Hi, I'm Alison Hatt, one of the student bloggers for the fall meeting.  I arrived in Boston a couple of hours ago and just managed to squeak in to registration before they closed.  Always nice to skip the chaos of registration on the first morning.  The airports weren't as crazy as I'd anticipated for the holiday weekend, and, aside from some serious turbulence around Denver and Boston,it was an smooth trip. 

I'm coming from Santa Barbara, where I'm a grad student at the University of California, and the north-east winter is a bit of a shock to the system.  It is cold and wet outside and definitely not the flip-flop weather I left behind.  At least you can avoid the weather on the way to the convention center, as many of the hotels are linked to it via a giant shopping mall.  In fact, one could feasibly get through this entire meeting without once stepping into the elements.  This being my first time in Boston, however, I'm looking forward to getting out and checking out the city. 

I hope everyone out there enjoys the blog.  Have a good meeting!

Welcome to Boston!

Hello,

I am a blogger for MRS Fall 2008. I arrived from West Lafayette, Indiana yesterday where I am working on my PhD in Electrical Engineering at Purdue University. My research area is Solid State Lighting, where we are working with nanostructures to increase the efficiency of green LEDs.

I am very excited to be here as this is my first MRS conference as well as my first time in Boston.  It also looks like I will be dodging some snow that is hitting Indiana in the next couple of days; whereas here it is forecasted to be in the high 40s/low 50s all week! I am looking forward to all of the interesting talks that are scheduled.  If you have not done so already, I suggest that you make an itinerary on the MRS website. This way you can click on all the presentations that look good and then print out a detailed schedule for your stay. I am particularly interested in finally hearing from/meeting researchers whose work I have followed through the literature.   

Regards,

Isaac

 

(The new Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University where I spend my waking hours - nano.purdue.edu) 

Allow me to introduce myself!

Hello Everyone!  My name is Caitlin Burger and I am a materials engineering grad student at Purdue University.  This is my first time attending the MRS meeting, as well as my first time in the great city of Boston.  I am very excited to have the opportunity to attend all the the talks and events throughout the conference!  Where else can you find so many people interested in such a rich variety of materials science and engineering areas in one place (okay... besides San Francisco in the Spring (: )?!  I'm looking forward to learning more about my own research area as well as some other fields in which I don't have as much background.  I have my itinerary planned and am ready to go!  I look forward to sharing my MRS experience with you over the next several days!  Feel free the post any comments, and enjoy the Fall MRS Meeting!

2008 MRS Fall Meeting Underway

Hard to believe it, but the Fall Meeting has now been underway for...oh...an hour-and-a-half as I write this.  A couple of tutorial sessions kicked off this morning.  Things really get moving around 2 pm, when registration opens. 

We have a couple of student bloggers who will be bringing you frequent updates from their own unique perspectives each day throughout the meeting.  Stop in often, and PLEASE feel free to comment using the "comments" link beneath each post.  We'd love to hear your opinions as well!

Cheers!