Friends of the International Center, at UC San Diego Newsletter Volume XLVI, No.8 April 2019

President’s Column

Since its inception, Friends pro- and prepared our food; and to a grams have always embraced world larger than ourselves. For- food, understanding the impor- give the New Age reference, but tance of food and its ability to when we eat, we are present and bring people together in a way living in that moment, and it is in that nothing else can. The sharing that moment that we are able to of food is like breaking , it’s very reach across any divide and dis- symbolic.—Robert Irvine (Con- cover the humanity of our fellow temporary Chef) diners, and the simplicity of living It is easy to say food holds connected side-by-side without this power because food is a uni- socially contrived barriers. versally shared, quotidian ne- Through exposure and dis- and ways of living outside our cessity; but, in my opinion, this cussions related to food, we be- own, and generally leave with a explanation is far too cold and come comfortable with cultures new-found respect for what be- clinical. Food is much more than providing us required calories to sustain our physical beings: food is our culture, food shapes our Proposed Slate of Officers identities, food provides us com- At the Friends March 12, 2019 Board of Directors meeting, the Nominating fort, food conjures memories of Committee, consisting of Jean Selzer, Georgina Sham, with Linda Ferri home, and food provides a forum as chair, proposed the following slate of officers for the year 2019-2020. for community to take root. The motion was unanimously approved, and the following slate will be Whether we sit around a table presented to the membership for a vote at the Friends Annual Member- or stand on a sidewalk, we be- ship Dinner to be held on Tuesday evening, May 21, 2019, at the Student come equals with those around us Services Center’s Multipurpose Room. embarking on a culinary journey together … our individual identi- ties, ethnicities, religion, econom- ic class, and politics give way to Slate of Officers to Be Placed in Nomination the common and shared pursuit for the Year 2019-2020 and enjoyment of our proverbial President: Katya Newmark “breaking bread” together. When Vice President, Membership: Georgina Sham we take a bite and savor the fla- Recording Secretary: Jean Selzer vors exploding in our mouths, Treasurer: Linda Ferri we immediately share a connect- Corresponding Secretary: Renate Schmid-Schoenbein edness to nature; to the strangers who have grown, transported, Page 2

fore was foreign to us. Friends daily programs open Friends Dinner Social: the door to a wealth of never-end- ing discussions about food: e.g., #SpainInDetail where is it polite to slurp your —by Katya Newmark and should you change your per- sonal practices to conform to a cul- Our final Friends Dinner Social of this academic year takes us to the ef- ture where your behavior might be fervescent land of , with its catchy slogan #SpainInDetail. From our perceived as impolite? Attend our reception icebreaker/game to our post-dinner performance with English conversation programs to UC San Diego’s own Dean of Undergraduate Education, John Moore, on share in discussions like this. At- guitar, you will become immersed in the energy and vitality that Spain is tend our daily programs and you known for. To this energy, add the undeniably delicious might be treated to Lynn Jahn’s with a menu featuring both well-known and lesser-known, iconic Spanish American pineapple cake, or to dishes, and you will leave the evening feeling fully sated: Caroline Luciani’s French crêpes, or to a wide variety of Asian�sian sa sa-- : Croquetas de Pollo (Chicken Croquettes), Datilos con vories and sweets—through our Tocino (Dates with Bacon)* exchanges of food, we deepen our Sopa: Salmorejo (Tomato Soup) understanding of the world, our Bufé: similarities and differences, and • Pollo al Ajillo ( Chicken) even begin to appreciate the nu- • Albondigas (Meatballs) ances between rice from Iran, rice • Tortilla Española (Spanish Potato Omelet) from Mexico, rice from Japan…. • Alubias con Arroz (Beans & Rice) Our Visit an American Home • Espinicas con Garbanzos (Spinach with Garbanzos) program is all about food as a uni- • Ensalada de Rúcula, Uva y Almendra con Vinagreta (Arugula versally recognized gesture of hos- Salad with Grapes and Marcona Almonds with a pitality—we are always looking Dressing) for more hosts! If you really want • Postre: Crema Catalana (Spanish Custard) to make a friend, go to someone’s *vegetarian tapas available upon request house and eat with him. The people who give you their food give you their For additional information and reservations please visit: heart.—Cesar Chavez https://fdsspain2019.eventbrite.com And, you have only to read Please make your reservations quickly, and no later than April 12th, our pre- and post-evening event since space is limited and each of our Friends Dinner Socials has sold out! articles to appreciate that through food, Friends continues to fulfill its missions fostering a sense of Make Your Reservation: community. One-by-one, through new connections made and a sense Friends Dinner Social: Spain of optimism borne through the Saturday, April 20, 2019, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m., shared experience of an evening’s Village 15th floor meal, we leave emboldened to https://fdsSpain2019.eventbrite.com help change the world. As J.R.R. Tolkien wrote: “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a Membership merrier world.” I look forward to seeing you We are happy to report the names of several new members; they are: Teresa at our next Friends Dinner Social, & Dick Norris, Pamela Omres, Alysson & Travis Satterlund, and Klaas featuring the food and culture of Van Der Wey & Jason Woltman. Spain. Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Alysson Satterlund, had hoped Katya to join Friends at our upcoming Annual Dinner in May, but sadly other Katya Newmark commitments are taking precedence. Please welcome our new members to the family of Friends. [email protected]

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Weavers —by Ruth Newmark Nancy Homeyer called to my at- Numerous attendees at our tention an article in The New York evening events have raved about Times (February 19, 2019) titled “A the opportunity to meet people of Nation of Weavers,” in which the different ages and backgrounds. social commentator, David Brooks, Upon attending our recent Ethnic Lauren with cork box filled with tulips describes how the current state Dinner, Sridip Pal, a brilliant recipi- of fragmentation and dissension ent of a Friends fellowship (see his Lauren might like and placed them in our country has led the Aspen scholarship report on p. 9), wrote in one of her cork boxes. “I thought Institute, of which he is an Execu- the following day: “Let me know it would be nice to give her a little tive Director, to start an initiative if there are other events like this. I token of our appreciation.” to counter this growing division. would love to attend and mix with Weavers, according to David Called, “Weave: The Social Fabric diverse people; in fact, I hardly get Brooks, “live for others and are Project,” it aims to counteract isola- a chance to mix with people outside more joyful as a result.” Small acts tion, which it considers one of the Physics, so this is an excellent op- of kindness bring us together, build- roots of our problems, by building portunity for me.” ing community by community: community. As Brooks travels By no means are Friends efforts creating weavers. around the United States, he is to build community limited to mak- encouraged to find that on a local ing our international scholars and level there already are many people families feel wanted. Building com- engaged—either individually or as munity is inherent in our outreach Friends part of an organization—in build- far and wide. Let me illustrate with ing community. the following story. February 2019 It occurred to several of us that Our President, Katya Newmark, Volunteer Hours: Friends of the International Center has established a fine relationship FTEs is a fine example of weavers.A fter with the wait staff at our special 906 = 5.15 all, combatting isolation and bridg- dinners, in part by always sending ing cultural divides are underlying them a note of thanks. Commenting aspirations of our programs, be it on the February23 Indian Dinner, through our conversation groups Roy Givon, the owner of the bar ser- Eleanor tum Suden or involvement in crafts, tai chi vices we use, replied: “It is always a or yoga, or cooking, or teaching pleasure to get your e-mails by the Right before the Newsletter was to nursery rhymes to children. next morning, with kind words and go to press, we received the sad Volunteers in the Friend Resale great pictures. I will make sure to news of the death of Eleanor tum Shop speak of the sense of cama- share those with Lauren,” Lauren Suden, a Life Member of Friends raderie formed among the group; being our usual bartender. who held numerous Board posi- participants in our Wednesday Cof- As Katya tells it: “Lauren keeps tions, including serving as Friends fee program report having forged the corks for us, which are often President from 2009-2011. friendships that have kept them given to Liz [Fong Wills] to give to Eleanor worked for many from feeling lonely; guests to our Ginny Young, who uses them for years in the Scripps Institution of Visiting an American Home express craft projects. Ginny made Lauren Oceanography’s Director’s Office their delight at being received in a cork planter that Liz gave Lauren and had a boundless interest in all ways that cause them to feel less last night. Lauren gushed, saying things happening at the university homesick. Information proffered something like: ‘this is perfect, and in the community at large. She at Family Orientation make new since I can’t keep plants alive.’” loved attending a wide variety of arrivals feel welcome, while the When Ginny learned that Lauren cultural events and enjoyed shar- simple act of conversation around sets aside the corks for Friends to ing her interests with others—often our various English tables gives use for craft projects, she picked sending us newspaper clippings them the courage to venture out up a couple of little bunches of she considered of importance. We into the larger community. artificial tulips that she thought shall miss Eleanor.

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Visiting an American Home —by Linda Ferri The evening before Yukina and in the school ap- Nakazawa and family were plication process. scheduled to come for brunch, They told me that my husband, Norb, and I met the this was the first time Kato family (at Friends Dinner they’d been inside an Social: Vietnam) and invited them American home. I was to join us. It was a good thing, quite surprised to hear The Kato family from Japan because the Nakazawas had this, since they’ve been unexpected car trouble, forcing here since August. happened without the serendipi- them to postpone their visit. The baby had a great time tous connection triggered by these The Katos arrived bearing a playing with Jenga blocks and two programs! lovely bouquet of flowers. They was captivated by the flowers in We are rescheduling the visit were very complimentary of both our courtyard garden, and Mia’s with Yukina, chair of Friends our home and each dish served. mom, who was visiting for two Mommy/Daddy & Me program, Taka is a visiting scholar in bio- weeks, loved our showing them and her family. engineering, and Mia is a stay- the house. Please contact Elisabeth Marti at-home mom while they are Good thing we have the Visit ([email protected]), if you, too, growing their family. They were an American Home program and would like to invite some of our interested in things such as how the Friends Dinner Socials, since international scholars to your we select schools for our children this fun brunch would never have home.

Friday Chat Everyday English —by Cindy Tozer —by Pat and Irma Canan

We continue to gather after tennis and talk about whatever happens to Our attendance generally is about spark the conversation or we go around the circle as each takes a turn to 6-8 plus the conveners. We bring answer a question that Michelle Grandin has sent for the participants subjects to talk about, and the con- to ponder. Most often it is a question designed to both challenge their versation develops breadth and expression in English and to show their personalities—so we get to know depth in the course of the discus- each other better. And we do! We have discussed topics such as: memo- sion. In the end, we consistently get rable firsts, “Would you rather have many good friends or one very best a robust exchange. friend?” and so much more. One Friday, we talked about what we were We continue to note improve- doing before starting our career. This prompted Saori Yao and Kazuyo ment in fluency, range, and confi- Ando to get up and show us a cheerleading move. dence of our participants in conver- On March 1, we went to Dr. Seuss’ birthday party at the Geisel Library, sational English. Lots of laughter, and we learn a great deal from one another.

put on our party hats, ate cupcakes, and took photos. I think there were about 15 of us. It’s all so much fun, and Michelle Grandin, Eileen Tozer, and I welcome any of you to come join the fun at 10 a.m., Fridays, in Dr. Seuss’ 115th Birthday Celebration the Dance Hall of Building 409.

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Meet Yukina Nakazawa: Juggling Study and Family

When I was a sophomore in college, child. My main job turned from I was given the chance to go to Aus- studying to being a fulltime mom, tralia as an exchange student. Even leading me to leave school tempo- though it was a short one-month rarily. Even though I was happy to stay, the experience played a huge be a mom and enjoyed being with part in my life, and led me to travel my precious son, I felt that I had to 15 countries while still in col- lost all my San Diego friends, as lege. The more countries I visited, none had a child. the more I wanted to work with I had no one to talk to about people from other places. baby and motherhood. Most kids’ Yukina Nakazawa with son Alex Upon graduation, I started classes are not intended for little working at the Bank of Japan as a babies, and I was struggling to find as I learn new vocabularies by at- human resource specialist. Because a place to make mom friends. Then tending the Mommy/Daddy & Me the Bank of Japan is the central I recalled that I had attended FIC’s class. bank of Japan, we had hundreds of Family Orientation a few years When Mariko asked me to take thousands of international confer- back. I found the Friends of the In- over her chair position, I was hon- ences each year. Along with my HR ternational Center’s webpage and ored to be asked, but at the same job, I arranged conferences and in reached out to the chair of a pro- time, I was hesitant to accept, as I this way had many opportunities gram called Mommy/Daddy & had a few courses left to finish my to work with people from all over Me— Mariko Usui. Even though master’s degree and had no experi- the world. my son was only six months old ence in either childcare or teaching. In talking with attendees, I and could hardly sit up by himself, Deciding to lead Mommy/ learned that the practice of human and could not be expected to par- Daddy & Me was a big decision for resource management was quite ticipate in circle time, I needed the me; what pushed me is that I like backward in Japan, and it made class. to challenge myself. Also, recalling me want to connect more and more With very kind words, Mariko the time that I had no mom friends, with new people and to seek high- explained that babies were wel- I wanted to help other internation- er education abroad. When my come. I will never forget our first al families in need of a little en- husband asked me if I would come MDM class. I was a little nervous, couragement. to the United States with him in his fearing my son might be too young Currently, I volunteer with pursuit of a Ph.D. in economics at to participate, but moms and dads Fernanda Ana Sosa Vatiz from UCSD, I immediately answered were so friendly and welcoming Mexico and Megumi Inui from yes, full of excitement about the that I immediately felt comfort- Japan. Both are passionate about possibility of attending graduate able. The Mom friends I met at their work with MDM and try school myself. MDM were always supportive and very hard to make families After moving to San Diego, I lent me a hand, especially when I connect. Holding graduate degrees started ESL school, which helped returned to graduate school and themselves, they understood my me to transfer to graduate school faced difficulties balancing study problems, and are not only my majoring in human resources. and family. co-volunteers, but also my best In both schools, I made a lot of Originally, I attended Mom- friends who helped me to survive friends, some local, some from oth- my/Daddy & Me basically to chat, graduate school. er countries. but after my son turned one, he ac- I am so lucky to have this op- I enjoyed studying, experienc- tually started enjoying dancing to portunity to be the program chair ing a new culture, and meeting nursery rhymes and doing crafts. for Mommy/Daddy & Me. This new people. In my second year Now that he’s close to two, he has will be an experience for which I of graduate school, I had my first learned a lot of English words, just will forever be grateful.

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Liz Fong Wills assembles table Barbara & Jerry Fitzsimmons, centerpieces John & Eileen Tozer

The Friends Ethnic Dinner Team Does It Again! —by Liz Fong Wills Danya Costello paints wall decor The February Northeast Indian din- ditional one is used for making leis ner was one of the best of the 120 and strings/ropes for decorating.) fundraising dinners that Friends Photos of India taken by Katya have offered over 46 years! It was a Newmark provided yet another complete experience with classical vision of India. Commented Adele Indian dancing and singing, a brief Abrahamsen: “Your photos are talk by a young Indian student who amazing. I closely watched the long made us proud that we were able to loop at least three times, seeing new help him with a scholarship, Indian details each time.” food unlike the usual dishes that Barbara Fitzsimmons, Joan the local restaurants offer, and a Adamo, and Elisabeth Marti wel- PowerPoint presentation by Chris comed the guests. After doing the Wills of our recent trip to relatively seating arrangements, Georgina untouristy parts of India that don’t Sham made easy-to-read name tags Georgina Sham sets out nametags look like what we think of when one and very informative programs to thinks of India. guide us through the event. Danya Costello and Candace One of the highlights of the Kohl were able to transform the evening was the cultural program caverness of the Great Hall. Danya during which Swetha Godavarthi, supplied us with huge colorful a postdoctoral researcher in the paintings, and Candace supplied Biology and Neurosciences Depart- huge Indian fabrics to cover some ments, and Sunandha Srikanth, of the wall windows and created a Ph.D. student in Biology, enter- cheerful bouquets for each table. tained us with two different types Marigolds are the flower that one of classical Indian dancing. Barbara sees at Indian festivities, but, alas, Fitzsimmons especially enjoyed they weren’t available here as long- watching the hands of the dancers. stem cut flowers. Luckily, Candace Then Nandkishore Prakash, also was able to find a mum that, from a a doctoral student in the Biology, distance, is a look-alike to the com- Department, sang classical Indian mon marigold. (One sees several songs. varieties of marigolds at the huge What blew us away was that The performers: Swetha Godavarthi, flower market near the Howrah these young scientists are so tal- Nandkishore Prakash, Sunandha Srikanth Bridge in Kolkata, but only the tra- ented and are so proud of their cul-

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Chris Wills in handsome Indian attire tural traditions that they have spent countless hours perfecting their art! Both sides of their brains must be extraordinarily well developed! The Scholarship recipient, Limbu tribeswoman of Assam Brown-winged kingfisher Sridip Pal, is going to the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study after were previously known to us only ally uplifting terms. Somehow the graduating with his doctorate by reputation and through stories striking students then decided that degree in June. He emphasized told by Chris’ family (Sikkim in the we were okay and invited us to join how much the Friends Scholarship foothills of the Himalayas; the hill them for tea. had helped him secure his future by station, Darjeeling, in West Bengal, The delightful surprise of our allowing him to attend a summer where Chris’ mother was born; As- 27-day-long trip was seeing the seminar at the Institute, where he sam with its many tribal peoples pilgrims at the “Half” Kumbh Mela, was able to meet and impress other from neighboring Bhutan, China, who came to bathe in the Ganges to physicists. Tibet, and Bangladesh; and the Sun- wash away their sins. The exact dates Because of the long pre-dinner derbans that are the largest wetlands of the festival vary at each place it is entertainment period, Katya made in Asia, and the Indian equivalent of held and is based on a combination individual bags of Indian nibbles— the American Everglades). Chris told of zodiac positions. It was interest- chivda—to keep the hunger pangs how, in the Sunderbans, his aunt, ing to see laundry hanging in the at bay. at the age of two, was nearly eaten windows of the hundreds of buses Katya worked with the caterers by a tiger. Although we bounced that had brought the pilgrims to on the extensive menu, a real chal- through four national parks on open Kolkata and in which they lived lenge to execute, because it featured suspension-less jeeps looking for during their stay. lots of dishes with which the cater- tigers, we only found footprints. But The huge tents where the pil- ers had no experience. I was most we saw lots of Indian animals and grims got free meals all seemed to impressed by the fish steamed in birds that were new to us. have the same menu: watery dal banana leaf, and marvel that they More exciting was experiencing over white rice and greasy-looking could serve the little packets to 91 the student and worker strikes in puris. The food was provided to the guests without overcooking the fish. Assam. We weren’t affected by the pilgrims by the congregations of Chris was happy to share our ATM problems caused by the strik- Kolkata’s many Hindu temples. A fourth trip to India with the audi- ing bank workers over the proposed noble offering, but I was glad that ence. We visited parts of India that merger of two banks in Kolkata we had other food options! that threatened layoffs. However, We were pleased that our ex- sudden student strikes, over Prime periences could contribute to this Minister Modi’s plan to give Indian dazzling evening of Indian culture citizenship to the 4 million Bangla- and food. Thank you, everybody! deshis living in Assam, led to road ••••• closures that almost wrecked our “The Indian dinner was phenomenal!” travel plans. When the students “Chris gave his usual inimitable guided stopped us at a roadblock, we told journey recapitulating some of his amaz- them that our country, too, was split ing experiences as a traveler par excel- by the question of refugees. We were lence.” These were just two of the post White fish wrapped in banana leaf careful to speak in vague but gener- dinner assessments expressed.—Ed.

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Hearts & Scholars Mark the Date: —by Katya Newmark Tuesday, May 21 Membership Dinner Scholarship Chair and Scholarship Ruth Newmark Awards Ceremony and I, as President of Friends, had the The Friends Scholarship Com- pleasure of attend- mittee has been busy reading ing UC San Diego’s scholarship applications from Annual Hearts & graduate, medical, and under- Scholars dinner that graduate students, and Friends Chancellor Khosla can look forward to meeting an said was the largest exciting new group of scholar- ever, with four hun- ship recipients at our upcoming dred in attendance, Membership Dinner & Scholar- representing schol- ship Awards Ceremony on May Seated: Scott Liu and Ruth Newmark arship benefactors 21, 2019, at 6:00 in the evening. Standing: Tiffany Wang, Katya Newmark, Julia Quon and students. We were seated with three of Friends 2018’s scholarship recipients and it was lovely reconnecting and seeing the visible excitement each student had when April Calendar recounting their study abroad experiences. Scott Liu said that his time in Barcelona exceeded his expectations and added that his expectations April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29: Tai Chi, were very high; Tiffany Wang said that she gained so much from her New 2:00-3:00 Zealand trip that she is more than ever confident in her ability to pursue April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30: Gus’ a career in chemical engineering; and Julia Quon enjoyed her experience Table, 10:00-Noon in Thailand so much that upon graduation she has accepted an internship in Hong Kong, while deciding whether she wishes to remain abroad or to April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30: FIC Craft return home to pursue further education. Circle, 1:00-3:00 Julia thanked us for publishing her report in the Friends Newsletter, April 3, 17: Family Orientation, which she sent to her parents to help them better appreciate the importance 9:15 of her decision to study abroad. Over the course of the evening we had a chance to chat with a number of additional Friends scholarship recipients April 3, 10, 17, 24: Wednesday who, like the three sitting with us, all thanked Friends and its donors for Coffee, 10:00-Noon supporting their education. April 3, 10, 17, 24: Mommy/ Daddy & Me, 1:45-2:45 April 4, 11, 18, 25: Everyday Scholarship Donations English, 10:00-11:30 April 5, 12, 19, 26: Friday Chat, We received several recent scholarship donations 10:00-Noon and thank the following donors for their continued April 6, 13, 20, 27: Yoga Class, support of the Friends scholarship program: 9:00-10:00 •Ruth & Leonard Newmark, who made a con- tribution to the Ruth Newmark Scholarship in honor April 9: Friends Board of their grandchildren, Danya and Justin Costello. Meeting, 10:00 •Horst Hoffmann, Molly Ann McCarren, and Alma Coles, who made April 11: Cooking Class, 9:00- contributions to the Tecle Kidane-Mariam Scholarship in memory of Tec, a Noon former international student advisor, one-time colleague, and good friend. •Michael Shanks, who made a donation to the UC San Diego Foun- April 20: Friends Dinner dation in memory of Prof. David K. Crowne. Social, 6:00 •All who made special donations to our Indian Dinner fundraiser.

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Scholarship Letters

Summer School at Institute for Advanced Study My research revolves around deeply scale invariant theories, so the latter understanding quantum field theory organizes the space of QFTs, secondly (QFT), a mathematical framework to the scale invariant QFTs offer the sim- investigate nature, from the theory plest and most tractable examples of of fundamental particles to collective the AdS-CFT correspondence, which phenomena in condensed matter. offers one of our best hopes of un- Even though we know a lot about weak- derstanding the ambitious holy grail, ly coupled QFTs, strongly coupled field a nonperturbative theory of quantum theories are much less known. To gravity, whose nature is quite differ- provide a sense of strong and weak, ent from the usual picture of weak let me introduce an elementary ex- gravity I initially described. Sridip Pal talks about the signifi- ample: suppose, I am standing on the It turns out that gravity can be- cance of his Friends scholarship at floor, the whole enormous sized Earth come very strong and quantum in na- our scholarship fundraising dinner, is attracting me towards its center, ture in the beginning of the universe, February 23, 2019 but I am not falling through because when the so-called Big Bang hap- of the normal reaction from the floor. pened. Thus if one likes to investigate known as the singularity of academic This normal reaction is nothing but the physics describing the beginning excellence. electromagnetic interaction and it of the universe, one has to take re- Months went by. I applied for does show that the electromagnetic sort to strongly coupled field theories. postdoctoral position at IAS in No- interaction is much stronger than the The Friends Fung Scholarship vember and I got hired. I will be mov- gravity. I study strongly coupled field aided me financially to go to a sum- ing to IAS in coming fall to start a new theories using symmetry arguments, mer school held at the Institute for chapter of my life after finishing my especially scale invariance. As we Advanced Studiy (IAS), Princeton, in Ph.D. Not to mention, all of it got ini- scale space and time, scale invariant July 2018. The summer school of- tiated from the Friends scholarship, systems behave in a similar manner. fered a variety of in depth lectures making me able to attend the sum- The motivation for me to study on the topic of my research, keeping mer school and giving me the oppor- scale invariance not only stems from us up to date with the new advance- tunity of enriching myself with cutting its novel practical applications, but ments and landmark discoveries edge research. also from two fundamental corner- in my field of research. I came back Sridip Pal stones of physics: first of all, QFTs very much inspired by the academic Ph.D. candidate from India can be understood as flows between atmosphere of IAS, a place which is Department of Physics

UCEAP at the University of Glasgow Physics in college is infamous for being one of the most Law 1: “An object that is at rest will stay at rest unless difficult subjects for pre-med students, notorious for both a force acts upon it.” Studying abroad is a terrifying experi- its soul-sucking and GPA-dropping qualities. And while I’m ence, especially if it is the first you’ve traveled alone. How- tempted to say it was my love for Scottish literature that ever, going abroad is a force that will undeniably change convinced me to take physics abroad, it was ultimately that you as a person and make you realize how much you can horrid reputation of physics that propelled me to sign up handle. For example, before I studied abroad, I wasn’t con- more. However, after completing my entire physics series fident in my academic abilities. However, while I studied abroad in two months at Glasgow, Scotland, I can safely abroad, I learned how to create my own experiments in say my study abroad experience taught me more than just just two hours while using a tracking software I was unfa- physics. miliar with. Being abroad tests your limits and teaches you One of the first things you’re taught are Newton’s what you’re capable of. three laws of motions. While they may only seem relevant Law 2: “Force equals mass times acceleration.” Be- for physics tests, they can also double as guidelines to ing in a new country means that you’ll have to interact have the best study abroad experience possible. with people you’ve never met, but if you accelerate out of

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your comfort zone, you’ll meet amazing people and ulti- times, you may lose a bag of clothing. But without those mately have a more impactful experience. My friends and downs, you won’t experience the ups. Without failing a I traveled to as many places as possible, from Oban to few tests, I would’ve missed out on the girls’ nights where Paris, and while we got lost all the time, we met incredible we pulled out a bottle of rosé and had singing/shouting people that helped us along the way. When my friends competitions with students downstairs. Without losing and I missed our bus stop, the bus driver instead drove that bag of clothing, we wouldn’t have had a reason to us around Isle of Skye and gave us a personal tour, stop- run around the maze-like gardens of Versailles, and with- ping at scenic spots to tell us Scottish folklore. In Paris, out climbing down that difficult hill, we wouldn’t have been we ran with the crowds on Bastille Day trying to find the able to soak in waterfalls of the turquoise Fairy Pools. perfect spot to see the fireworks. During the World Cup, As college students, we are still growing up; we’re we danced with the locals as Parisians zipped by on their sometimes irrational, and act on impulse. But that’s ex- motorcycles, cheering with their flags flying in the wind. actly what makes it so fun to travel at our age---we’ve got Experiences are waiting for you on every corner: you just so much to learn and so much time ahead of us. Why not have to be brave enough to find them. spend that time sharing flaky croissants in a cheap one- Law 3: “There is no such thing as a force that is not room Airbnb together, watching the sun grow up with us? accompanied by an equal and opposite force.” Your ex- Sabrina Chen perience abroad will be full of up and downs. Sometimes Sixth College, Literature/Writing major you’ll get a 17/40 on a test you studied hard for. Other David K. Crowne Scholarship

A Study of Immanuel Kant I am very grateful and honored to and invited graduates in the depart- tive few months in Tübingen. I have have received a scholarship from ment to apply. met and interacted with the leading Friends of the International Center. I have been enrolled as a Ph.D. German scholars in my field, and I This scholarship supplemented my student in the Philosophy Depart- have had the opportunity to share funding from the Baden-Württem- ment since 2013, and at the time of my work with them. Without a doubt, burg Stiftung to spend the winter receiving information about the ex- my academic work has flourished semester) at the Eberhard Karl change program I was making very during my stay in Tübingen. There Universität Tübingen in Baden-Würt- good progress on my dissertation, is no question for me that German temberg, Germany, to pursue my re- which focuses on one of the most in- scholarship, and the academy in Ger- search in classical German philoso- fluential figures in classical German many more broadly, has made a very phy. Early in 2018, the Study Abroad philosophy, Immanuel Kant. I imme- distinctive mark on my research and office at the University of California, diately recognized the program as a my future development as a philoso- San Diego contacted the philosophy very promising and exciting oppor- pher. I am, therefore, deeply grate- department at UC San Diego with tunity to deepen and develop my re- ful to the Friends of the International information about a new Graduate search. I applied to participate in the Center for supporting me; Student Exchange Agreement that program and was notified in June Claudi Brink had been set up between UC San that my application was successful. Ph.D. candidate from South Diego and the University of Tübingen I have had a truly transforma- Africa, Department of Philosophy

Philosophical Crossroads I would like to begin by thanking the Friends of the International Center for their generous support of my dissertation stud- ies—the flexibility of the Friends fellowship has made it possible to extend my original study- and travel plans substantially. My research focuses on an area at the intersection of philosophy, linguistics, mathematics, and computer science, investigating why logical languages emerged the way they did, and what feature of a logical expression it is that grounds a “good” inference in particular. I am interested in what is usually termed the demarcation problem of the logical con- stants: the issue of deciding, in a principled and precise way, which expressions of a given formal language to count as logical expressions, i.e. to treat as privileged in the development of the language, and for what reason. Originating in the influential model-theoretic account of logical consequence, this issue has since become a fundamental topic in the foundations of logic. Sebastian Speitel Ph.D. candidate from Germany, Department of Philosophy

April 2019 Friends of the International Center, UCSD Newsletter Page 11

Economic Disparity Friends of the International Center for As a development macroeconomist, their support, both in 2016 and 2018. my broad question of interest is the Daniela Vidart same that has been at the heart of Ph.D. candidate from Colombia the economic profession since it’s Department of Economics beginning: why cross-country differ- ences in income are so large. This year, through the help of the Semester in France Friends of the International Center, I I know it’s been a while since I returned was able to make progress in find- from my semester abroad in Bor- ing new approaches to gain insight deaux, France, but the memories are into that question and work towards as fresh as if the experience had ended completing my dissertation. Daniela Vidart speaks about her research, only last week. I was given the amaz- My research has specifically Friends Ethnic Dinner, November 2018 ing opportunity of living in a beautiful focused on the factors that make town for four months, and thanks to certain individuals and households households, since they can still co- the Friends, I was able to comfortably better poised to take advantage of ordinate their education and fertility pursue my dream of exploring the rest the benefits from the arrival of new decisions to best exploit the labor and of France and Europe while there. technologies. My main project shows, home modernization benefits from Laura Morejón Ramírez for instance, that the returns from having access to electricity. Revelle College electrification are larger for younger I am extremely grateful to the Aerospace Engineering major

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April 2019 Friends of the International Center, UCSD Newsletter