July 21, 2014 | In the lab. Monday started and ended with running samples on Shimadzu. I intended to finish all the samples, and so ended up staying until 10:30 pm in the lab. Today, on Wednesday, Dan and I realized that two samples (two vials with samples of  pH=2) for dissolved organic carbon analysis (CDOM) were missing even […]

July 14, 2014 | Let me start with the end of Week 4. On Saturday evening, I had an opportunity to meet with other students from India. My roommate organized a potluck at our house, and our culinary expert Tanya coordinated the cooking process. I had just taken my once-in-a-half-year long nap when the cooking started: At seven in […]

July 5, 2014 | I am coming to suspect that time does cheat on us, poor people. Keep a constant eye on it while racing it – you will at most be in line with it; take your eyes off for a moment – time will make a leap of two moments, skipping while we are not watching. However, […]

June 25, 2014 | First time. Shawn Doyle, our consultant at Cornell’s Writing Studio, once talked about how one’s knowledge base and perception of the world evolve by theorizing and inductive reasoning throughout his/her life. Since this process is less complex thus more evident during our early years, he took an example from his childhood: As a little kid, he […]

June 17, 2014 | Fieldwork. The highlight of this week have no doubt been the fieldwork. After staring at a computer screen for several days, my eyes reveled in whatever scenery we passed on our way to the sites; even the sideroad stores. I am realizing that I don’t have the discipline needed for learning computer programs online. However, […]

June 10, 2014 | This weekly blog I will be writing for the next nine weeks  will cover my experiences working with Dr. Tufford at the University of South Carolina, Columbia. Dr. Tufford is interested in watershed ecology and water management, particularly the roles of wetlands in watershed ecosystems and potential effects of climate and climate change on land […]