So today was the official start of the school year at Notre Dame and the start of my graduate studies. I am pursuing a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in the area of biofluidics under the watchful eye of Dr. Philippe Sucosky. My very first official graduate class was Continuum Mechanics with Dr. Paolucci. I always find it interesting when professors start off a class by telling you that everything you will spend hours trying to learn in the coming semester is completely made up.
I also had my first meeting with my research group. This semester, I will be building a flow loop to recreate the blood flow through the aorta. I am also in charge of making sure that our lab meets safety requirements for the Class IV laser which I will be using to do a PIV study to determine the mechanism behind the calcification of the aorta.
This evening I attended the welcome picnic next to the library with MK. I was surprised at how fast they were able to get several thousand students through the buffet-style dinner. However, we learned the hard way that it is very important to make sure you remember exactly where you are parked. MK and I spend a good 10 minutes walking around pressing the lock button on the key fob only to figure out that we were one lot over from where we had left the car.
All in all, it was a good first day. I hope to put up some pictures of where I work and live soon.
