First day at UFRJ

Today was my first day at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). I'll admit, I've been a bit nervous because none of the previous students from my program in Pittsburgh attended UFRJ; they all did their research rotations at either the Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) or at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC). Although UNICAMP is located among the sugarcane fields, making data collection for my sugarcane research super simple, and PUC is literally down the street from where I'm living, UFRJ offers the perfect combination of energy-based engineering and life cycle assessment research for my needs. 

The only less-than-optimal UFRJ issue is transportation.

Every time I've told a Brazilian that I am a university student. They ask me: "Oh where? At PUC?" After I tell them, "No, at UFRJ," their next question, without fail, is: "Oh, where do you live?" Rio de Janeiro is divided into two "zones": the North Zone (Zona Norte) and the South Zone (Zona Sul). UFRJ is in the North Zone, about as far north as you can go, since it's on the island of Ilha do Fundão (marked as "Ilha do Governador" on the linked map at the top of this page). Gávea, where I live, is way in the South Zone. It's not as far south as you can go, but it's pretty close. So, why am I living in the South Zone if I'm going to school in the North Zone? Well, as the bus ride confirmed for me today, I wouldn't feel safe living far enough north in the North Zone to make the commute significantly shorter. Parts of the North Zone are perfectly fine, but past a certain point, favelas (shanty towns run by drug lords) dominate the landscape and crime becomes a serious issue. Therefore, it is not uncommon for people at UFRJ to live 30+ minutes by bus from the university. This morning's bus ride, including a transfer, took me an hour and a half from Gávea. (I've heard that there may be a shorter route and am trying to find the details.) 

When I arrived at UFRJ's engineering institute, COPPE (pictured below), any doubts I had about the university were immediately put to rest. After being welcomed by one of my advisors--she was running out of the office to teach her first class--I was given a space to work, complete with a computer and two wonderfully helpful office mates, who are also PhD students in the department. 

Discussion quickly developed in the office. The topic? Life cycle assessment, Design for Environment, industrial symbiosis, and sustainability systems. I breathed a sigh of relief as a wide smile spread across my face. I'd ended up in the right place after all. Life cycle assessment is the bread and butter of my research and the other topics are major areas of the broader sustainable engineering discipline. 

We talked for at least an hour and then I went with another student to the graduate student orientation. Most of the session focused on administrative issues, such as the number and type of course credits required for each degree -- pretty typical stuff. The discussion of dissertation issues was more interesting, and two details in particular. First, PhD students are required to propose their thesis topic within six months of passing their qualifying exam (the exam that allows the Masters student to continue onto the PhD). This seems like a reasonable rule. What I like about it is the deadline of six months; without the deadline, the proposal can be delayed, which then delays the dissertation defense. As they say, time is money. Second, all of the incoming graduate students are required to sign a consent form to formally allow the university to publish any work they do for any of their classes and to publish their theses. The students also sign a form acknowledging copyright law, i.e. promising they won't plagiarize anything, and that they will acknowledge the university and university funding in any presentations and publications. Some of these points are givens at most U.S. universities, but it made quite the impression to see that consent form on the very first day.  

After the orientation sessions, the day was already half over. In the afternoon, I was given a schedule of classes so that I could choose one for the semester. The class schedule listed the titles of about 15 classes--some graduate and some undergraduate--with no times, no room numbers, and no descriptions. Apparently you're supposed to be able to fill in the missing information on your own. I think I will take the class, "Renewable Energy Sources." (It's a PhD-level class, but you'd never know from the title. Perhaps the syllabus will be more enlightening.) It will be interesting to see how much Portuguese I actually understand in a native Portuguese-speaking classroom. I also wonder what the test format will be and if the professor will be at all understanding about my lack of language ability. We'll see.

As I was leaving UFRJ this afternoon, I was walking through the atrium and stopped in my tracks when I saw the barrel in the picture below. 

They're collecting used vegetable oil for biodiesel! I know that there is a biofuel lab on campus, but I think the collection may be a student- or administration-run effort. I definitely plan to learn more about it and will post here when I do.

After my biofuel-barrel discovery, I took the buses back to Gávea. Before collapsing in bed from an exhausting first day, I happened to look out the window. In the distance was a rainbow -- just barely there, but unmistakable. I thought to myself, "What a perfect ending to the day." What a perfect beginning to the semester.