grad school: candidacy exam

I think these things are probably like when you take your driving test at the DMV—you don't tell your friends in case you don't pass. But whatever. Later this week I'm flying to Rochester to take my Qualifying Exam, whereby I will, assuming I don't screw up, become a PhD Candidate, otherwise known as All But Dissertation.

Date	Flight	Departure	Arrival
April 3	Delta 4161	Baton Rouge, 10:41	Atlanta, 13:14
April 3	Delta 1520	Atlanta, 14:49	Rochester, 16:58
April 8	Delta 4518	Rochester, 15:20	Atlanta, 16:34
April 8	Delta 4487	Atlanta, 19:40	Baton Rouge, 20:11

The format of this exam is that I will give a talk about a research topic (in particular: the search for high-frequency gravitational waves, and the new detection scheme for Enhanced LIGO that I'm working on here in Louisiana) and then the professors on my exam committee will ask me questions. It is the next formal step after the prelim.

My qualifying exam committee consists of:

Prof. Adrian Melissinos	Experimental Physics	University of Rochester
Prof. Gabriela González	Experimental Physics	Louisiana State University
Prof. Mark Bocko	Electrical Engineering	University of Rochester
Prof. Sarada G. Rajeev	Theoretical Physics	University of Rochester
Prof. Dan Watson	Observational Astrophysics	University of Rochester

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing everyone in Rochester, and, frankly—though this is an exam—I'm looking forward to the vacation.