Class of 2008
Major: ECE
Project Center: London, England
Interactive Qualifying Project: Investigating the use of overnight lighting in commercial shops and offices as part of a global effort to reduce carbon emissions and reverse global warming.
Tom Niemczycki
February 11, 2007
Malahide Castle, Ireland
We are now entering the sixth week of c-term, and all parts of the project are starting to come down to the wire. Looking back over the last month and-a-half, this time has gone by really fast. We have spent the time planning, working, writing, and enjoying London, and it’s hard to believe that the weekend after next it’ll already be time to leave.
This time of the term is always a bit hectic at WPI, even on campus. Assignments are due, time is running out to get all the work done, and there is only one more week after this to make sure everything gets accomplished. My project is no exception. We turned in a preliminary draft of our Results and Discussion chapter last week, though we are still wrapping up our research and analyzing all the data we collected. A draft of the entire IQP report is due on Monday evening, and the project teams are scrambling to get all their sections in order.
The report is a huge part of the IQP, and writing it is a ton of work. Actually, I think that most of the WPI students here were surprised to discover just how much emphasis is placed on writing the paper. The final report serves as documentation for everything we did and all of our findings. A good report is essential to getting a good grade, and the advisors expect work of the highest quality. All the writing assignments we submit are returned with comments on each part of the paper. The advisors are very thorough in noting even the slightest errors in grammar, sentence structure, or the flow of the whole paper. We make sure to address these comments with each revision of the paper. There is a lot of work left to do, and very little time remains in which to do it.
On a more exciting note, I’m still having a great time experiencing this part of the world. The experience of living in England, sightseeing, and absorbing the local culture is by far my favorite part of doing an off-campus IQP. The project teams had a four-day weekend last week, and most of the students took the opportunity to travel. Three friends and I hopped over to Ireland for that time. We did way too much to describe in the short amount of time I have to write this, so I’ll just cover some key points.
Our plane took off at 6:30 on Friday morning, and we checked into our hostel by 10. Then, after a quick breakfast, we set out to discover Dublin. We started off with a sightseeing bus tour of the city. The driver provided commentary and pointed out the landmarks as we went along. Historic monuments and churches are scattered throughout Dublin. At the center of O’Connell Street, a popular tourist area, stands a huge silver spire. The River Liffey, which runs through the city, is crossed by numerous historic bridges. Its banks are lined with statues and monuments. We spent the afternoon visiting Ireland’s most popular tourist attraction, the Guiness Storehouse. The tour conveys the history of the world-famous brew, an overview of how it’s made, and includes many interactive exhibits. At the end of it all, each visitor is treated to a complimentary pint on the top floor, which offers a spectacular 360º view of Dublin.
On Saturday we set out to see the Irish countryside. We took a bus to the shore where we walked along some trails and took in the magnificent views. The coast was carved of massive cliffs that dropped into the seemingly endless sea – the landscape was incredible. Fortunately, we had great weather and gorgeous blue skies for the entire duration of our trip. We hiked along the cliffs to the seaside town of Howth, where we stopped for lunch before returning to Dublin by train.
On Sunday, we took a guided bus tour into the Wicklow Mountains. Again, the driver provided commentary as we went along. He gave us an overview of some Irish history and explained the significance of the places we visited. The first of these was Glendalough, a historic monastic site in the mountains. The tour continued to Avoca, which has Ireland’s oldest operating textile mill. In between the stops, we observed incredible panoramas of the Irish countryside.
On Monday we visited the Dublin Castle and St. Patrick’s Cathedral before catching a plane back to London. A very busy week of working on our project followed, and the next weekend came and went. I decided to stay in London this past weekend to take in some of the other sights I wanted to check out before leaving. Key among these was the Tower of London. The guided tour was spectacular, as were the real Crown Jewels, which all visitors are welcome to see.
