Robotics and Sports at the University of Maryland - Fulbright.no

My stay in the US begun in August 2005, when I flew into Dulles international airport in Washington, DC for the first time in my life. Although I had previously attended high school in a small country town in Ohio, living close to an American city was a first for me. I had been accepted to the University of Maryland, which has its main campus in a small town called College Park, now close to being a suburb of DC. Although there were many American universities that were tempting after I got my Fulbright scholarship, UMd had something the others did not. And that something was a neutral buoyancy facility, an indoor pool 15 meters wide and almost 8 meters deep, dedicated to replicating the microgravity conditions in space. In it the Space Systems Laboratory (SSL) is able to test and develop advanced technologies for future space operations and exploration. Among these are robotic systems that may one day do complex tasks like repairing the Hubble Space telescope as well as a student-designed and built underwater spacesuit analogue, the MX-2. My background was a four-year undergraduate master from the UK, were I studied aerospace engineering and astronautics. This was also a degree with a strong emphasis on engineering systems for space, and the studies at Maryland allowed me to apply this knowledge towards robotics and human-factors in the same field.

One of the first things that struck me about the University of Maryland was its beautiful campus, and great facilities of all kinds. The campus has a large gym and recreation center, complete with an outdoor pool. The Engineering school was just completing a large new office and teaching building as I arrived, and the SSL had several impressive facilities, including clean rooms and spacecraft assembly facilities. As a result I found that a lot of my time was spent on campus, often working till late, but with social activities throughout the day. I played in several university-wide sports with my lab, ranging from volleyball to kickball, a version of baseball ideal for soccer fans. Another popular past time was sand-volleyball, an ideal way to get a break from thesis and class work. I also became a diver, which meant I could help out with development in the neutral buoyancy tank of the SSL, but also some very welcome breaks during long days! The research I performed in the SSL led to publications, including a student competition in San Jose, California and a conference in San Francisco.

My main hobby is windsurfing, and I was happy that I could continue this sport also at Maryland. Although perhaps not as popular as in Europe, the Chesapeake Bay area close to Washington, DC has a small but very active windsurfing group. The Fulbright organization here in Washington DC also provided a lot of opportunities for attending cultural events and meeting other Fulbrighters. Washington, DC also surprised me, having a lot more to see and do than I would have imagined. Finally, it was good to know that I always had people to help out in the Fulbright organization, and it helped make my stay a great experience.