The Ramp Up to Bangladesh

I'm reminded, in my infinite frustration, that in the Microbiology Lab, sometimes you do everything right, dot every i, and nothing works. And sometimes I take short cuts and ignore procedures left and right, and everything works perfect. After many evenings, weekends and holidays spent running into the lab to babysit my bacteria and viruses, that can't seem to get along, things still aren't working, and I'm exhausted. Emotionally spent, waiting for the breakthrough, one large step for me, and a redundant non-step for mankind. With all the teaching and courses, I haven't got enough time to devote to lab work in the last two years to be proficient in the basic microbiology methods I need now, as we rush off to Bangladesh. I know I have other skills to offer the team, validating our filters are our first step before applying them in the field, and if I can't do that, I'm not as good as I thought I was.

How many forms of failure must one take before one learns what one is really good at? Or is it in failure that we learn (as Thomas Edison believed) and so, as a self-professed life-long learner, I should get used to failure. Everyone rushes to reward the person that achieves, overcomes, succeed, but what about those that continue on inspite of failure? My hero, Paul Farmer, fights what he believes is a losing battle, advocating health of the poorest of the poor in Haiti, Peru and Russian Prisons. My goals are somewhat (and perhaps only temporally) aligned with his broader goals, but in Bangladesh. I'm not alone though, I have a team, at Columbia, UT (Center for Environmental Biotechnology), UNC and U Dhaka, but also, if you're reading this, you! I guess I need your understanding most of all, which is why I write this. If you're religious, then prayer is great as well!

A New York Minute

Megan, Lisa and I doing a crazy pose infront of the fountains in Lincoln Center. Because NYC is such a condensed cauldron of humanity - talent, knowledge, wisdom, foolishness, affection, music, architecture, poverty, wealth - like a concurrent bombardment of all that life can offer or take away from you. So what did we do with all that? We went to an Irish Pub for a beer.

Broadway.

Walking the pathway connecting Broadway and Amsterdam through the central coutyard of Columbia.

I got up at 3:30 am in Knoxville to get here by 9 am and spend all day touring the campus, and all evening and into the night meeting friends off campus and going out for our initial "meet and greet" with the Bangladesh team from all over the US. I have no doubt that these people can accomplish our stated goals. At one point during a meeting I was literally shaking with excitement when I realized how what we are doing is going to be so novel and broad in its implications, it will raise the bar for my entire field of study (waterborne diseases and groundwater), and redefine the state of knowledge. OK, maybe that was too enthusiastic, but when you're just started out your academic career, enthusiasm is all you got!

In front of the Low Memorial Library, where the Chancellor's office is based. Compare this to the awe-inspiring view of the Dana Porter library at U Waterloo (sarcasm). That's alright though, UW might be young, but we're scrappy. Bring it on!

Earl Hall. Lecture hall, and multi-faith meeting center.

Top of the Physics building. How many stars can you see in NYC???

Ahh the Physics building. Home to some of my childhood heroes, such as Brian Greene who wrote "The Elegant Universe" or "Fabric of the Cosmos". Columbia University has 84 Nobel Prizes attributed to it, more than any other school in the world.

Looking past the Physics building to a Church that is being reconstructed. Could this picture be symbolic of something? I don't know, really I don't.

The student life building, with very cool, mostly glass architecture.

Not sure what this building is.

Looking out over the central courtyard where famous speeches (such as the recent controversial one by the President of Iran) and anti-war protests have taken place over the centuries.

Looking up Amsterdam Av. Manhattan Island was initially settled by Dutch people.

Faculty house.

Lunch at the Faculty House overlooking uptown Manhattan (Harlem). The university is positioned on a fault that raises it up above the city around it.

One of the several historical landmark chapels at Columbia U. Columbia was started by the Church of England in 1754, then named King's College. The name and governance was changed after the Revolutionary War. They had a difficult time finding someone to govern the new Columbia University since many of the loyalist alumni had fled to Canada or Britain.

One of the few and largest Geotechnical centrifuges in the world, able to take a several hundred kilo load up to 200 g's. I wanted to go for a ride.

This metal box fits into the "gondola" of the Centrifuge to study slope stability around construction in unconsolidated sediments, such as road cuts.

Opera house at Lincoln Center.

Lincoln Center with the Opera House in the background.

Instead of taking a cab we had an enjoyable 8 am, 50 block walked with the U North Carolina people to the meeting at Columbia U.

One of the many great buildings along the walk to Columbia U from the Hotel

Vaulted ceilings of a beuatiful Cathedral along the upper west side of Central Park.