To Read: NRC Report

I’m in the middle of taking some data, which can often be very tedious. Due to the nature of my research, once I’ve optimized the parameters to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio on this particular instrument as much as physically possible, taking this kind of data generally means sitting alone in a harshly-lit room for hours on end, staring at a computer screen and hoping desperately that nothing goes wrong. This often makes for a very Zen experience, particularly if I finish right as dawn is breaking and everything is dead silent.

And although this leaves a lot of time to think about other aspects of my research (which is always nice), after the n-th hour (for n very large) I generally find myself itching for something else to do or read. Which is why I started a new ‘things to read‘ list a while back, with my latest addition being the National Research Council’s 2007 Report on Condensed-Matter and Materials Physics (CMMP).

If the report is what I think it is, it’ll make for interesting reading. It’s centered around six key questions:

- How do complex phenomena emerge from simple ingredients?
- How will the energy demands of future generations be met?
- What is the physics of life?
- What happens far from equilibrium and why?
- What new discoveries await us in the nanoworld?
- How will the information technology revolution be extended?

Graduate school is a year away, and I most definitely plan on pursuing something in or related to CMMP - so it will be good to have this as a road map.