The steemSTEM Meetup at Virgo - My Recap

in #steemstemvirgo6 years ago (edited)

Italy ... Italy ... what are you going to do in Italy?

@reggaemuffin and me arrived in Florence on the 19th of September, one day before the official 2nd steemSTEM meetup at Virgo in Pisa. Together with @egotheist, the first thing we did was eat. And oh, did we eat!

IMG_20180919_222306_Bokeh.jpg

IMG_20180919_224749_Bokeh.jpgI love how panna cotta wobbles ...

IMG_20180919_224758_Bokeh.jpg

On the next morning, I first met with @alexdory for some breakfast and Steem talk. Meeting him again after seeing him in Romania in August was awesome!

The evening was, again, reserved for good food and meeting people, this time all of the steemSTEM participants, as the utopian team was still wrapped up in their hackathon. Seeing all those faces was exciting. I already knew several of them from the last meetup, but there were new people too.

@robotics101 supplied everyone with personalized steemSTEM rocket badges. You can buy a version with a backlight here.

© @robotics101

Satisfied by the huge amount of food, we all left the restaurant rather late, looking forward to the main attraction the next day.

IMG_20180920_193407.jpgOmnomnom!

At 9:30 (and 9:50 ... and 10:40, Italian traffic is the worst) in the morning, all participants arrived at the site of Virgo. Dr. Nicolas Arnaud gave us a short introduction to what Virgo actually does (find material to that here)

IMG_20180921_101025.jpg

This introduction was followed by a very interesting lecture by Dr. Valerio Boschi, who went more into detail about what they're trying to do, and how.

I must confess, as a biologist, I don't know that much about physics. From my experience at CERN, I was already slightly worried I might feel like the dumbest person in the room again. But to my absolute delight, Dr. Boschi was able to break the subject down in such a way that I left feeling like I got at least the basics.

Even though there was some confusion when he started a metaphor during which he told us to "eat the universe". Turns out he actually said heat, which makes significantly more sense.

The lecture was followed by a tour through the facility, during which we not only got to see the two "arms" through which the laser is sent, but were even allowed to see the room where the signal is received, and the place where the work of analyzing the data is done.

IMG_20180921_115604.jpgMiniature version of the setup to detect gravitational waves. A laser is split into the two "arms" and then reflected back. Through physics, the two light waves cancel each other out, which leads to the detector not seeing anything. If a gravitational waves happens to pass by, it deforms the mirror by an amount that is so tiny I have no words for it. But it's enough to change the wave, which creates a signal. If you want a more accurate description of the process, I'm sure someone will post about it - or it is online. This was just the very, very basic breakdown.

IMG_20180921_121107.jpgShhh! Smart people at work. Didn't want to disturb them, so I chose to photograph the screens instead.

IMG_20180921_121447.jpgThe participants, on their way to greatness.

IMG_20180921_121517.jpgOne of the arms from the outside ...

IMG_20180921_122626.jpg
...and the inside!

IMG_20180921_123350.jpg
Cable management looked better at cern tbh.

IMG_20180921_123520.jpg This is where the magic detection happens! I felt reminded of a milk factory.

IMG_20180921_123533.jpg...duh.

The tour was concluded with a Q&A, which gave us the chance to ask the really important questions. Like: "What are sources for background noise and how do you get rid of it?" (Seismic activity, ravens picking at ice on some structure. The structure is now protected from ice. The things you don't consider ...), "What language is your code written in?" (So many), "What's your favorite superhero?" (Batman).

IMG_20180921_130712.jpg

The visit was concluded with lunch from the canteen. It was a nice lunch.

IMG_20180921_140027.jpg

But the day wasn't over yet, oh no! Together, we headed for Pisa, where we split into groups to check out the city a bit, until we met up again for dinner.

IMG_20180921_155827.jpg

IMG_20180921_161446.jpgIs it just me or is everything here slightly ... tilted?

IMG_20180921_190224.jpg

IMG_20180921_194814.jpg3 kinds of cheese, and mushrooms, in case you wonder.

Contrary to our original plans, we didn't end up eating the vegans, and everyone was able to return to their accommodations safely.

On the third, and last day, those who hadn't left Italy yet met again for lunch, followed by a visit to the Museum of Natural History in Florence.

IMG_20180922_160311.jpg

IMG_20180922_160538.jpg

IMG_20180922_161759.jpgSO FLUFFY

As all evenings before, the last one was dedicated to the final dinner together.

IMG-20180922-WA0011.jpg

IMG-20180922-WA0012.jpg

I must say, I enjoyed this meetup greatly, even though I was a bit worried it might turn out super stressful, I had organized and planned it myself after all (shout out to @bendelgreco who called all necessary people!)

In the end, it was all worth it and I am looking forward to the next meetup(s). Also to Steemfest! Will you meet me there?

IMG_20180922_191543.jpg
The steemSTEM participants + @jedigeiss who insisted he's part of both sides :P I am the one taking the picture, but if you look closely, you can see my name tag on the wine bottle in the front. Technicaly, this is a picture of me!




The only thing left for me was the flight back, for which I had to take two planes, one to Geneva and then one to Frankfurt. This gave me the chance to compare the snacks on Swiss and German airlines.

IMG_20180923_114924.jpgA piece of chocolate

vs.

IMG_20180923_151642.jpgA sandwich with cheese

I might have needed this in the opposite order ... ah well.

Landing in Frankfurt was rough, and when I finally boarded the train home there were dark storm clouds lingering in the sky.

IMG_20180923_191931.jpg

All in all, it took me a good 12 hours from leaving my accomodation in Florence to reach home ... next time I might just take the train. Still, I am glad to have been at this event! Looking forward to the posts of everyone else.

@alexdory, @bendelgreco, @egotheist, @fredrikaa, @galotta, @lemouth, @monie, @nicniezgrublem, @reggaemuffin, @robotics101, @scienceangel, @sco, @xara , @amosbastian, @elear, @espoem, @icaro, @jedigeiss, @jestemkioskiem, @ms10398, @poet, @sachincool, and @techslut it is your turn!

Sort:  

I am satisfied with your summary of the event (fooooood) and will just resteem 😜

I'm with @reggaemuffin on this :P

Unbelievable!

You lazy muffin!

It's the weed you know? Makes me lethargic 🤷‍♂️

You should be a Smoke witness then

I heard that SMOKE network is only for OCD people and I think I only fit that partially. Rather stay a STEEM witness, less thick than smoke.

I'm personally looking forward to your own account of the event :)

Isn't this .... cheating :D

Great summary!

I can definitely sympathize with being a biologist trying to understand physics. Still, walking down one of those arms seems like it would be the coolest experience regardless of how much I understand how it works.

You missed how funny the superhero question turned out to be.

He said: Not spiderman, he's too happy. Batman.

Was a pleasure meeting you, and everyone else. And Virgo labs must have been one of the most interesting things I have done in my life. I should go to more lectures.

I wanted to give others the chance to add additional funfacts :P

I loved meeting you too! Looking forward to the next time :)

Congratulations to @utopian.io and @steemstem on yet, another successful meetup. It is quite obvious that you guys had a swell time at the meetup, especially with all these sumptuous and delicious looking foods.

eat the universe

Sounds like a good plan, and makes a lotta sense too, considering the fact that i started this post feeling hungry after the first photo. that Omnomnom looks delicious.

look closely, you can see my name tag on the wine bottle in the front. Technically, this is a picture of me!

We get it. Lol. Lots of fun, i can tell. Thanks for helping to set this whole event up, Suesa.

We were all hungry and everyone in the row I was sitting in was whispering "Did he say eat?!"

It looks like you had a lot of fun, again :D and the food looks very delicious as expected from italians,,, you better burn these calories right away :p

Don't remind me..

You were reminded of a milk factory, I was thinking about a brewery. See where our interests are lying...

Woah, thanks, now I'm hungry :D

That was the goal

Your post made me hungry. Also, I have no choice but to start preparing my own post! Because I am not as lazy as certain muffins, regardless of weed consumption. ;)

Tbh I made myself hungry

I'm glad no one starved :) Btw who got adorned with Saturn !?

I'm just too awesome and didn't want to make people jealous.

Oh well, it's good to put a name to a face. I've never met any of you guys face to face but almost feel I know some of you :)