Saket Vora

Last Wednesday, Greg and Kelly arrived in sunny California to spend a few days in the Bay Area. Kelly was here just a few weeks ago for a conference at Cal Poly down in San Luis Obispo, and Greg of course had been here two years ago for the EEP Silicon Valley trip. But now they could finally relax and get to know Stanford more. What a joy it was to be with them again! And after hearing stories of our old gang back together in the Triangle again, I definitely felt some pangs for home. 

After picking them up at the airport, we came back to campus and walked over to Bytes for leisurely lunch. It was a warm sunny day and you couldn’t have asked for more. We walked around campus and made it over to Tressider, where Amit (and later Nader) met up with us and they got to partake in the obsession of frozen yogurt that’s rampant out here.

That evening the three of us went to dinner at The Counter and stopped by the Nuthouse, the electic dive bar where Greg and I described to Kelly the whole story of Austin and Jessie that happened back in 2007 when the EEP was here. Some people think the Nuthouse is too sketchy, but I like it. It has character. The whole day we talked and talked — about Stanford, about the people back home, families, NC State, everything. 

The next day, I got some work done in the morning and met them at the Cantor Arts Center for lunch. That’s right — I was rolling out the big guns (ie, Rodin Sculpture Garden and art museum, right on campus). 

Coincidentally, my RAs from Rains were having a lunch event that exact time, so we had lunch with them and I got a discount on the meal (w0o!). I had hyped up all the high minded, lofty conversations one can routinely have at a place like Stanford, and my fellow graduate students did not disappoint: what SI recognized unit is capitalized but not named after a person? This all started of course when a colleage referred to a stipend as “3 kilobucks”. But it was good — Gaurav in EE was able to give them some good advice. Looking through the course directory earlier, I found a materials science class we could sit in. Fortunately, it turned out to be taught by one of the most highly regarded professors in the department — Dr. Brongersma. Not only was the class good, but Greg and Kelly got to chat with him after class and we ran into several friends of mine too. Forgoing another Hindi class to be with them, we hopped on a bus back to the Stanford Terrace Inn and then walked down El Camino to the Old Pro, the big sports bar in Palo Alto so we could watch Game 7 of the Carolina Hurricanes hockey game. Ran into my friend Neil — a Northeastern grad and proud Bostonite who left his group to watch the game with us who cared more about hockey than the basketball games. Greg looked at the bazookas in wide eyed wonder, but pitchers and nachos were enough to satiate us. Fellow Park alum and good friend Brent Rowe joined us after he got back from work, and even his wife Stacy (in residency at Stanford Medical School) came for a bit. The game went into overtime, and with under 2 minutes left in OT the Hurricanes closed the dea, much to the horror of my buddy Neil. He handled it like a true sports fan — pointing at each of us in succession saying a half-joking “you suck!” (but softening to ‘you’re cool’ when he got to Kelly) — before warmly shaking hands with us all and peacing out. The four of us went over to Pasta for a late dinner, and we spoke about the current woes of NC State. It’s frustrating for us, because we want it to be successful but there are certain things that really need to change but don’t. 

Nah, it wasn’t all bad. Brent showed us the iPhone app that he’s helping some friends with, about coupons that actually might have legs. Of course, no trip to downtown PA would be complete without yet another frozen yogurt stand, and so we tried a place that was actually trying a new business model — completely self-service! 

As you can see, while Greg didn’t seem to care much for it, Kelly was certainly enjoying the mini cheesecake bites in fresh froyo. Hehe. For Friday, I spent the morning and early afternoon in class but caught up with Greg and Kelly after their chat with a professor in chemical engineering. It was great to hear another positive vibe. There was a talk that afternoon by an NC State professor on the exciting new FREEDM center, and I thought it’d be good to represent. Man, didn’t turn out so hot. I spotted some big names on campus in the audience, but it was totally the wrong presentation for this crowd. It’s just not a good sign when the killer slide showing what the FREEDM center is working on appears at minute 55 of  a 60 minute presentation. I mean, that’s the only reason why the professors were in the room. Didn’t help also that the audience kept insisting on asking economic and financial questions to a prof who stated very early on that he’s a power systems guy, not a MBA. 

We bounced after sitting there for half an hour longer, and went over at 5pm to the Lasuen Mall (the ‘engineering’ mall) where the Materials Research Society was throwing a barbeque. I’m telling ya — I couldn’t have scripted a Stanford visit better. We spent the next  3 hours eating some food, drinking a beer, hanging out with chill materials science grad students, playing volleyball with students and professors alike, throwing the frisbee around barefoot in the cool grass, and even an impromptu game of Ultimate Frisbee. All on a warm, lazy Friday afternoon. Oh! There was also a dog that came by who was persuasive in having everyone she approached play catch with her. Hehe. 

Amit said a few folks were going to the Nuthouse again later, so the four of us went there to find the place much more lively. However — Greg, Kelly, and I were headed up to the City early the next day, so we called it a relatively early night. Overall, Stanford was sold to them with all the things that you’d expect — great weather, nice campus, lots of top notch researchers, and fun area. It’s also a critical stepping stone to teaching at a top tier university if they both enter academia in the future. 

Next up — a fun, beautiful, and really warm day in San Francisco!