London, England

January 22, 2007

Delving into the Project

It Seems like I've Been Here More than Three Weeks

It’s already the third week of project work. It seems like I arrived only a few short days ago, but there have been so many experiences that I feel like I’ve lived in London for a year. I can now easily move around the city and just know which tube line to take. Whenever I take a ride through Chelsea on King’s Road I feel right at home. Even the British English and accents, which were difficult to comprehend in the first few days, seem perfectly natural now. Fries are called chips and chips are actually crisps. And, oh yes, instead of ketchup you may have your chips with brown sauce, which really tastes more like vinegar but it’s definitely good. If you’re having fish and chips, then they may come with a side of mushy peas, which are actually mushed up peas.

There are lots of little things about Great Britain that seem odd at first. Instead of a president there’s a prime minister, and of course the flag flies above Buckingham Palace whenever the Queen is in. She may only be a ceremonial figure, but she’s still on all the money – from the penny right up to the £20 bill. I guess all the money will have to change when Charles takes the throne. A bit closer to home, do look right before crossing the street, as the cars drive on the left. But, if you’re at a busy interchange and don’t know which way to look, just look down. Most of the crosswalks say right on them in big white letters which way pedestrians should look. Yes, there are a lot of differences, but I think that London would be a fantastic place to live if you have the means.

Collecting Data for the Project

Over most of the last week I have been pretty engrossed in work on the project. As you may recall, my project team is piloting a methodology for measuring overnight lighting in London and examining the reasons for nighttime lighting in shops and offices. Last week we took a number of steps toward collecting useful data on overnight lighting. We were given a set of data and map of the layout of buildings that were used in previous CaRB studies. These buildings were selected mostly out of convenience as they are close to University College London (UCL) and conveniently located for observations. Furthermore, the area includes a variety of office buildings and shops that are found throughout London. We decided to look at these buildings for our study because data on overnight lighting, in addition to other energy use data they have already collected, would give CaRB a more complete picture of energy use in these buildings. One goal of our project is to help CaRB develop a model of energy use and subsequent carbon emissions.

Most of our data will come from nighttime observations of the buildings. There were a few things we had to take care of first, though. There are 140 buildings that we will observe, and we need several data points on each one to be able to make comparisons. In order to be able to observe each building at least twice, we had to work out a systematic approach. We separated our map of the area into 9 sections that we determined would be best for gathering data.

Next, we conducted a small pilot study to test our methodology and evaluate our results. This entailed selecting a very small subset of 5 buildings that we would observe as if we were conducting the real study. The idea is to conduct a quick study and go through the process to see if there are any kinks before trying to gather and work with a lot of data. The buildings we chose are all located near a tube station so that they would be easy to get to. We took daytime photographs of each visible façade of each of the buildings so that we may later make a comparison with our nighttime observations. Then, we observed each of the buildings in the late evening on two separate nights. Again, we took photographs of each building during the nighttime observation. Additionally, we also noted observations that we made that may not show up in the pictures. For example, just after we snapped a shot of a building, a whole floor of lights shut off. This observation suggests to us not only that there is someone in the building, but also that one switch likely controls lighting on the whole floor. So, does this mean that if one person stays late in the office then he needs to have all the lights on the whole floor be on? We don’t know for sure, but we are under the impression that the placement of lighting controls affects the way people use lighting.

After making a daytime observation and two nighttime observations for our pilot study last week, we could analyze the data we collected and start making preliminary conclusions, just to see what we could learn. It turns out that in the buildings that we looked at during those two nights, about half of the windows were illuminated. So what does this mean? Well, it doesn’t necessarily tell us how much energy is being used or wasted, but further investigation into a broader range of buildings at different times, coupled with the information we obtain from personnel interviews, may hint at why people leave lights on over night.

For now, our observations and the process of going through our data allowed us to refine our methodology, which was the point of the pilot study. We noticed, for example, that the high resolution of the camera we are using allows us to zoom in and pick out a lot of detail from photos, but it is hard to take a clear picture at night without the use of a tripod. Furthermore, pictures can’t tell the whole story. Reflections, light spilling from one room to another, and even window blinds make it difficult to estimate what percentage of the lights are on. So, we determined that noting comments about the buildings will help us interpret what we captured in the pictures when we analyze the data from each building. Finally, we also hit a few snags with the interpretation of our data. We had never previously accounted for external architectural lighting, which we found is fairly common in London, and we will need to decide how we treat it and how it factors into our assessment of lighting usage and waste. Also, counting windows is not as easy as it sounds at first. In some buildings it is difficult to define what a single window is. Modern buildings may have entire walls made of glass and a single room on an entire floor. We need to determine how we will deal with these cases and how we can correlate the number of windows that are illuminated to the floor space that is lit up, and finally extract an estimate of how much energy is consumed. These are still challenges we are grappling with. For now, though, emphasis is placed on perfecting the data-gathering strategies.

Meeting with our Project Advisors

Aside from the project work that we are doing with CaRB researchers, each IQP team also has weekly assignments to complete for our project advisors. These involve a weekly meeting with the advisors and liaison, a weekly presentation, and revision or portion of papers that will evolve into our final IQP report. At the weekly meetings we discuss accomplishments of the previous week and plans for the upcoming week. A different facilitator and secretary are assigned for each week. The facilitator moderates the meeting and is responsible for preparing an agenda. The secretary takes minutes and ensures that they are mailed out to all attending parties within 24 hours of the meeting.

The whole group is involved in preparing both documents, but those two roles carry additional responsibilities. The remaining members of the group speak on different issues that are discussed at the meetings. In addition to the meetings, there is a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation by each group each week. Last week’s topic was the updated project methodology and this week’s was preliminary research findings. The groups present to the advisors an the other project groups. At the end of each presentation, the presenters take questions from other students and the advisors, and may be subject to criticism or praise from the advisors for the group’s performance. Finally, there is always work to be done. While my project involves a lot of field work, there is still a paper to struggle with. The IQP is a massive piece of work, and many reports are in excess of 100 pages. The various sections of the report are compiled over the course of the project and preparatory course. As the project evolves, though, sections that we completed earlier need to be revised and updated. Each week a different part of the paper is due, but we know that it will be revised again before we submit the final report. It’s a lot of work, but it can’t all happen at once.

Feeling Like a Londoner

An IQP can’t be all work, though. Experiencing a new place and living in a different culture are the things that really make an off-campus IQP worthwhile. I live, work, and play just like any Londoner, and I make it a point to take in as much of Great Britain as I can.

For example, London’s west end is full of theatres with some fantastic productions. I really enjoy seeing a good show, and I know that London puts on some of the best. Last Monday, a bunch of the WPI students went out to see Monty Python’s Spamalot at the Queen’s Theatre. The play is a theatrical adaptation of the film Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail. Anyone that is a fan of the movie knows what to expect from the sometimes crude humor and witty satire. The next night we went out again to see Les Miserables. This musical is a classic, and I had seen it before in Boston. The production was incredible and certainly worthwhile to see a second time. I plan on seeing a few more shows while I’m here. Among those on my list are Blue Man Group and The Phantom of the Opera. There are lots of other shows playing around the city, though. Each show has a theatre dedicated to it, and they are advertised everywhere. Furthermore, as a student we can get good seats at really low prices by getting concessions. This means that we show up an hour before the show and pay the student rate of usually £20 to get the best seats that are still available. Sometimes this works really well, such as with Les Mis, and sometimes not. Our seats for Spamalot were on the third balcony in the last row, right in front of the follow spot operator. We were essentially looking down at the stage. There are little binoculars that can be rented for 50 pence, thought I found them unnecessary. We still enjoyed the show quite a bit.

There are other shows in addition to just theatre. Earlier this week I learned that one of my favorite rock bands from the States will be playing in London on February 13. I am a huge concert buff, and I would love to attend at least one rock concert while here in Europe. Wasting no time, I asked among the WPI kids if anyone would want to go and immediately found three that wanted to come too. Yesterday evening I went to the box office of the Hammerstein Apollo Theatre to see if I could still get tickets, as I could not get them online. I had quickly looked up the address of the venue, and knew more or less where it was and which tube stop I would take. When I got there and emerged from the tube station, I found myself at a busy intersection, not really knowing where to go. I went down a few streets looking for the theatre, or even Queen’s Court Road, which I knew was the street that the theatre is on. After walking through several neighborhoods and becoming increasingly lost, I finally came across it. Then I realized that I was back at the tube station, only on the other side of it – oops. Unfortunately, the box office was closed since there was no performance that night. The experience was not a loss, though. I noticed that the marquee read "Ben Folds on Tuesday." When I returned to IES and shared my story with some other WPI kids, one girl’s eyes lit up when I mentioned Ben Folds (who actually played at WPI about 3 years ago), who happened to be her favorite artist. She was able to get a really good seat for the show. I showed her how to get to the theatre the next night, and I was able to get the tickets for the Brand New show that I really wanted to see. All in all, it was a bit of an adventure, but I was happy with the outcome. I also get to see a great show in a few weeks.

While in England, though, there are still plenty of sights to see. This past weekend we continued exploring the finest things that London has to offer. On Saturday we visited the British Museum, which houses some of the world’s most priceless historical artifacts. Among them is the Rosetta Stone, which cracked the code of Hieroglyphics. It was pretty amazing to be able to see such an important artifact in person. The museum is enormous; it contains artifacts from all parts of the world. Among my favorites were a statue from Easter Island, an Indian Totem Pole, and an exhibit on the Enlightenment. After a few hours, we proceeded to find lunch.

A friend and I decided that while in London we must have some Indian food, which is said to be incredibly authentic here. We found an Indian restaurant and decided to try it – one of the best decisions yet. I had a spicy chicken dish with garlic nan (Indian bread) and pilau rice. We feasted on the rich delicacies, which were unspeakably full of taste and well-seasoned with different spices. At the end, the bill came to £35 (or $70 American) for only two people, but we agreed that it was worth having just once. We found out that the restaurant offers a buffet during the weekdays, however, so we’re likely to be back.

After lunch we continued to the Victoria & Albert Museum, which includes various artworks throughout the world. I particularly enjoyed the sculptures exhibition and two rooms that were filled with massive life-sized plaster molds of some of the world’s most famous architectural art.

On Sunday we took a day-trip to Greenwich. Luckily, the town lies just within the outer boundary of where our Tube passes can take us, so we had no problem getting there. We took the Tube for the first part of the trip, and then transferred to the Docklands Light Rail (DLR), which is a commuter train that is completely controlled by a computer – there is no driver. We found Greenwich to be a beautiful town, and a relaxing break from the bustle of the big city. The water front offered great sights of London’s skyscrapers comfortably on the other side of the River Thames. In the distance we could see the Millennium Dome, which was featured on an episode of Extreme Engineering that I had seen a few months ago. By the river lies the Royal Naval Academy, and across from it is a massive park. Greenwich is best known, of course, as the home of the Royal National Observatory, which is significant because the observatory marks the location of the Prime Meridian, or 0º Longitude. It was pretty cool to stand in the eastern and western hemispheres at once – probably not a big deal, but it’s neat to have been there. The observatory is now a museum that tells the story of world-wide navigation and the evolution of time measurement. I found it to be a pretty neat place.

After leaving the Observatory, we grabbed some lunch – fish and chips at a local pub – and continued to the Maritime museum. I didn’t expect much from this museum, but admission was free so I decided to check it out. I’m very glad I did as this was, in my opinion, one of the most entertaining and well-designed museums I have visited in London. It had exhibits about all aspects of ships, from the evolution of commercial cruises, to battle ships throughout the ages. There were several exhibits on Admiral Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar that I found pretty engaging. We ended up staying at this museum for a few hours before continuing back to IES. We were tired, but pretty satisfied with having experienced another bit of London.

Until next time,
Tom
London