Notes from the lab bench
Research is mostly patience, and patience leaves a lot of time to think. These are the pieces that came out of it: some about science, some about the path itself, a few just me wondering aloud. No reviewers, no equations, no polish.
Each object on the bench is a topic. Pick one to see its essays.
All six essays
Short reads, 3 to 10 minutes each.
What Naruto Taught Me About Being a Scientist
“Nobody gets up from the floor alone.”
Three people, three ninjas, and the exam none of them could pass. Rock Lee, Kakashi, and the people who would not let me quit.
Read the essay 10 minThe Idiot Does Not Win, but the Room Changes
“So be the idiot.”
Dostoevsky's Prince Myshkin, a cold room at a party, and why kindness still changes the room even when it does not win.
Read the essay 6 minAn Ode to the Broken Cup
“The broken cup still does not stick back together. I am still asking it why.”
Adapted from the introduction to my master's thesis on adhesion in rough-surface contact. The enthusiasm is original and unedited.
Read the essay 5 minWhat time in industry gave me
“Listening, it turns out, is a technical skill.”
The industry-to-academia path, and what a production floor and an applications lab taught me before the postdoc.
Read the essay 3 minWhat keeps me interested in surfaces
“Surfaces are where materials meet the world.”
How I think about surfaces that fail, and why the questions still feel new.
Read the essay 3 minThe Real Science of Nichirin Blades
“The edge must cut; the body must survive the argument.”
What a metallurgist sees in Demon Slayer: why blades take colour, why they break, and why the swordsmith is the most realistic character in the show.
Read the essay 7 min