The aim of this tour was to give the participants an overview of the American and Mexican society. To achieve this a number of scientific institutes and cultural phenomena were visited. About two third of the program consisted of visits to scientific institutes. The tour took place from March 28 till April 20, 2003 with a group of 25 students and 2 members of the scientific staff of the University of Groningen.
In the following, we give some information, which will give you an idea of what happened during the tour.
Program
Scientific program
Cultural program
Boston
New York
Mexico City
This was the program of the tour. If you scroll down to Scientific or Cultural Program, you can read more about the specific companies, universities and locations.
1 | 28 March | Flight from Amsterdam to New York and trip to Boston | 2 | 29 March | Boston | 3 | 30 March | Boston | 4 | 31 March | Sun Microsystems Laboratories | 5 | 1 April | Microsoft Technology Center and Hewlett Packard Labs Cambridge | 6 | 2 April | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | 7 | 3 April | Harvard University | 8 | 4 April | Auto-ID Centre (MIT) |
9 | 5 April | Trip from Boston to New York | 10 | 6 April | New York | 11 | 7 April | Bell Labs (Lucent Technologies) | 12 | 8 April | Watson Research Center (IBM) | 13 | 9 April | Princeton University | 14 | 10 April | Brookhaven National Laboratory | 15 | 11 April | New York |
16 | 12 April | Flight from New York to Mexico City | 17 | 13 April | Mexico City | 18 | 14 April | Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México | 19 | 15 April | Corona Brewery and Mexico City | 20 | 16 April | Dutch Embassy and Mexico City | 21 | 17 April | Teotihuacan | 22 | 18 April | Mexico City | 23 | 19 April | Flight from Mexico City to Amsterdam via Houston | 24 | 20 April | Arrival in Amsterdam |
The aim of the scientific program was to highlight some areas in Physics, Astronomics, Mathematics and Computer Science. We visited the following universities, scientific institutes and companies:
Harvard University in Cambridge is one of the world’s most famous universities. Over 350 years old, 18000 students and 40 Nobel Prize winners over the years are just some facts of this prestigious university. Harvard University has a number of faculties, of which the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences is the most interesting for us. Research is done in all the fields the FMF covers. We will try to visit the group of Professor Lene Hau. She gave the Hendrik de Waard lecture in 2001 in Groningen about stopping light in a Bose-Einstein condensate. Besides the research, we will of course take a walk over the beautiful campus.
Besides Harvard University, MIT is the other famous university in Cambridge. MIT is oriented more on the natural sciences. We will visit the School of Science and the School of Engineering.
The most famous university around New York is Princeton University. This university has a very rich history with lots of famous scientists. Albert Einstein was a professor at Princeton for 22 years. The Princeton campus is at the moment well known from the movie ‘A Beautiful Mind’.
One of the most prestigious industrial research institutes is Bell Labs, now a part of Lucent Technology. The laser and the transistor are invented at Bell Labs and they developed UNIX. Bell Labs does research in many fields in chemistry, physics, mathematics and computer sciences. Next to applied research, fundamental research is done at Bell Labs. We will visit Bell Labs in Murray Hill, near Boston.
The Thomas J. Watson Research Center is the main establishment of IBM Research, the largest industrial research institute in the world. We will visit the laboratory in Yorktown near New York. IBM Research does research in many fields in chemistry, physics, mathematics and computer sciences. Next to applied research, fundamental research is done at IBM Research.
Brookhaven National Laboratory is a research institute in the areas of nuclear and high-energy physics. Brookhaven has among other things a Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, two Synchrotron Light Sources and a test facility for particle accelerators at its disposal.
The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México is the largest and most important university of Mexico. It has a very wide variety of faculties, like humanities, natural sciences and economics. We will visit the department of natural sciences.
At the Microsoft Technology Center in Cambrigde research on Hardware and Integrated Systems, Machine Learning and Perception, Networks, Programming Principles and Security is performed.
At the HP Lab in Cambridge, research on Wireless and Mobile Technology, System Verification, Scalable Computing, Intelligent Information Appliances and Datamanagment is done.
At the Sun Microsystems Lab Massachusetts in Burlington, a very large research facility, research on design automation, internet security, Java, knowledge technology, network communities and speech integration is done.
The Corona Brewery in Mexico D.F. is a part of the Grupo Modelo, the largest producer of beer in Mexico. The annual production is 46 million hectolitres of beer. Grupo Modelo brews ten brands.
Go ^up^Quoting www.cityofboston.gov: "Boston prides itself on being one of the most livable cities in America. 20 diverse neighborhoods offer more than 600,000 residents the opportunity to taste, touch, and experience things from all over the world. Neighbors benefit from exceptional medical facilities, vibrant neighborhood business districts, and a solid network of parks, community centers, and libraries. Former U.S. President Clinton has called Boston a nationwide model in crime prevention, and Boston's schools continue to grow stronger each year."
Though Boston is relatively small, it played a very important role in the American history. The Boston Tea Party was the first step to independence. In Boston we will walk the Freedom Trail, a walk by lots of famous old buildings that played a role in the American history. We will also visit the Science Museum and we will go to a NBA basketball match between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat.
Go ^up^In this video tour you get a short introduction to New York: What do you think of "New York, New York"? Relax in Central Park, shop, museums, over 25.000 restaurants, the biggest, most famous and most exciting buildings of the world. That's what you think of "New York, New York".
New York is as the biggest city of the United States one big melting pot of cultures. Though the city is relatively young, lots of interesting historical and cultural sights can be visited. We will certainly visit Manhattan with its financial district, Broadway, Time Square and Chinatown. We will also enjoy the view from the Empire State Building, walk through Central Park and pay a view on the Statue of Liberty. Museums like the Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Modern Art will be visited. The New York nightlife will also be explored with among others a visit to the Broadway musical Aida.
Go ^up^When reading texts like these, you wish you would be there tomorrow. Mexico City is a place you should have been once in your life. Next to the Templo Mayor, we will certainly visit the Palacio Nacional, the Catedral Metropolitana and the Museo Nacional de Antropología. One day we will visit Teotihuacán, the capital of Mexico in the pre-Hispanic era. Very old Aztec temples and pyramids remain here.
Go ^up^