "going out for dinner" is normally expressed as "going drinking" and Japanese would say in English something like "Let's go drink together sometime" instead of the most common "Let's hang out/ go out/ go party sometime" for Westerners.

There are many occasions Japanese coworkers go drink together: new group members, group members leaving, end of the year dinner, new year dinner, hanami... or any time there is something to celebrate.

Restaurants also cater for these parties appropriately. It is common to be offered all you can eat and drink menus, Tabehoudai 食べ放題 and Nomihoudai 飲み放題　respectively. Normally, there is a time limit for these. Yesterday, we went for one of these all you can eat and drink menus and the time limit was 2 hours, which is about standard. The price depends on the restaurant, but prices around 3000 or 4000 yen are common.

If you are planning to visit Japan in the future, going for an all-you-can-eat menu can be a good option! What do you think about it? Would you like to try this kind of buffet style dinners including drinks or would you rather order dishes/ drinks directly?

Commencement at Caltech

Last Friday 12th June, I got my Master of Science degree in California Institute of Technology, one of the top 5 universities in the World.

The Commencement ceremony, this is the ceremony where diplomas are handed over, was a nice one. It was a nice experience and a proper graduation... not like in Spanish universities...

The day started cloudy and even some rain drops dared falling from the sky. Anyway, many people got together to celebrate the graduation of a few hundred students.





The key note speaker was Nobel Laureate Steven Chu, who has also been appointed Secretary of Energy recently. His speech was a nice one and proved he is a funny guy.



The ceremony was kind of long and diplomas were handed over one by one. Me waiting for all the diplomas to be delivered.



This is when I got mine from the President:



After and before the ceremony, it was time for photos with friends and family:

- With Alejandro, Pelayo and George



- With Atsushi:



- With my family




- With Melo



Then, it was time for the official lunch, which was more intimate than expected. Only my family in the table we were sitting at ;)



After lunch and before leaving campus, there was time for some more photos with friends, in this case, with Alejandro in the book store:



A nice day to wrap up the academic year and the Master degree.

あなたはMATLABを話しますか？

I just picked up my copy of this month's IEEE's Spectrum magazine and found this ad in the back cover of the magazine. IEEE is the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers for those of you who do not know. The most famous professional association in the field.

My point is I was really surprised to see that the main catchy sentence was in Japanese... The translation is: "Do you speak MATLAB?" I doubt the average EE guy can understand it. Is it for Japanese people? But again, the magazine is published for all over the world and in English. Any way, it was nice to see that in Japanese!!

Going to work in the evening...

My graduation

Today I graduated from Caltech. I got a MSc in Electrical Engineering!!



Now, it is time to work towards my PhD!!!

Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking, the famous British physicist, is at Caltech at the moment. He is a distinguished scholar at Caltech and spends one month every year doing research here.

Last Monday, he gave a talk for all the city of Pasadena and I went to the event. The event was held in a newly renovated convention center and the place was too big and acoustics terrible. As you may know, Prof Hawking has a degenerative disease which makes he can't speak or move. He talks using a fancy system using his computer. That was one of the most interesting things and at the same time, one of the most weird experiences. It was strange to listen to a person communicating through a computer, and the synthesized voice was awkward. It took a few moments to get used to it and to the delay. And as I said, the acoustics of the place did not help at all. It was really difficult to understand what he was saying, which is a shame.

This is the link to the events website:

Click here

My "MIT" Tshirt

Hey there! Aitor raised an interesting question: what the hell was I doing with a MIT Tshirt?! I am a Caltech student, so I must hate MIT!!

Well, the thing is this Tshirt is a Caltech Tshirt, you think it is the standard MIT's coz you have not seen the back yet ;)

This Tshirt was another chapter of the long MIT-Caltech pranks history. A couple years ago, some Caltech students created this Tshirt and went to MIT to hand it out as a present to the new MIT students. They accepted it gratefully and wore them... however, the back of the Tshirt hid a surprise!! This is what wikipedia tells you about that:

"Recently, a group of Caltech students pulled a string of pranks during MIT's Campus Preview Weekend for admitted students. These include covering up the word Massachusetts in the "Massachusetts Institute of Technology" engraving on the main building façade with a banner so that it read "That Other Institute of Technology". A group of MIT hackers responded by altering the banner so that the inscription read "The Only Institute of Technology." Caltech students also passed out T-shirts to MIT's incoming freshman class, with MIT on the front and "... because not everyone can go to Caltech" along with an image of a palm tree on the back."

Too much talking!! This is the Tshirt! ;)

ISSCC 09

Last week I went to San Francisco to attend the most important conference in the world related to electronic circuits: ISSCC.

The conference was held in Marriott Hotel in downtown San Francisco. I attended it from Monday to Wednesday, when there were presentation sessions. Several people in my lab presented papers (4 in total).



The level of the presentations was quite high. For me, still new to this world, it was interesting to see what people are researching and the rivalry between universities and research groups.

The last day, we had some free time and I went with some friends to one of the few places I did not know in San Francisco: the Golden Gate Park.






After three days up there in chilly San Francisco, Pasadena was quite warm!! ;)

Exams at Caltech

These days, it has been so busy here at Caltech that I could not update my blog. Sorry for that! It has been time for final exams and I have had to prepare them and take them all from last Friday. Today, I finished the last one.

By the way, since I am talking about exams at Caltech, maybe I could tell you something interesting about them. In Caltech, most exams are take-home exams. That means you are given the test and then you can take it home and go through it whenever and wherever you want. But, you have to respect the rules: open or closed book, what materials you can use, or the time you can use for the test. All Caltech students have to stick to the Honor Code. If you are found guilty of some Honor Code violation (copying from somebody, cheating in a test, etc) you can even be kicked out of this school.

Take-home exams are interesting in the sense that you can be studying, take a little rest and jump straight onto the test whenever you feel like it. They are more flexible and convenient. And come on, we are all adults! this is the way tests should be everywhere! ;)

Keanu Reeves came to Caltech

Keanu Reeves came today to Caltech to present his new movie: The Day the Earth Stood Still, which will be on theaters from next Friday. He came along with the director of the movie and the rest of the panelist were two Caltech professors: one cosmologist and one biochemist.

At 5, there was dinner served in the lawnyard in front of Beckman Auditorium and then we moved into the auditorium, where the panelists were presented. Of course the star was Keanu Reeves and, believe it or not, Caltech professors! Then, 5 minutes of the movie, with some funny too patriotic comments for international students... hehe... and then, a Q&A session.





I was very surprised Keanu Reeves was not the main point of attention. Many questions were scientific, for professors, and many were addressed to the director.

In general, an ok event, but nothing special.

Caltech and the movies

I know I should have written more about my trip to Hawaii and promise I will do! Just, these days have been kind of hectic... Yesterday, for example, I left my home at 8.30 in the morning and did not have a single free minute until 7.30pm!! not kidding... I cooked and ate in 10 minutes...

So, now, it is time to talk about something funny in Caltech these last two days. A movie or TV series has been being shot here in Caltech! And it is the third time since I have been here! Some days, walking to my lab or courses, I find the street full of trucks and I do not know what is going on. Then, it is when you see there are cameras and other materials and understand it is a movie or series. For me, this is amazing! :) I had never imagine a university can be so popular, but I guess Caltech is. I will have to get used to it!! or even to appear at the backscene in some movie! :P

Top universities in the world

Today I found a just released ranking of the best universities in the world. This ranking has been published in The Times, the prestigious British newspaper.

The good point is that Caltech is in position number 5! Only Harvard, Yale, Cambridge and Oxford are supposed to be better than Caltech. And I am not sure that the Electrical Engineering programs they have there are better than here. At least, this (Caltech) is a pure science and technology university, which makes it more remarkable! And we are only 2000 people in campus!! And we have 1 Nobel Prize every 1000 alumni!! And Caltech manages JPL, a NASA associated site! Which university can beat that! :)

Yep, I am proud of being here ;)

Columbus Astronauts (STS-122)

Last Tuesday, the astronauts in the Space Shuttle Mission 122 came to ESTEC. These astronauts were the ones who brought the European Laboratory, Columbus, to the International Space Station. There was an astronaut missing, but he was still up there or just came back. They explained their mission and the deployment of Columbus and answered to our questions.

This is one of the best things of working at a place such as ESTEC!!

These were the crew:



The conference room was full, mostly with young people!




And they signed some official photos of the mission which were handed out in the conference room. Before getting mine signed, I also got a picture with them!!

Caltech

The California Institute of Technology, commonly known as Caltech, is one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Any ranking you check, it will be near the top, tied with other universities such as Stanford and MIT. Besides, Caltech manages JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), NASA site related to space exploration. Therefore, some of Caltech professors are actually working at JPL as well!



Caltech is located in Pasadena, just 20 minutes by metro from Los Angeles Downtown. The university is really small, around 900 undergraduate students and 1200 graduate students, and its admission rates are really low. They accept less than 2% of the people who apply every year. And people who apply to Caltech are not second-line students ;-) For example, for the Maths part of the Graduate Record Examination the average scored by students accepted at Caltech is 800. The test maximum score is 800 in this part! So, in short, they only accept people which achieved perfection in this part of the test...

Caltech also holds an astonishing record: 32 Nobel prizes among alumni and professors!! The statistics say that every 1000 people graduated from Caltech, one will be awarded a Nobel prize! Simply amazing and unrivalled by any other institution in the world.

Well, all this boring introduction is to tell you that I have been admitted to pursue MSc and PhD studies in the Electrical Engineering department in Caltech from September this year!

As I told you before, I had already decided to go to Japan for PhD studies. And I wanted to stick to my decision without hesitation, but last Tuesday everything changed... I was offered some project under the supervision of some people from JPL/NASA in topics related to space technology! In Japan, as in the previous offer by Caltech, I would be working on commercial telecom applications (design of antennas and circuits for mobile communications). Now, I was being offered the possibility of working in the topic I love: space... what can I say...

In addition to all that, professors in Caltech told me to go to Pasadena and discuss face to face with them what I wanted my research to be about! and they would pay for the trip!!! I had to take a decision before 15th April and this was last tuesday!! So, I bought a ticket for the following day and flew to LA. I left on Thursday morning and just came back this morning.

On Friday, I visited Caltech campus and several professors (3-4 in total) explained to me possible research topics they wanted me to work on! On Saturday and Sunday, I did some tourism: downtown LA, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Long Beach and Pasadena. On Monday, I visited JPL together with Peter Siegel, maybe the most knowledgeable person in the world of TeraHertz technology. He introduced me to some people in his group at JPL and showed to me their laboratories and the research they were doing. And told me I could possibly work in JPL if I joined his project in Caltech!!

In short, I have been offered a PhD project at one of the top universities in the world and closely working with people at JPL/NASA!! I would have two supervisors, one at Caltech and one at JPL. Simply amazing! As you can imagine, I could not say no to such an offer. Besides, I have been awarded an Atwood Fellowship 2008 and I will even get some extra money on top of the Fulbright Science and Technology Award 2008 which I already got! It is too good... I am still waiting to wake up from this dream! So, I have accepted their offer and will be moving to Pasadena, California at the end of the Summer.

Columbus

Finally, Columbus, ESA's laboratory at the International Space Station has been completely deployed! After several months of uncertainty (the original launch was scheduled last 6th December), Columbus was launched last Thursday evening (at 8.46 pm). During the weekend, it was on its way to the ISS and yesterday, at around 3pm in Europe, it was connected and correctly activated.

It's been many years' effort for many people here in ESTEC. Last Thursday, in the Erasmus Center, the place where the launch was broadcast for all ESTEC, many people clapped and even shouted and cried after the launch was successful. Today, before lunch, ESA has offered a drink to everybody working here, to celebrate it is working properly up there!

This is a big success for Europe, ESA and international collaboration in general. Now, it is time to start using it for good experiments.

My photo with Pedro Duque

During my stay at ISU, Chiaki Mukai, a Japanese astronaut and resident professor of ISU, invited some astronaut friends to our campus. Steven Smith came from NASA and Pedro Duque from ESA.



Being Spanish, to meet Pedro Duque was quite an experience for me! Recently, during my stay in Japan, Estefania sent me this photo in which the Spanish students at ISU MSS06 appear together with Pedro.



Thanks Estefania!