Stories of my world #10

I had heard of her long before we met personally. She is well known among the scientific community all over the world, as she was the first woman to become Institute Professor and professor emerita of physics and electrical engineering at MIT. Among many other firsts. She was so popular that every conference in the field wanted to have her as a speaker. It was in one of those that I met her for the first time. It was the year 2008 and she couldn't care less about another young researcher that seemed fascinated just to be in her presence. I'm not going to lie, I didn't like her then. Our paths crossed again a few other times and I started seeing what her life was like. She loved her work more than anything, many times refusing to rest to just keep working. She met hundreds of people in each conference and everybody wanted to publish articles, chapters or entire books with her. Her name in the list of authors meant really a lot. She was a star and she loved it. But I also saw the other side. Or rather I feared there was another side, in which people, some people, were pursuing more their own interests than honoured by having her help and kindness. And she was kind.

Three years ago me and Johan visited her group at MIT for a couple of weeks. It was December and the weather was awful. We were staying in some old apartment that started flooding in the middle of a rain storm. We were supposed to leave to give a presentation to her and her group. There and then we had to chose between leaving and letting the apartment flood or staying to squeeze the towels and change the bucket that were holding the water drops. We chose to stay missing our presentation (and a 20 minute walk under the rain and wind). She was so sorry that to make up for it she proposed us a collaboration on a book chapter she wanted to do. We missed the presentation and SHE was sorry. That was the turning point.

After that I also started to see her off-work side, hard to spot since she was always working. She told me about her family and showed me pictures of her grandchildren, like any other 80 year old. She fell asleep sometimes during the talks in conferences. She could get tired. She was human after all! 

The last time we met was in another conference, in 2015. She was 84. Her mind had started to show signs of weakness and her speech during the opening ceremony was confused. Suddenly, all the attention she usually had in conferences vanished and I saw her alone on a few occasions, when before she wouldn't be let alone for a single second. One of the evenings she was looking for someone and asked me for help. She was supposed to meet a German guy, whose name she couldn't spell and who was not attending the conference. We went into her room (the conference was at a hotel), and tried to find clues about his contact details. She had work papers all over, on the bed, the desk, the floor. Her room showed well who she was and it was as I had imagined. We finally managed to get hold of the person, who said he was stuck in traffic. We spent a couple of hours together, waiting and talking about life, science and other things. I made jokes at the situation saying we would form a great team of detectives. She laughed. It was lovely. That's how I want to remember her: laughing and talking with a warm smile on her face. Wearing her red coat.

She passed away a week ago. I bet she worked until the very last day. She was the Queen of the nanocarbon. She was Professor Mildred Dresselhaus. But for all of us, she was Millie.

PS. A few weeks ago was released an ad featuring Millie, who supported women in science. Don't miss it, it's brilliant! Watch below.

Boston - Animais e aventuras gastronómicas

Alguns dos melhores momentos que passamos em Boston foram em Boston Common, um dos parques da cidade, tanto a correr como a passear e a tirar dezenas de fotos a esquilos. Os esquilos estão tão habituados a pessoas, que param para nos cheirar, provavelmente à procura de comida, e até posam para as fotografias.

Some of the best moments in Boston were spent at Boston Common, one of the parks of the city. We went there often, either running or walking and taking pictures of extremely cute squirrels. The squirrels in Boston Common are so used to the presence of people that they come to smell you, probably looking for food, and pose for your pictures.

 Sendo Boston uma cidade muito internacional, uma vez que as suas universidades atraem estudantes e profissionais de todo o mundo, existem restaurantes de todas as nacionalidades. Investigamos junto dos locais os melhores lugares para comer (adoro fazer isto) e acabamos por comer um pouco de tudo. Destaco o restaurante chinês nos subúrbios da cidade, onde uma colega chinesa nos levou e onde jamais teriamos ido por nossa conta, um buffet de sushi super fresco e super barato indicado por uma amante de sushi que mora por lá, e um brunch que nos fez esperar na fila por mais de 1h mas que valeu completamente a pena.

Boston is a very international city, as its universities attract students and professionals from all over the world. We asked some locals to tell us their favourite places to eat in the city (I like doing this) and we ended up eating food from everywhere. The highlights were a Chinese restaurant in the suburbs where a Chinese colleague took us, otherwise we would have never found it on our own, a sushi buffet super fresh and cheap, pointed out by a sushi lover that lives in Boston, and a delicious brunch where we had to stand in queue for more than a hour but was totally worth it.

Panquecas com morangos / Pancakes and strawberries

 Toastada francesa com caramelo e banana / French toast with caramel and banana

Huevos Rancheros

Um dos dias visitamos a Harpoon brewery, uma produtora de cerveja onde fizemos uma visita guiada que incluía uma prova de cervejas diferentes (caramelo, gengibre, framboesas, trigo, escura, ale, lager, ...). Foi uma experiência interessante pois conheciamos pouco das cervejas americanas, mas confesso que morando na Républica Checa e adorando cerveja alemã, mais encorpada e pesada, as que provamos em Boston nos pareceram demasiado aguadas. Ainda assim gostamos da prova de cervejas.

We also went to Harpoon brewery, where we did a tour that included a tasting session of several beers (caramel, ginger, raspberry, wheat, dark, ale, lager, ...). It was an interesting experience, because we barely knew American beer, but I have to say that living in Czech Republic and as a lover of German beer, rich and heavy, the beers we tried in Boston don't taste so much and feel more watery. However, we still enjoyed the beer tasting.

 Cervejas a pressão no bar / Beer on tap at the bar

 Recipientes com cerveja / Beer containers

 Área de provas / Tasting room

Boston

Boston está localizada no estado de Massachusetts, nos Estados Unidos. Boston é um cidade pequena dentro de uma cidade grande. O centro é relativamente pequeno, mas os arredores da cidade estendem-se pela costa marítima e pelas margens do rio Charles. Com temperaturas amenas há bastante para ver e explorar, não só no centro como à beira rio e à beira mar. No entanto, com o Inverno à porta, poucas horas de luz e um frio de rachar, agravado pelo vento quase constante, as possibilidades são mais reduzidas.

Boston is located in Massachusetts, in the United States. Boston is a small city inside a big city. The city center is relatively small, but the city extends much further through the sea coast and the riverbanks of Charles river. During the warmer season there's a lot to explore, not only in the center but next to the water further from downtown. However, right now Winter is coming, there's limited daylight and it's really cold, as the wind is almost constant, and the interesting spots are more limited to the center of the city.

Boston Common

Um dos meus lugares preferidos foi o parque Boston Common, cheio de esquilinhos a saltitar e óptimo para fazer os meus treinos matinais. As cores do Outono, misturadas com o céu azul de alguns dos dias tornou os nossos passeios mais agradáveis.

One of my favourite places was Boston Common, a park full of bouncy squirrels perfect for my morning runs. The beautiful Autumn colours mixed with the blue sky (in some of the days) and our walks through the park were very pleasant.

Um dos modos mais fáceis de ver os pontos mais interessantes da cidade é fazer a Freedom trail (trilho da liberdade). Há literalmente uma linha vermelha no passeio que nos conduz aos locais, edificios e monumentos mais notáveis de Boston, incluindo a Casa de Estado, onde o Governador de Massachusetts trabalha, o mercado e um monumento ao Holocausto na segunda guerra mundial.

The easiest way to visit the most important spots in Boston is to follow the Freedom Trail. There's literally a red line on the side walk that takes us through the most remarkable places, buildings and monuments of Boston. The trail includes the State House, containg the Governor's offices, the market and a monument to the Holocaust during the second world war. 

Casa de Estado Nova / New State house

Sepultura de Sam Adams, que foi o Governador que assinou a declaração de indepêndencia Americana em 1776.

Sam Adams grave, the Governor that signed the declaration of Independence for America, in 1776.

A antiga Câmara Municipal / Old City Hall

Memorial à Fome Irlandesa (isto soa mesmo estranho em Português, mas não estou a ver outra forma de traduzir).

Irish Famine memorial 

Na Irlanda, em 1845, um fungo maligno espalhou-se pelas plantações de batata, destruindo-as, e um oitavo da população irlandesa morreu à fome. Este acontecimento é hoje em dia conhecido como a Grande Fome. Muitas pessoas conseguiram fugir à fome e emigraram. Foi estimado que cerca de 1.5 milhões de pessoas emigraram para os Estados Unidos, onde Boston fica no topo como uma das cidades preferidas dos Irlandeses para começar uma nova vida.

In 1845, in Ireland, a plant disease affect most potato cultures and about one eighth of the population died of hunger, an occurrence nowadays known as the Great Famine. Many people fled the country at the time, and is estimated that about 1.5 million Irish moved to US, with Boston at the top of the Irish favoured places to start a new life.

Antiga Casa de Estado / Old State House

Mercado de Quincy, o local ideal para comer algo rápido de (quase) qualquer parte do mundo. 

Quincy Market, the perfect place to eat a snack from (almost) anywhere in the world. 

Hamburgueres, burritos e tacos, pizzas, paelhas, saladas e queijos gregos, todos os tipos de cozinha asiática, comida do médio oriente, comida indiana, é só decidir, está tudo lá!

Burguers, burritos and tacos, pizzas, pastas, paellas, greek salads and cheeses, all kinds of asian, middle eastern food, indian food, you name it, it's all in there!

O Natal em Boston / Christmas in Boston

Memorial ao Holocausto, com os numeros de identificação de todos os que pereceram nos campos de concentração durante a segunda guerra mundial. Cada torre representa um campo diferente e os numeros estão gravados nos vidros, assim como alguns testemunhos de sobreviventes.

Holocaust memorial, with identification numbers of every person that passed away in the concentration camps during the second world war. Each tower represents a different camp and the numbers are engraved on the glass, together with some quotes from survivors. 

Tony DeMarco, um boxer famoso que cresceu no bairro italiano de Boston, o North End.

Tony DeMarco, a famous boxer that grew up in North End, the Italian neighbourhood of Boston.

Casa de Paul Revere, a casa mais antiga de Boston, construída em 1680. Apesar de já ter passado por renovações, diz-se que 90% da casa ainda é original. Impressionante!

Paul Revere house, the oldest house in Boston, built in 1680. Despite the renovations done, it's said that 90% of the house is still original from 1680. Impressive! 

Memorial aos que morreram a lutar no exército Americano. 

Memorial to those who died fighting in the American army.

Cemitério de Copp's Hill / Copp's Hill burying ground

Existem outros pontos interessantes para conhecer que não estão incluidos na Freedom trail, como a Praça Copley, as margens do rio Charlie, o famoso Instituto Tecnológico de Massachusetts (MIT - onde nós estivemos a trabalhar) e a ainda mais famosa Universidade de Harvard.

There are other interesting sights in Boston, not included in the Freedom trail, such as Copley square, the riverbanks of river Charlie, the famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT - where we worked when we were there), and the also famous Harvard University.

Praça Copley com a Igreja (centro), a biblioteca (à direita) e o monumento à Maratona de Boston (à esquerda). Os nomes dos vencedores da Maratona de Boston e os respectivos tempos estão gravados no chão e todos os anos são adicionados os novos resultados. A Maratona de Boston é óptima para amadores porque é a descer e a direito, com muito poucas subidas. Pelo mesmo motivo, os tempos conseguidos nesta maratona não contam para os recordes mundiais. Consegui perceber que as pessoas de Boston adoram correr! Havia sempre gente a correr, a qualquer hora do dia, qualquer local e sem se importarem se estava frio, vento, chuva ou até neve. Foi muito motivante!

Copley Square, with its church (center), library (on the right), and monument to the Boston Marathon (on the left). On the monument, all winners have their names and times engraved on the stone, and every year new ones are added. Boston Marathon is great for amateur runners because is mostly downhill and flat, with very little uphill. For the same reason, the winner times for this marathon do not count for the world record. You can tell people in Boston love running! I noticed that there was always someone running, no matter the time of the day, the location or the weather. It was very motivating!

Rio Charles / Charles River

Estádio dos Bruins de Boston (hóquei no gelo)

Boston Bruins stadium (Ice Hockey) 

This picture is here because Danne reads my blog and he is a super fan of ice hockey. 

Estátua de Bobby Orr, eternizando o momento em que ele marcou um golo importante e espectacular. 

Bobby Orr's statue of the moment he scored some cool important goal. For details ask any man around you, I bet it works.

MIT 

Art at MIT

Harvard

Sempre que faço as malas para ir a algum lado por mais de 4 dias, pergunto-me "o que irá acontecer desta vez? O que é que vou ter que resolver sobre pressão? Que aventuras terei?". E sempre tenho esperança que desta é que vai ser tudo como planeado e sem complicações, mas a verdade é que acontece sempre alguma coisa especial. Nem sempre uma coisa má, mas sempre interessante. 

Num dos dias em Boston, havia um alerta para tempestade e choveu muito o dia todo, tanto fora como dentro do apartamento que alugámos. A chuva era tanta que a água começou a pingar das molduras das janelas, feitas de madeira velha. Informamos a senhoria que nos pediu para fazermos o que pudessemos para que o apartamento não se estragasse. Assim, cancelamos uma reunião de trabalho e ficamos em casa para podermos espremer as toalhas postas nos parapeitos das janelas e esvaziar as panelas, canecas e taças a cada meia hora, até ter parado de chover. O problema não foi resolvido enquanto lá estivemos, mas como não choveu mais não fez diferença. Esta foi então a aventura desta viagem...

Every time I pack my bags to go somewhere for more than 4 days I wonder "what will happen this time? What will I have to solve under pressure this time? which adventures will I face?". I also always hope that this time it will be simple and as planned and nothing happens, but truth is... it always does something especial happen. Not always bad, but always interesting. 

One of the days there was an alert for a rain storm. It rained really a lot, both outside and inside our rented flat. Water leaked from all 3 windows of the flat. We contacted the landlady that kindly asked us to do everything we could to avoid damaging the flat. So we did. We cancelled our meeting, so we could stay home and squeeze towels placed on the window frames and emptied the pots, mugs and bowls at every 30 minutes, until the rain stops. Nothing was fixed while we were there but it did stop raining so we didn't have problems the following days. This was the adventure we had this time...