Fusor Forums

This was great! I remember when Li won the big Intel scholarship. He didn't post a whole lot here, but he noted in the above link that many graduates have great resumes, but don't have the "science chops". He notes early interaction in hands-on-science means a lot. I hope we were instrumental in giving him that insight and it appears he was smart enough to see the extreme value in collective effort and like mind bonding coupled with the doing in making yourself worth something in the job market. It is a collection of skills and the education that lets an employer know you can hit the bricks running.

A good academics record is fine, but a good background in hands-on in many venues and technologies just puts icing on the cake.

Richard Hull

I agree; this was true for me as well.

This site and seeing your fusor certainly helped my daughter - she has, besides having worked on a experimental project at the National Science Institute in France (a summer two years ago) also spent this last summer working at the Wendelstein W-7x stellator in Germany doing top rated experimental physics there (and even spent the short winter break there helping a MIT researcher to install a plasma diagnostic device, as well.) She is a top rated physics student at MIT in their Theoretical Physics Program (she is specializing in both Particle and Plasma Physics) but has realized that practical, hands on experimental experience is essential as well.

With the recent shut down of all plasma fusion work in the US (except for Princeton; which she and I visited for her to interview with a few weeks ago) she is rethinking her future graduate focus but that is what happens in high energy physics all the time. Another valuable fact of life that even students need to learn.