Starting a new semester

Log in to SUSSED > Online Timetable > View as Grid. This is a process that every student has been doing over the weekend, and will continue to do throughout the week, leading to even the most seasoned fourth year students asking with some degree of perplexity “Where is Building 34?” Yes, it is the start of Semester Two and I am pleased to say that all three of my exams went well! It is always such a great feeling when you walk out of the room after your final exam, because you come to realise that you don’t actually have any work to do, - perhaps to put it better, there is no urgent need to do any work!

Naturally I tried to make the most of my three-and-a-half days between my final exam and the start of Semester Two. In the evening after the exam I joined a couple of friends and went out to nightclub to celebrate our new found freedom. As you can expect the venue was packed, which helped make the dance floor very toasty; a stark contrast with the sub-zero temperatures outside. I don’t think I’ve ever danced wearing three layers and gloves before!

The next day I caught a train from the nearby Southampton Airport (Parkway) station to go and visit my girlfriend. I stayed at her house over the weekend and used the time to catch up and watch movies. We went to see the film documenting the life of Stephen Hawking, called The Theory of Everything. After completing my Cosmology module last semester, it was great to watch the history of one of the most important Physicists in the field, even though the film focused more on his personal life than his academic achievements.

The weekend flew by and now it’s time to turn my attention back to work. Fortunately, I do now know where Building 34 is (it is in fact the Education building, which is nestled to the side of the Hartley Library on Highfield Campus). This is where my first lecture of the new semester is, which will be for my Synoptic module. It’s going to be a tough challenge, as the course syllabus consists of every compulsory Physics module I have taken since first year! That’s thirteen modules worth of Physics squeezed into one!

In addition to the Synoptic Module I am also taking two optional modules, whilst trying to complete my Master’s Project that I started at the beginning of last semester. The next four months are going to be very busy indeed! One of the optional modules is entitled Space Plasma Physics, which focuses on the interaction of the Solar Wind and Earth, which was the topic that I wrote my dissertation on last year. The other option module focuses on Nanotechnology and is jointly run by both the Physics and Chemistry departments. I haven’t done Chemistry since A Level, but the course is designed for both Physicists and Chemists to attend, so I’m looking forward to starting it and trying something new!

It is amazing how just a few days off can refresh you; after spending a weekend relaxing I’m now ready and eager to get on with Semester Two – the final one of my University career! Here’s to another great semester.

James