PhD on Pause - Part Three
This week brings a close to my three month placement where I worked at the University of Hamburg in the Institut für Meereskunde. Scroll down to see photos and short reflections documenting my last month of experiences.
// Week 10 //
The beginning of a new month means that Museums had an open night yesterday. I visited the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (Museum for Art and Trade) to browse their exhibitions. What caught my attention the most was the lamps in the entrance foyer. These simple lights were attached to a wire that let them down and up. This simple concept created a mesmerising pattern and one I tried a long time to properly capture.
We've also had some cooler and wetter days recently. This makes for special evenings when the clouds clear and the sun peaks out. I love the colours that are painted over the buildings around the Alster lakes and especially the shades on the water.
Today is also my last day working on the project before I head off to various conferences and workshops. I feel like I've said this many times before, but I can't believe where the time is gone. As the saying goes "time flies when you're having fun".
// Week 11 //
This week brings me to Berlin for my first in person science conference. I'm blown away by the scale of the operation to bring an event like this together and the number of people in one place. I think I'm still used to the social distancing rules of recent years. Any other early birds at IUGG, I will be giving a talk on Sunday at 8:45 on the impact of sea-level rise on storm surge barriers.
Being so close, I also took the chance to visit the Olympic Stadium. I am fascinated by the architecture of this venue, the amphitheater and colosseum vibes really come through. I also learned this is the only listed football stadium. It really brings into focus the connection and often manipulated link between sport and politics.
// Week 12 //
I've been jumping between PhD hat, presenting my first paper at IUGG and giving a talk at the Technical University in Hamburg. As well as my current project where I created a poster and gave a lightning talk at the AMOC workshop. This last week has been intense and I'm amazed how tired one gets from listening to talks but I thrive off the knowledge sharing and opportunity to learn new things.
// Week 13 //
It's a wrap. I'm sad to be finishing my placement and leaving Hamburg after an incredible 3 months. In this time I have learned so much, made many great friends and explored some beautiful areas in the north of Germany. I hope that future opportunities will allow me to go back and continue the work I was doing. For now it's back to PhD, but before then I'll be radio silent while I'm away on holiday.
