Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Holger in the states: day 397. Familiar face in the newspaper

Allikas: Kohila valla ajaleht

NB! Paremaks lugemiseks klikka lingil või pildil.






This is my interview to the newspaper of the municipal (Kohila), where I grew up and attended high school at. To me translating seems to be much harder than just writing a text on your own, so I apologize for any grammatical mistakes in advance!

Holger Saare: "It all starts with setting the direction"

Holger Saare, a young man from Kohila has flown fast and far - he graduated Kohila high school with a gold medal, bachelor studies in Tartu University in Physics with cum laude and then applied for a Fulbright scholarship, to spend one year of his master studies in the US. He got the scholarship and instead got an offer to enter PhD studies instead. By now Holger has studied in North Carolina State University for a year with four years ahead of him. We had a conversation with him, when he was spending his month-long vacation back in Estonia.


When did you grow interest in Physics - it's not one of the simplest subjects?
    I got a deeper interest back in high school. I'd like to thank Kirsti Solvak (my Physics teacher) and Raivo Heinaru (my school principal), who brought here Mart Kuurme, a Physics teacher from Tallinn Secondary School of Science, he helped me a lot in understanding Physics.

How did he create that interest?
   Different experiments managed to create appeal to the subjects. You can read a book at any time, but if you can build something up or throw sparks, then that's interesting. I don't think that it's important, how much study materials the teacher distributes, but rather the skill of creating interest. Anyone can read a presentation out loud, but creating appeal is important, so the student would want to continue exploring the subject on his own. You just need to spark the student's interest and he will grow.

You graduated high school with a medal ...
   Yes, a gold medal. Then I carried on to Tartu University for bachelor's in Physics and also was rather successful there..

Rather!? You graduated cum laude ...
   Yes ... In Tartu I was working with another alumni of Kohila high school, Rainis Venta. We were working in a start-up, where we tried to develop a reusable laundry detergent. So, it was a happy coincidence that we were in Tartu, working together with another alumnus of Kohila high school. Edith Maasik was class teacher for both of us, so I guess she knows how to inspire and create interest.

What happened to the laundry detergent?
   We're still working on it. (Laughs.)

From Holger's blog:

   Start-up RelaDe (Reusable Laundry Detergent for long) is a small, but efficient five-member team. Our goal is to create a reusable detergent, based on nanoparticles I synthesized in my bachelor's thesis. Imagine how nice life would be, if you wouldn't constantly have to go shopping for the detergent and then load it into your washing machine. The machine itself recollects the detergent and reuses it multiple times. This kind of technology isn't also crazy expensive, you just need this detergent based on nanoparticles and a small add-on to your washing machine, which acts as a magnet.

What's interesting in physics?

   Physics is a discipline with which you can do anything. In high school, you study mechanics or optics narrowly, but if you achieve higher education in physics, then you can go anywhere. A lot of physicists work in banks or as programmers. Of Estonian physicists, many are CEO's, project managers or even politicians, for example Ene Ergma (previous president of our Parliament) or Jaak Aaviksoo (used to be Minister of Defence and Minister of Education and Research) ... There are many places you can go to with a degree in physics.

What are your memories about Kohila school now?
   My memories are highly positive, I can't recall anything bad. I recall my classmates, some teachers ... I can't remember the times, where I had to sit in a boring lecture - I guess you forget about those. You remember interesting things that teachers have said in the lectures. Teachers get quite often sidetracked and talk about things unrelated to class material, these moments are the most exciting ones.

Now you've taken some big steps and times spent in Kohila tends to get forgotten..

   Big steps start from smaller ones. I'm actually really happy I could attend this school. Maybe if I had gone to an elite school, I wouldn't have started to like physics. They quite often force you to study excessively and work through too much material, maybe I would have started to hate physics. I'm glad that I started in Kohila and ended up where I am now. Happy.

How did you end up in United States?
   That's actually quite an interesting story. When I finished my bachelor's in Tartu I carried on to do master's in material science. I studied there for a year and applied for Fulbright scholarship, through which students can spend a year studying in the states. Applying for it lasted for half a year and I had to fill tons of papers, but finally I got the scholarship. Their committee applied me to four different universities as they saw fit - one in New York City, one in Arkansas, one in Nebraska, and fourth, where I finally ended up, is in North-Carolina. I could've picked any one of them, but NC State made me an offer to skip master's, go directly to a PhD program and they would cover the costs for rest of my studies. Of course I accepted that offer and now I'm on my way to get a PhD in Physics.

How you recall first days in the US?
   It was quite scary. I mean, it's on the other side of the Earth. Imagine starting a new life somewhere far away, to live there for five years and you can only bring one suitcase with you. I am a first Estonian to ever attend that university. So I jumped into the great unknown.

How big is that university?
   Comparing to Estonian universities, it is quite large - there are 2.5 times more students than in University of Tartu. The campus has its own police, bus lines, medicine center ... There's everything you need for life and maybe even a bit more.

What do your days look like?
   The coursework is really intensive. Everyday work is compared to that I had back in Estonia during finals period. There are really few lectures, I sit in lecture 1-1.5 hours per day average. Rest is just studying alone. Back in Estonia I had 5-6 hours of lectures per day, but in the US you need to learn most of the material yourself and lecture is mostly discussion or asking questions. I read from somewhere that average PhD student gets 6 hours of sleep in my university, so it can get quite intense.
Also, the regulations are much more strict - should my average grade fall under 75% I might get kicked out. You're mostly not allowed to discuss about homework with your classmates - they count that as plagiarism, that includes asking for help or solving a problem together with your friends.

From Holger's blog:
   I just started my classes, which are remarkably different from the Estonian system. I have just 3 main classes, compared to 7-10 lectures I've usually had. Moreover, the lectures only last an hour and they we don't go through much material during them - mostly there's a discussion, professor answers any questions we have and let us know, what do we need to know.
   Instead, we get a new homework in every class every week, which can be quite tough. First of all, the topic is new, so you have to master the subject yourself. Secondly, the problems are of higher levels and usually quite long. As my professor said: "Don't worry, you won't have this particular problem in your exam, because it takes you about 5-6 hours to solve this." Nice! And usually they give new homework, before you can hand in the previous one.

   During the first year, you just have to attend lectures as you would back home. After that you need to complete qualification exams to see, if you're fit for the PhD or not. If you pass that then you're officially a PhD candidate. Then you need a lab, where you can work on your dissertation. You won't have any more lectures by then and you just go to lab, work on projects, publish articles. Some subjects are mandatory, that every Physics PhD must know in their sleep and rest classes you can pick as you want.

What does a Physics PhD need to know in his sleep?
   Four subjects - classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, electricity and magnetism, and statistical mechanics.

You mentioned you need to find a lab for your dissertation. What kind of subject did you pick?
   As of right now, I'm going to a lab that works on thin film. Thin film is a very thin layer of metal, hundred thousand times thinner than a single hair. For example, modern electronics is based on that. Our devices can get constantly smaller, because we improve the properties of that thin layer of metal.

You probably think in English only while being there?
   Yes. I have this weird situation, where I comprehend technical English really well, because we don't have many advanced physics books in Estonian, but everyday language turned out to be surprisingly difficult. Most of the times I think in English, but quite often I still use filler words, such as "noh" or "ja siis".

What's the hardest thing to get used to in the US?
   The heat. Right now, there's over 40 degrees over there. Contrary to widespread opinions, I think Estonia has really nice weather, you can just calmly stay outside.

From Holger's blog:
   * Hierarchy seems to be really important here. Undergrads look at grad students more like employees of the university, even if the age difference is quite small. Also, there's a separate dining hall for athletes and libraries and school buildings have different lounges for grad students.
   * Everyone's mostly writing in print, so I, who's used to writing in cursive quite often get looks. Quite a few have mentioned that I have a nice handwriting and even a professor came to check it out, to see, how am I writing. 
   * A lot of people wear caps, even indoors. A lot of clothes here are either monotonous or have a logo printed on them. For example, when I wear a t-shirts with wider stripes, a lot of people mention it.
   * Sanitizing hands is a really big deal here. Most buildings have machines that dispense hand sanitizers and people give out alcohol sprays in the streets.
   * For whatever reason, I really happen to stand out. I don't know whether it's the way I look or that I'm wearing clothes I brought with me from home. I understand that sometimes it's my accent, since it's an uncommon one, so people come up to me and ask, where I'm from, even if I'm hanging out with other international students.

Is the scholarship enough to get by?
   It's enough to get by, but not to live luxuriously. It's difficult since although food is really cheap, the rent prices are outrageous. It's weird that if you live in a dorm, then it's more expensive than renting an apartment or living in a house with someone. I live in Raleigh, which is slightly bigger than Tallinn. At first, I lived in a dorm and the rent was 800 dollars a month for one, with kitchen split amongst four of us. Now, that I'm heading back, I move into a two-story apartment, where we live with only two of us and the rent per person is 500 dollars per month. It's reverse in Estonia - living in a dorm is noticeably cheaper.

What are you planning to do after you graduate?
   I'm not sure yet, there are so many options. Right now, I'm planning to go into engineering and work and developing new technologies.

What would you say to do those who doubt the possibilities of getting far or flying high from Kohila high school?
  I'd say that it all starts with setting the direction, figuring out, what you want and what you want to achieve. The next step is simpler, you just have to figure out how to get there.
   Kohila school offers really good opportunities for studying. I was helped a lot by different extra courses and extracurricular activities that were offered. If you know, where to go and what do you want to learn, then you can find many possibilities for improving yourself. When I went to Tartu University, I didn't notice a difference between students, who came from rural areas and students, who had finished an elite school.

-Esne Ernits


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