Blog posts

I’ll keep my lights on

Mathematics of Planet Earth

Today between 20:30 and 21:30 local time millions of individuals and businesses will switch off the lights to encourage the fight against climate change. Since 2007, when Sydney became dark for one hour, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) managed to spread Earth Hour all over the world. Now every year it engages as many as 7,000 cities all over the world.

Together we’ll speak up for wildlife and forests. We’ll show our support for rivers and oceans. And we’ll rally around crucial actions needed to curb climate change. These claims from the WWF’s official website indeed sound noble. But is Earth Hour really going to solve the problem?

What to do when the sun shines?

MSc Science Communication

British Summer time officially begins tomorrow. Although this does mean we lose an hour of sleep, it also heralds the beginning of warmer and sunnier weather. 

We have already had some unprecedented warm days so far this year, raising concerns for our planet’s welfare and the effect that this has on the ecosystem. Whilst this shouldn’t be forgotten, our body needs sunlight to function. Sunlight activates the production of vitamin D, which is a vital ingredient for lowering blood pressure, protecting against inflammation and improving brain function. Not to mention the benefits to mental health and sleep quality. Summertime cannot come quick enough for me!

Recruitment Day/Interview for MEng Civil Engineering

MEng Civil Engineering

I wrote on my previous blog that this day was the day I fell absolutely in love with Imperial. It was the day I remembered when I was completely unmotivated to revise for my A level. The day I looked back when I was excruciatingly and patiently waiting for my A-level results.

The day started with getting a coffee, I mean obviously, duh. I went to the Skempton building, slightly nervous, but I convinced myself that if it wasn’t meant to be, it wasn’t meant to be. I was directed to a room, where the magic happens. (By magic I mean the interview, if you don’t know it already).

Surviving Imperial one Espresso at a time

MEng Civil Engineering

Easter break is normally one of the best holiday for me. After horrible winter weather and what feels like the longest term ever, I look forward to Easter. Not this time, and not at Imperial.

Easter break means its getting much closer to exam. You heard it right, exam. And that might or might not be stress you sense. Being a first year, people kept telling me that what I do as a first year won’t matter. That I can do whatever I want, get drunk, skip lectures. But what I do matters, I realise it now as it is nearly the execution time.

We are writing our own end

MEng Aeronautical Engineering

“We, humans, are killing our planet” 

How many times have we heard someone saying that phrase? How many times has it appeared on the news? How many scientific articles have been published about it?

Yet I believe it is not entirely true. There are two keywords which I find to be a lie. Let me explain myself.

First of all, the term “our planet”. It is a huge mistake to consider the Earth as ours. It has never been a gift nor it has never been available for us to use as we wish. This planet is our home, indeed, but not our property. 

Another Term Bites The Dust

MSc Science Communication

In a previous blog post I managed to summarise my first term at Imperial with the song lyrics of ABBA. As the Easter holidays begin, I have attempted to use the words of the legendary band, Queen, to reflect on what has been an incredibly busy second term.

We Are The Champions

Dance Company has continued to be a huge presence in my life at Imperial. In February we travelled across the country to compete in two university dance competitions for which 8 teams have been preparing hard for. Dance Company truly were the champions as we ended up winning a total of 13 awards across the two competitions in Southampton and Liverpool.

Thank you Netball

Mathematics and Statistics

One of the best parts of my life at Imperial

With the Netball season coming to a close, I thought it was time to reflect on another year as a member of Imperial College Netball Club (ICUNC). If you’ve ever seen me around campus during the week, there’s a high chance I was probably covered head to toe in Netball Stash, but my love for Netball and the girls at ICUNC doesn’t end there.  As a girl at Imperial, it can be pretty lonely, but the saving grace has been the incredible girls I have met through Netball. Training together through the freezing winter, matches in the rain and Sports Nights going wrong has made me so close to all of the girls in my team and the rest of the club, and I have so appreciated always knowing that I have a whole team of girls to turn to.

The man who saved π

Mathematics of Planet Earth

I couldn’t call myself a mathematician if I didn’t celebrate Pi Day. Let’s take a moment to appreciate this mathematical constant for… staying constant. Today’s hero came by a hair’s breadth of being changed to 3.2.

Since ancient times mathematicians had been trying to “square the circle”, so given a circle construct a square with the same area, using just a compass and straightedge. Unfortunately for all these fame-seeking mathematicians and amateurs, in 1882 the task was proven impossible. And the culprit was… π.

To square the circle we’d have to construct a square root of π. However, a German mathematician Carl Louis Ferdinand von Lindemann proved that π is a transcendental number, which means it’s not a root of any polynomial with rational coefficients.

Everything is not what it seems

MEng Aeronautical Engineering

The other day, one of my classmates came up to me with a rather interesting question. He was wondering whether student bloggers were able to say bad things or criticize Imperial in any way. 

And the truth is that yes, we can. I guess we simply don’t do it because we want to spread positivity within our readers. However, he made me realize it was time to share our not-so-pink reality. After all, prospective students need to know what they are getting themselves into. 

The downside of Imperial’s internationality 

Although diversity is one of the qualities we are most proud of, it does drag along a small issue: background inequality.

Will you supervise me?

Mathematics of Planet Earth

Choosing a PhD supervisor is one of the most important decisions you must make before you start grad school. A bad one can turn three or four years of your life into a nightmare, while a good one will make the experience bearable, if not enjoyable (at times). 

I often get asked for advice on how to approach this decision. Today I’ll share what I did and what factors mattered to me most. However, bear in mind that everyone has different needs and deal-breakers, so please don’t blindly apply all my advice! 

I started looking for a supervisor quite early, over half a year before beginning my PhD.

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