ME vs Cambridge

Oh man! although i wanna lay off blogging for a while, but THIS, i gotto blog.

I just attended an 1 hour presentation by a professor from cambridge late this afternoon. And am I glad i attended it. I realised, that all I have done for my project, isnt just a pile of rubbish! Ok, maybe a little background info.

A 3 party join research project regarding shock reliability of handheld electronical equipment (e.g. Handphones, PDAs, Laptops), by NUS, Cambridge and IME (Institue of Micro-Electronics) was formed in june 2002. And i have faithfully join this research project as the NUS side of the ONE responsible to research on the material properties of solder in drop impact conditions. On the other side, Cambridge is doing so as well. So they can be considered my counterparts.

Only after this meeting just now, did I realise, that what i have been doing over this period of time, is about 80% similar to the things that cambridge has done. Oh no, its not about repeating what we are doing, as each side need to build our own capabilities in doing such work. But its the amount of work done. Of course they had better direction and was much more refine in presenting their work, and they have other work to do as well. But it has never occured to me, that what i have been doing is actually 80% similar to what they have done! Maybe i should tell you more.

In Cambridge, they have, 2 lab technicians, 2 PhD students and 1 FULL Professor and a 4 storey laboratory working on this! Not all the time, of course, but they DO! And what have I? Squatting at the back of my lab, and two paper boxes containing things such as wooden clothes clips to hold onto a test tube containing MOLTEN solder at 300 degree celcius, above a naked flame coming from a S$30 butane blow touch (available at any hardware store). Several times almost killing myself with imploding molten solder when the glass test tubes cracks when it couldnt take the sudden change in temperature when it comes into contact with cold water* thus a 300 degrees difference in temperature enough even to crack a concrete block. Yes! this is the life i lead... and i have manage to obtain results comparable with what Cambridge is doing!!!!!


*Warning, molten tin-lead solder DO NOT mix well with cold water

ArrrgGGGGGGGHHHhhhh!!!!!!

All my hard work is not wasted! It is not all rubbish!!!!!

THERE IS a light at the end of this deep dark tunnel!

Although i might actually stay a week or 2 more then expected to make more out of the raw results i have (which is more then it seems at first, just like diamond before polishing, its needs some polishing to show its full glory), but at least this time, I will do it with pride. Something I feel i have been lacking, for this past long bumpy road i have been traveling.

So END it soon will.
But held high, my head will be.