I got a fellowship to go to US for three months.
It all started when our paper got accepted. In that euphoria Joel and I discussed plans to work on the structure of our protein and the inhibitor. I offered, very rashly, to come to UVa and work on it during the vacation period. Joel accepted. This was in October/November.
Money was obviously an issue. One needs something to live on. I found that UICC gives short term fellowships. It was a long shot and the application went awry. They wrote to me asking for lots more details. I submitted everything in January.
From January to April was a long wait. I filled the time very sensibly by attending the refresher course, going to Young Investigator's meeting, and Protein-DNA interaction meeting.
April came and it looked as though it might go without any news when finally on April 20th the email came. I had the fellowship.
Oh, since I have the fellowship, I assumed, I can just get a business visa. No, UVa said. I need an Exchange visitor visa. We started the paper work.
It took three weeks when finally Joel snatched the papers from the International office and couriered them to me.
Now comes the icing on the cake: The Consulate is not giving any visa interview appointments. They are booked solid.
So it is back to waiting game. And me, I am not known for my patience unless it happens to be embroidery. Other than biting my nails (yuck) and chewing my lips (eesh) there is nothing much to be done. Therefore, I am doing what I am best at: harassing my students and my parents.
Of course if I had any sense I would have never said no to the Green Card 7 years back. But I was so sure that I wanted to be back in India and that opportunities like the present one would never arrive, that I canceled the petition and moved back home. My sensible mother, other than saying I told you so and you should listen to your mother, would also add that if I had any sense I would have never moved back to India!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
As we mull over...
The good thing is the Arjun Singh is not in the cabinet. So hopefully the HRD will get a sensible minister.
The bad thing is that the whole education system is a mess. Under the new reservation scheme, we need to reserve even PhD seats. Which is ridiculous because the number of PhD seats available varies depending upon the positions available in each laboratory in our department. However, starting this year we have to take 2006 as the baseline and account for 27% increase and this will be the number of the students we have to take every year irrespective of the available positions. It is pretty stupid because PhDs cannot be doled out but who can explain it to the minister/bureaucrats/agitating students. Many of the PhDs churned out are actually unemployable but no one is worried about that.
Universities are a battered lot. Our M.Sc students are invariably exported out. The students themselves no longer wish to work for 5-6 years to earn a PhD. They prefer the European pastures because you get a PhD in 3 years. That you cannot do much in 3 years is not something they are bothered about. Quick and fast are the keywords.
In these fast track times comes the news that even US universities are mulling the option of introducing 3-year courses.
The bad thing is that the whole education system is a mess. Under the new reservation scheme, we need to reserve even PhD seats. Which is ridiculous because the number of PhD seats available varies depending upon the positions available in each laboratory in our department. However, starting this year we have to take 2006 as the baseline and account for 27% increase and this will be the number of the students we have to take every year irrespective of the available positions. It is pretty stupid because PhDs cannot be doled out but who can explain it to the minister/bureaucrats/agitating students. Many of the PhDs churned out are actually unemployable but no one is worried about that.
Universities are a battered lot. Our M.Sc students are invariably exported out. The students themselves no longer wish to work for 5-6 years to earn a PhD. They prefer the European pastures because you get a PhD in 3 years. That you cannot do much in 3 years is not something they are bothered about. Quick and fast are the keywords.
In these fast track times comes the news that even US universities are mulling the option of introducing 3-year courses.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Cooperativity
In the biological world, at the cellular level, there is a great ado about cooperativity. Simply put, it means that one event greatly helps another similar event to happen. The easiest example is a protein known as Hemoglobin, the same thing whose depletion causes anemia. Hemoglobin binds to oxygen and delivers it to our tissues. The molecule has the ability to bind to four oxygen molecules. When it binds to one oxygen, it greatly aids and abets binding of the next oxygen molecule and so on and so forth. This is positive cooperativity.
There is also something called negative cooperativity wherein happening one event will discourage the happening of another event.
What happens at the micro level, of course, happens at macro level too.
We are in the midst of severe water crunch. The faculty and the non-teaching staff have been extremely cooperative in dealing with the situation. Many of them have sneaked in a booster pump to collect water into big sumps in their yard so that the next door neighbor does not get any water. On Saturday the crisis hit the peak as parts of the campus went without drinking water. The administration has brought out a notice asking people to desist from using booster pumps.
Meantime, the electricity is also in shortage. We have big generators for power backup. The backup is supposed to be for our instruments but not for Airconditioners. But of course we have never lived without ACs all our lives and to live without it for one hour would is simply unthinkable. So some of the enterprising faculty have connected their ACs to the backup power. This eventually led to the melting down of the generator but hey, don't blame us. See the next door person is also doing it, why aren't you telling him/her?
The merry game goes on and we lurch from one day to another, perfectly cooperating with each other, aiding and abetting both water and power crisis.
There is also something called negative cooperativity wherein happening one event will discourage the happening of another event.
What happens at the micro level, of course, happens at macro level too.
We are in the midst of severe water crunch. The faculty and the non-teaching staff have been extremely cooperative in dealing with the situation. Many of them have sneaked in a booster pump to collect water into big sumps in their yard so that the next door neighbor does not get any water. On Saturday the crisis hit the peak as parts of the campus went without drinking water. The administration has brought out a notice asking people to desist from using booster pumps.
Meantime, the electricity is also in shortage. We have big generators for power backup. The backup is supposed to be for our instruments but not for Airconditioners. But of course we have never lived without ACs all our lives and to live without it for one hour would is simply unthinkable. So some of the enterprising faculty have connected their ACs to the backup power. This eventually led to the melting down of the generator but hey, don't blame us. See the next door person is also doing it, why aren't you telling him/her?
The merry game goes on and we lurch from one day to another, perfectly cooperating with each other, aiding and abetting both water and power crisis.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Voting for the first time
So finally I voted in a General Election.
Whew!
It was fun. Apparently one has to first get the bit of paper containing your name and the polling booth number. This is generally door-to-door delivered but of course I am never at home. So I went over to the booth outside the polling station and got the paper. Then came the revelation. These booths are manned by party workers. The one I approached was manned by BJP workers who earnestly asked me to vote for BJP.
At this point I looked around and found a booth manned by Congress workers and another by CPI workers. There was no sign of BSP or other parties, but presumably they were there for I was told by the faculty at MSU, who had been roped in to do election duty unlike us privileged Central University teachers, that each polling booth has party workers from every party as observers to ensure free and fair elections.
Inside, there are host of characters. One checks your name, the other gets you to sign, the third puts the indelible ink on your finger, and then you vote.
I finally felt that I belonged to some country instead of being just a vagabond.
Whew!
It was fun. Apparently one has to first get the bit of paper containing your name and the polling booth number. This is generally door-to-door delivered but of course I am never at home. So I went over to the booth outside the polling station and got the paper. Then came the revelation. These booths are manned by party workers. The one I approached was manned by BJP workers who earnestly asked me to vote for BJP.
At this point I looked around and found a booth manned by Congress workers and another by CPI workers. There was no sign of BSP or other parties, but presumably they were there for I was told by the faculty at MSU, who had been roped in to do election duty unlike us privileged Central University teachers, that each polling booth has party workers from every party as observers to ensure free and fair elections.
Inside, there are host of characters. One checks your name, the other gets you to sign, the third puts the indelible ink on your finger, and then you vote.
I finally felt that I belonged to some country instead of being just a vagabond.
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