An Imperfect Circle - Dreaming in Rotterdam

On the 7^th of April, 2012, just a few days before my Aerodynamics I exam, Aaron Parks was due to perform in Rotterdam. I had to be part of that!

Aaron Parks is a virtuosic jazz pianist who’s merely twenty eight years old and the appreciation for his music spans all age gaps. I had my good friend Bhanu Thakur to thank for turning me on to Aaron Parks. This happened last winter when I was in Goa and he would play one of his haunting tracks ‘Nemesis’ on his phone. I had to get my hands on that music.

When I came back to Delft in January, I would listen to that song on repeat and quickly turned my friends here on to it too. They were as mesmerized as I was. And a couple months later they too were listening to him on repeat.

Come middle of March and we found out that Aaron Parks was going to perform live with his trio in Rotterdam! We decided to buy our tickets as soon as we could and waited eagerly for the day.

So on the evening of 7^th April, my friends- Nishant, Gaurav and Siddharth- and I made our way to Rotterdam for what would be an unbelievable musical experience. As we reached Rotterdam we made our way across the city through the walk of fame. We stopped for a few minutes and ‘took five’ at the hand imprints of another Jazz great, Dave Brubeck. We then crossed the majestic Erasmus bridge and finally reached the location.

Taking Five- At the Rotterdam Walk of Fame with Gaurav

The Aaron Parks Trio was performing in an auditorium and as soon as we entered we were taken in. The blue-pink lights were perfectly spotted on the three and they played their hearts out. A lot of Aaron Parks’ compositions include a lot of guitar but the trio was just piano, drums and upright bass. He played some popular ones of his like Riddle Me This, which is something I catch myself bobbing my head to a lot. The show was coming to an end and he hadn’t played Nemesis yet. I figured there was no guitarist so he would just leave that one out. But then, suddenly, he played it! It was not like on the record, but it was better in some ways. I loved their rendition and Craig Weinrib’s drums were scintillating. As my friend Nishant described, it reminded him of a sober Keith Moon. The show then came to an end and the trio received a standing ovation which lingered on long enough to incite an encore!

After the show, on a musical high we went down to the lobby and got ourselves a beer. The venue was playing ‘Eleven Wives’ on the speakers and we fell in love with the place again. But that was not it. We would have never imagined what happened next!

Craig Weinrib, the drummer, was standing alone at a high table sipping on a beer and then Nishant found the stones to go and talk to him. Soon, we joined him and had a long chat which ranged from why different drummers hold sticks differently and about his musical education. He’s self-taught! When we heard that we exclaimed ‘We have hope!’ We were then joined by the master himself. Aaron Parks was humble enough to join in the conversation and give his insight into jazz and how he composes his music. We were awed by how he was so down to earth and helpful. When Gaurav asked him about how he knows if his composition is complete, he replied ‘When it resembles an imperfect circle.’ Never had such a vague statement made so much sense. We thanked him for his insight and then continued pinching ourselves to see if this was all real.

It’s a night I won’t forget and I thank my friends here for sharing it and being part of it!

Tot Later!

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The Final Stretch

The final quarter is afoot! My third year at the TU Delft has just started its concluding chapter. And it’s been quite a tumultuous year. But it’s not over yet! One final push left. And it’s going to be one busy quarter.

Normally, this should be my last quarter altogether here. But you know, I’ve been taking my sweet time. But 6 courses and 4 exams at the end of the quarter is no joke.

What’s different this time around? Well most obviously it’s the courses. Apart from The continuing Applied Numerical Analysis and Computational Modelling course, there’s Production of Aerospace Engineering. This is supposed to be kinda fun since it’s a lot of theory about how aerospace structures are actually produced. So we get into the gritty parts of manufacturing, factory style!

Another new addition is Aerodynamics II. This one’s supposed to be the cooler version of Aerodynamics I. I’ve heard it deals with supersonic flight. So you know, we’ll be learning about how air flows around those super-fast fighter jets .

Now the course I’m actually quite puzzled with is Aerospace Systems and Control Theory. I’ve heard it’s got a lot of Matlab. What’s Matlab you say? Haha… too bad you asked. Once seen, it cannot be unseen. I’ve warned you already. Matlab is a programming language that the TU loves. I’m half Indian and I grew up in India all my life. But sadly, in this case the stereotype that all Indians are good at programing doesn’t hold true. It’s been the bane of my existence here at the TU. So much so that I’ve always avoided and the programming parts and just stuck to writing (no wonder I landed the blog gig). Anyway, but I can’t cut any corners this time or get my way around easily. So I guess I’ll have to face my so-called demons (which in this case had taken an avatar in the form of Matlab). Luckily, my project group is full of Matlab geniuses and one of them was kind enough to give me a mini crash course. I guess I’ll contribute more to the coding this time!

Old School Aircraft Wing Production Matlab- FML

That’s the main stuff. The exams just got over on Friday and the new quarter has already started. But my weekend was quite good. Finally got some sleep and I feel rested.

Time to conquer the world of Matlab!

Tot Later

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Professor Interviews- Dr. Arvind Gangoli Rao

So here’s the second interview of my ‘Professor Interviews’ series. This one’s with the professor of my ‘Propulsion and Power’ course. It doesn’t really get more Aerospace than this. Propulsion and Power deals with, well, mainly engines. And the professor I had a liking to teaches the Aircraft Engine part of the course. Now it’s kind of a wonder that he’s one of my favourite professors since I’m not really inclined towards the aircraft side of things. I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s Indian. Maybe it’s because I’ve actually got everything in his lectures. Maybe it’s because he once famously quoted on a vocally tiring day ‘Women speak 7000 words on average in a day. Men speak about 2000. This is my fifth lecture today so bear with me.’

And now, Dr. Arving Gangoli Rao! (Warning: He doesn’t like details much)

Q1. Let's start with the beginning. Where and what did you study during your higher education?
Ans:- I did my M.Tech (Master of Technology) and PhD in Aeropsace engineering at IIT Bombay, India.

Q2. Since you've mentioned India, what are the major differences you can see in the higher education back home and over here in Delft. Though your experience here has mostly been from the professor's point of view.

Ans:- I am not sure if I can answer this question correctly. I think that here the freedom in choosing your courses and defining your individual track is more than in India. Also we use more active teaching techniques over here.

Q3. The course you teach me, 'Propulsion and Power', is a very typical Aerospace Engineering course dealing with aircraft and spacecraft engines. What drew you to this particular field of study?

Ans:- I was fascinated by aircrafts from an early age in my life. During my masters, I choose the propulsion track. I found aero engine as a fantastic piece of engineering. I was amazed by the amount of thrust which these engines produce. As Frederick Rentschler, the founder of Pratt & Whitney once said, “The best airplanes can only be designed around the best engines”.

Q4. Which would you consider as your favourite aircraft engine and why?

Ans:- this is a very difficult question J because every engine is customised to meet the requirements of the aircraft. In civil engines, I find GE90 as a good engine. It has the world record of being the highest thrust producing engines. In military engines, I find Pratt and Whitney, F119 engine, used in F22 facinating.

Q5. Having attended your lectures, I've noticed that you quite often ask students questions during the lectures. This is not very common with some other lectures I have attended. How important do you think it is to have this kind of interaction during a lecture ?

Ans:- yes, you are right. I like to interact with students. I like when students ask question. When I teach, my goal is not to finish a given chapter but to make the students understand the underlying physical principles. That is also the reason why many a times I am not able to finish the slides that I had planned for. I believe that quality is more important than quantity and that’s also the reason why every year the contents of the course is updated or modified. I also like to use videos/ clips/ animations. It has been my experience that the students understand the physical principles better.

Q6. What would you call the most memorable time of your life as a student and/or working professionally?

Ans:- the most memorable time of my student like was during M.Tech at IIT Bombay. Professionally I enjoy my work in LR @ tudelft.

Q7. What do you miss most about living/working in India compared to The Netherlands?

Ans:- I miss my friends and family in India, otherwise Netherlands is a good place to live.

Q8. I am Indian too by the way. Does that, plus the fact that I have taken this interview, make me eligible for some extra points? Please?
Ans:- Offcourse ;-).

Well that went better than expected! And to all you cynics out there, I got an extra bonus point. Go write a blog sometimes. It might help you academically.

Thank you Dr. Rao!

Tot Later!

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My Time at DARE -The SRP Launch

It was time leave for the SRP launch.

DARE’s official launches happen at a Dutch military base in t’Harde. It’s located in the quaint sleepy countryside (apart from the yearly blast of rockets that DARE and others launch every year).

My team and I, along with other DARE members and first time SRPers drove down to the launch site on a sunny Thursday afternoon. The wind was uncharacteristically shy and it didn’t look like it was going to rain. Perfect.

We reached the military base by late afternoon and proceeded to set up DARE’s custom launch tower. Not the most exciting part of the launch but it was cool to see and work on some of the vital yet unnoticed details that go into getting a successful launch. Once the tower was up and some preparations done, we headed to a camping lodge kind of area close to the base where we’d be accommodated for the night. No wonder we were advised to bring along sleeping bags.

The lodge was basically two sizeable halls connected to each other spotted with a few couches and a few long tables. The teams and other DARE members placed their respective bags inside and proceeded to make some final last minute upgrades to the rockets. Ours required some adjustments to the servo motor that would eventually help in the parachute deployment. The electronics guys at DARE tried their best to make it work perfectly. But there was something abuzz outside the lodge.

There was a bonfire set up! It was quite cool. Members had gathered wood from nearby and had made a pretty decent bonfire. We all sat around it and talked and drank. There was more fire to come, though this time of a different kind.

A fellow DARE member and future president, Wouter, surprised everyone with a dazzling display of fire dancing/breathing. Yes, that kind. We were quite blown away and late in the night decided to rest for the launch that was going to happen the next day.

Perfect Pre- Launch Day Wouter with some entertainment

Friday morning couldn’t have been different from the previous day. It was cold, wet and misty. Not the perfect conditions for a launch but we powered on anyway.

After breakfast we headed to the base and proceeded to prepare our rockets for the launch. The final preparations included fitting the DARE SRP solid propellant and properly folding the parachute into place. After neatly packing the parachute and motor in place, it was time.

As our team was called upon, we made our way down to the launch site to place our rocket on the launch tower. We posed for a few photographs and placed the rocket on the tower. After that we made our way to the viewing area which was about fifty metres away from the launch tower (you know, safety).

The Contenders PRS+Meat52 Martin and the Ruins

It was a tad crowded so I climbed up on to an ancient and rusted military tank (probably from the second world war). Then the count down began. This was it, what we had worked for in the past year. The rocket lifted off quite nicely and made its way up. I lost track of the apogee due to the slight drizzle and clouds and was hoping for the parachute to deploy and our rocket to come down safely. That’s when I heard Martin’s laughter. It’s uncannily distinct and unforgettable, and very characteristic of him. He had spotted the rocket’s descent. And as I had feared it came crashing down. So much for the safe landing. It was more of an omelette.

We then got back the ruins of our rocket. The egg was no more, though the smell was there. The body tube had been pretty much shredded to pieces and the parachute was still packed the way I had left it. It was anticlimactic, but a god learning experience. We laughed it off and then my eye caught something shiny. The fins! They were completely intact and only one of them was slightly bent. I took solace in that and waited for some of the other teams’ rockets to lift off.

Not so surprisingly, two teams did pretty damn well and had their eggs completely intact! Damn electronics, if only. J

When the launch was over, packed up the launch tower and other equipment and headed back to Delft.

I was satisfied with the years’ experience and watching our rocket lift off quite well (though coming down was a problem). I wanted to stay on.

What was next? Maybe CanSat?

Tot Later!

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Utrecht Unexpected

I opened my eyes and instantly reached for my phone to check the time. It read 12:40. I was disappointed. I was probably going to miss the Holi celebrations back in Delft. I had woken up in Utrecht, about an hour away from Delft by train.

On Saturday afternoon, after a practicing with my band, I headed to my friend Martin’s place to work on an assignment that’s due this week. We worked on it till about 6 in the evening and decided to maybe go watch a movie. Then, just as we were getting ready to leave, Eray (a friend of Martin’s) suggested that we go to Utrecht. Martin looked at me and asked me if I was up for it. Since I didn’t really have anything planned for the night, I said ‘sure’.

We reached Utrecht at night and met Martin and Eray’s common friend Lora, who was our unofficial guide for the night. We instantly took a liking to the city. Utrecht has quite a vibe. It’s lively and there are students all over at all times of the day and night. We walked around for a bit and then decided to head to a bar.

The bar was packed with students and the tables and chairs had been removed to make way for a dance floor. After a couple drinks, a little bit of dancing, and talking to random people we decided to head ‘home’. But of course, we had to get something to eat before that!

Utrecht, like Delft and probably every other student city in the Netherlands, has a few eating joints that are open till early hours of the morning. Taking full advantage of that fact, we got some fries and waited for a Taxi back to Lora’s place. Lora had been kind enough to agree to accommodate us in her living room.

Once we got there, we took our respective couches and called it a night.

Now the thing is that on Sunday afternoon, there was supposed to be a celebration on the TU Delft campus for an Indian festival Holi. I was looking forward to it and expected to be awake by around 10 so I could catch a train back to Delft for the celebration. But as you can guess, I woke up a couple of hours later, late enough to miss the Holi celebrations in Delft.

Since I couldn’t really do anything about it, I didn’t let it get to me. So after Martin and Eray woke up from their couches as well, we did what anyone would do. Coffee. Lora and her roommates, very hospitable people, talked with us and joked around while we had coffee and made plans for the rest of the Sunday. So we decided to head back to the city centre of Utrecht and hang out for a while.

The day proved to be one of the most perfect days to be out. It was a true SUN-day. And we got to see a side of Utrecht in the sun, which is quite nice too!

The remining part of the Church Posing on a Sunny Sunday

Our new friends showed us around the city and we got to learn a few things about Utrecht. For instance, the main church in the city was actually much bigger than it is today. Half of it was blown away by a hurricane and in place of the pillars, that once supported the structure, are trees planted. We ended our stay in Utrecht by hanging out next to a canal and laughing a lot at some interesting and funny games that Martin played with us.