what shall i do?

[Enigm4]

hi

 

Im from Portugal and im just finishing my last exams from highschool in june.

Im planning to go on theoretical physics.

The problem is...

I have been reading lots of forums abroad the internet and now i know that The best university to go depends majorly in the branch i would like to follow through.

My interests are definitly teleportation of particles or time travel/time physics

where should i go? what should i do? and, if i follow that area, whats the professional ways out/carreers?

hope anyone can give me some answers, and excuse about my bad english,and some grammar mistakes i might have commited.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Enigm4

Edited May 31, 2009 by Enigm4

[iNow]

If you are going to be in the United States, you might check out CalTech, specifically Kip Thorne. I would imagine it to be difficult getting a position directly under him, so you might also see which grad students studied under him, where they are now, and perhaps seek them out instead. Good luck.

 

 

http://www.its.caltech.edu/~kip/

[Enigm4]

hmm... still kinda confuse to me.

Is CaITech realy the best University to research those fields?

My only objective its to get all the knowledge i need to survive has a scientist. And, correct me if im wrong, better university = more knowledge (once you aply, of corse).

Im only 18 and going to US its a realy Big change, unless its realy worth it.

 

I dont realy think that Portugal Universitys lead in Physics, so im asking it to you guys

 

Enigm4

 

ps.:thanks a lot for the information iNow

[timo]

My interests are definitly teleportation of particles or time travel/time physics

where should i go? what should i do?

 

If you are going to be in the United States, you might check out CalTech, specifically Kip Thorne. [...]

http://www.its.caltech.edu/~kip/

 

I find that a rather strange proposal considering that according to himself, Kip Thorne researches gravitational waves, not teleportation or time travel.

The current research by Kip Thorne, and the students and postdocs in his group, focuses on gravitational waves and their detection.

 

@Enigma: Considering you know pretty much nothing about the topics that you definitely want to go into you should not rush it. If you feel you really need to go to the top university in that research area you can still do that after you got your BSc, masters or PhD. If you are interested in moving to a different country or even continent for studying to get some life experience that is fine. But don't do that because Internet rumors told you the best universities were there. If "their theory department has people working on the stuff I am interested in" is an argument to chose one university over another, then that is fine - particularly if they'd suit you equally well, otherwise. But don't make that the only criterion.

Edited May 31, 2009 by timo

[Enigm4]

ok... now i dont know at all where to go...

[iNow]

I find that a rather strange proposal considering that according to himself, Kip Thorne researches gravitational waves, not teleportation or time travel.

Perhaps Thorne's current research focus has shifted, but he has published many different works on those topics asked about in the OP, so I'm confident that my suggestion was relevant. It may not have been the single best proposal, but it was certainly a start, and a valid one at that.

 

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=kip+thorne+time+travel&hl=en&lr=&btnG=Search

 

 

Cheers.

---

Merged post follows:

Consecutive posts merged

One or more of the links/resources on this page might be useful as well:

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/time/resources.html

[Enigm4]

i must thank you all for your answering my thread once

you all were a great help

 

but i still have one question for you guys...

 

Do you know whats the best university for the field of time traveling/ worm holes/ teleporting?

 

can you explain me in bref words whats the different fields that physics can study and pratical aplyances?

 

i mean...

 

in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics i can see the different branches and research fields of physics... but i still dont understand whats the difference between them and whats the subject of evry of those research fields.

 

 

thanks in advance!

 

Enigm4

[jackson33]

Enigm4; Theoretical, Applied Physics or for that matter Astrophysics are very different, requiring different subject matter and in many cases, much less places for an Education. Math is of the utmost of importance, especially in theroretical...proving a potential theory.

 

As the "time traveling/ worm holes/ teleporting", your not going to find and 'best place to study'. There are some studies/experiments, involving teleportation of minute portions of matter, via lasers but not really doing all that well. Worm Holes are considered Science Fiction and Human Telaportation with its trillions of trillion cells in IMO not imaginable. Time travel gets the most attention, but realistically very little funding, if any.

 

For US Schools, check this out; http://nextscholar.com/appliedphysics.cfm?PID=GNEW01...

 

What I would do, if you; I have to assume you have taken some Science or Math in High School. Those that taught the class, should be your starting point, researching their suggestion and making contact 'email/letters' with any one that may respond. Your concerns should be not only the Education but any possible available scholarships or grants available. Many in Science in the US were educated outside the US and IMO will tell you was a good thing, so I would concentrate on your Country, maybe Spain or England.

 

If you want, Google 'Megabrain+Science+Forums', register and ask this fellow. He is also on this forum and you could try that here (rarely visits). He is from England and involved with several fields in Science...Think a PM to Martin, this forum, would also be benificial....Good Luck!!!

[Martin]

...

Do you know whats the best university for the field of time traveling/ worm holes/ teleporting?

...

 

...Think a PM to Martin, this forum, would also be benificial...

 

Jackson, thank you for thinking of me! However, in this case I do not have much advice to give.

 

Enigma, you should learn about current research in

astrophysics

observational cosmology

 

In physics one attacks the problems that have promise of yielding results---these represent the "hot" research fields.

It is not yet time to investigate time travel and worm holes. Those topics are not yet "hot", if they ever will be (we don't know.)

 

Right now the attention of the smart people is focusing on how the universe works (cosmology) and using the new instruments to see and understand more.

Right now one wants to understand dark energy, dark matter, high energy cosmic rays, gammaray bursts.

 

After people have understood the basic physics of dark energy, the cause of the big bang, cosmic inflation, dark matter, then they may be in position to investigate more exotic things like time travel and worm holes. But right now these are more like dreams and fantasies.

 

Observational cosmology is a good field because you have real telescopes and spacecraft observatories. You get real data. Not just ideas and equations.

 

Here is an idea. Contact one of the young observational cosmologists at CENTRA, perhaps go and visit and talk about their research.

 

http://centra.ist.utl.pt/

 

CENTRA is a branch of the IST, Instituto Superior Technico Lisboa. It also has a smaller unit at Algarve.

 

By the way, do not undervalue Portugal. Also do not underestimate Spain, they have a share of one of the greatest new-technogy telescopes in the world. It is on the Canary Islands. It sees not visible light, but gamma rays. It is a huge mirror. It is called the MAGIC telescope. they share it with Germany and some other EU.

 

Here are the people of CENTRA:

http://centra.ist.utl.pt/index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=usersList&Itemid=55

See here Ana Maria Mourao (observational cosmologist)

http://centra.ist.utl.pt/index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userProfile&user=79&Itemid=55

 

See here Mario Santos (obs. cosm.)

http://centra.ist.utl.pt/index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userProfile&user=92&Itemid=55

 

See here Luis Ferramacho (obs. cosm.)

http://centra.ist.utl.pt/index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userProfile&user=111&Itemid=55

 

See here Patricia Castro (obs. cosm.)

http://centra.ist.utl.pt/index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userProfile&user=76&Itemid=55

 

Her statement of research interests is intelligent and practical, she is also personally very beautiful.

Her telephone is +351 218419145

There is a list of her publications since around 1998. Good track record. Main interest is the Cosmic Microwave Background

 

Here is another obs. cosm.

http://centra.ist.utl.pt/index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userProfile&user=109&Itemid=55

 

Another

http://centra.ist.utl.pt/index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userProfile&user=95&Itemid=55

 

Another

http://centra.ist.utl.pt/index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userProfile&user=75&Itemid=55

 

There are 30 members of the CENTRA and many of them, especially the older ones, are classified "theoretical astrophysics and cosmology".

But 6 of the 30, exclusively young ones, are classified "observational cosmology"

 

This is because a lot of ACTION in observational. Amazing new instruments, able to tell us things about the shape and evolution of the universe.

It is not just pure theory. You must understand theory, but you must also analyze observational data and test theory.

 

All the people I told you, their email is listed on their page. Any young portugues who is interested in observational cosmology has the right to contact them and ask about how is the field. What are the new development in the field? What are the opening research opportunities? What are the leading institutions (say in Portugal and Spain)?

 

I would not go outside Portugal and Spain.

 

And if you send 5 email letters, maybe one or two will be answered. Also I would try to go to the office of some young researcher and talk personally.

I have no direct knowledge of Portugal or Spain Universities. If I was a young Portugues, I would go immediately to see Patricia.

 

Also I would love sometime to visit the MAGIC telescope on La Palma in the Canary Islands. It can see TeV photons coming from the black holes of the AGN (active galactic nuclei). TeV means trillion electron volts. Ordinary light is around 3 electron volts. These photons leave a blue trail in the atmosphere and MAGIC records the trail and figures out where the photon came from and measures its energy. It is a new kind of telescope, nothing before like this.

http://wwwmagic.mppmu.mpg.de/

 

Portugal is not in MAGIC, but maybe Patricia Castro knows someone who is a member of the MAGIC team, perhaps someone in Barcelona that you could also talk to. Here is a list of Barcelona people who are in the MAGIC team.

http://wwwmagic.mppmu.mpg.de/collaboration/members/index.html

Exciting things happening.

 

Patricia will be waiting for the data from the new Planck spacecraft that was launched last month. You should know some details about the Planck spacecraft. It will measure the CMB with greater accuracy than has ever before been possible.

Edited June 1, 2009 by Martin

[D H]

A bit of a reality check, Enigm4. You are still in high school. A couple of consequences:

• Very few people end up doing in life what they thought they would be doing when they were 18. At your age you should be looking at lots of potential paths. The world 5-10 years (about when you'll be getting out of school) will be a bit different than it is today. Your perception of it will be vastly different. Making your life's goal an extremely narrow field that receives very little funding at age 18 might not be the best choice. On the other hand, physics is a very broad field. Aiming for an initial education in physics is a good plan.
   
   
  
• Suppose you do get accepted into a prestigious school that happens to have one or two people who are working on time travel. As an undergraduate, do you really think you will be involved in that work? You won't even have started learning the requisite knowledge until you are a senior in college (or later).

 

The fact that you are finishing your exams a less than a month from now and you are asking "where should I go to school" is a bit disconcerting. Most people your age already know where they are going to school. They applied to multiple colleges last fall and accepted an invitation to go to one of them months ago. Reality check #3: If you truly want to go to a prestigious school you will have to wait for a year.

 

The primary reason for going to a prestigious school for your undergraduate degree is to give yourself an initial boost in your opportunities immediately after graduation. When it comes to getting into graduate school or getting your first job, a good GPA at a prestigious school is comparable to an excellent GPA from a second tier school. An excellent GPA from a prestigious school opens a lot of doors. On the other hand, a mediocre GPA from a prestigious school means you (or more likely your parents) wasted a lot of money. Reality check #4: Prestigious schools can be a double-edged sword.

 

You will need a PhD if you want to be a theoretical physicist. The school from which you obtain your PhD will matter a lot. If you do get a PhD, where you obtained your undergrad degree is pretty much irrelevant. Nobody cares.

 

By waiting until just a few weeks before graduation to ask what you want to do with the rest of your life you have cut off some immediate opportunities. All is not lost. You can recover. You can go to a local school next fall (we call them community colleges in the US; I am sure Europe has the same concept). Taking your first year at Joe Blow Community College is not going to kill your career. You can transfer credits and you can take that first year to sort out your priorities.

Edited June 1, 2009 by D H
just grammar

[Martin]

Lisbon Tech (Univ. Tech. Lisboa) looks like a good place.

 

A lot of what DH says is very sensible.

 

Do you live near Lisbon?

 

What are the requirements for getting formally admitted as a student in the UTL?

 

What is the deadline for application? For some Uni you must apply 6 months or a year ahead and the requirements for admission are very tough.

 

What is UTL like, that way.

 

You should forget about "worm holes and time travel" since this is not relevant to getting a solid undergraduate physics training. If you start talking about those things people will not have a high regard for you.

 

If you think you can win admission to UTL then you should visit there and talk to the students sitting outside the building, and at the student cafeteria where they eat or have their coffee.

 

Most universities you are allowed to AUDIT classes. You can sit in on the lectures even if you are not yet admitted as a regular student. So audit some classes. It is free, if it is allowed by the rules. You just walk into the hall and sit down.

 

If the deadline is past for formal admission for September 2009 then you can still go and audit and read the textbooks for the college physics class and whatever else you are interested in. Try a beginning astro class.

 

So, where do you live? Is your home in Lisbon or nearby? That would be fortunate. Or do you live in some far away place with only a minor college or university?

[Enigm4]

I live in south of Portugal but going to lisbon is not a problem!

i born there and i have there house.

i have friends in that university and i have visited it already.

the thing is.

in that university there is no theoretical physics, but physic engeneering.

and in Portugal physic engeneering its a pratical course of theoretical physics and not recognized by the engeneers order.

 

what shall i do about that?

 

thats why i just searched the forums and portuguese people dont go there that much.

i never thought UTL was that recognized in the "world".

and i realy must talk to Patricia

 

 

Enigm4.

[timo]

I live in south of Portugal but going to lisbon is not a problem! [...]. In that university there is no theoretical physics, but physic engeneering.

The 1st google hit for "physics university lisbon" is a group for mathematical physics: http://gfm.cii.fc.ul.pt/ . I'd find it strange having a group for it but no opportunity to study there. Perhaps there's courses offered by the math department ? Or they take advanced students having completed studying physics engeneering? Or it's a different university?

[Martin]

...

i have friends in that university and i have visited it already.

the thing is.

in that university there is no theoretical physics, but physic engeneering.

and in Portugal physic engeneering its a pratical course...

...

 

OK, I was wrong. You have visited Lisbon and it is not satisfactory. I see now that it does not have a strong undergraduate program.

 

Let's change the focus to University of Barcelona (UB).

 

They do have undergraduate Physics program. I get a good impression.

 

Look here:

http://www.ub.edu/fisica/en/ (that is the English version but you can choose other languages)

 

Here at this page they have a video that shows the buildings, facilities, cafeteria, the life of the students, etc. To me the UB looks good. It is ranked #60 worldwide in natural sciences, but I would not worry about ranks like that. The important, for undergrad, is to have the desired program and to get good marks, grades. Wherever you are, work hard, compete. Then you can move on to Masters and possibly PhD at some more famous place. For undergraduate, I think Barcelona is probably as good as any other place.

 

Also they have a connection with the MAGIC telescope on La Palma island. Actually there are now TWO of those big telescopes. Magic-II just began observing in May of this year. These are now the two largest optical mirror telescopes in the world, according to my information.

 

So let us look specifically at the Astro department of UB.

Here is ICCUB (institute of cosmic sciences of uni barcelona)

http://icc.ub.edu/

 

The people of this institute teach courses both in the department of

FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS

http://web.ffn.ub.es/

and also the department of

ASTRONOMY

http://www.am.ub.es/

they also have a section called

STRUCTURE AND CONSTITUENTS OF MATTER

http://www.ecm.ub.es/

 

Here I found some online self-teaching resources!

It has four resources for the FIRST CYCLE people (the undergraduates) and it also has resources for the Second and Third Cycle people.

 

These are links to stuff that you can use at home. Interactive. Computer simulation of experiments.

 

They also have Applets for General Physics. I like this page:

Recursos on-line

On-line resources

Dosiers electrònics de les assignatures (1er i 2on cicle)

 

1er Cicle:

Termodinàmica (Veure última versió als dossiers electrònics)

Laboratori de termodinàmica (Veure última versió als dossiers electrònics)

Analisi Matemàtica I

Analisi Matemàtica II

 

2on Cicle:

Física estadística

Física Atòmica

 

3er Cicle:

Curs a la Web: "Metodes de simulació Numèrica"

Fenòmens Quàntics en Sòlids

Model Standard

 

General:

Applets de física

(GAIU)

Grup Reconegut d'Innovació Docent en Termodinàmica i Física Estadistica

To reach this page you go to http://www.ecm.ub.es/

and then you see a sidebar menu and you select "recursos on-line/on-line resources"

 

Also to get a sample of what the PhD level people are discussing and researching, I looked at the webpage for their ICCUB Journal Club (that meets every Tuesday to discuss new research).

http://icc.ub.edu/p-c_journalclub/discussed.html

This lists what research papers they have discussed recently.

 

From what you have told me, you have already visited Lisbon and it is not right for you. OK I agree. What about visiting Barcelona? First explore the UB website and then write 4 or 5 emails to some people there. Then catch the train. Can you do it?

Edited June 1, 2009 by Martin

[Enigm4]

i could do it. still i never thought on spain once my english is better than my spanish.

spanish can be very tricky and i dont wana loose much time worrying about learning from start a new language.

i can speak and understand 70% spanish but i cant writte it... once its like portuguese on the talking but the writting its the oposite :S

 

thats why i think UK wouldnt be a bad idea...

 

anyway, one thing im gona do its to visit some universitys in portugal and assist to the classes. to understand whats all that classes about.

 

its realy a shame that portugal is so weak in Physics at universitys.

the best university there is in portugal about enginery and maths is the one you pointed, but isnt physics, its Technologic Physics eng. .

 

i guess not that way...

 

still i can try to get some spanish classes, but its to close to learn it all at once and start the classes in september isnt it?

 

can u give me some hints about UK?

 

i dont know if there is any university with erasmus or acess to the MAGIC telescopes.

 

and, one important thing, if its out of portugal, better if near an airport.

 

 

thanks once again.

 

Enigm4.

[Martin]

...

thats why i think UK wouldnt be a bad idea...

can u give me some hints about UK?

 

Good. Now I know that for you English is better than Spanish.

 

I guess that means we should focus on UK. There may be also some courses taught in English in Denmark and/or Holland. American students who go to places like Copenhagen and Utrecht (good universities) say they do not have to learn to speak Danish or Dutch because everybody speaks English.

 

But for simplicity let's focus on the UK.

 

We have a UK physics graduate student here called AJB. You can write him a pm. Use lower-case letters "ajb". He will know all about the undergrad physics education in the main UK universities.

 

I also will try to continue to help.

[Enigm4]

ohh okok thanks a lot

ill try to contact him and keep posting some doubts.

 

Enigm4.

[Martin]

I forget, do you still have your exams ahead of you or are they done?

If you still have the exams maybe we should take it easy and not talk so much. Study. Sleep. Prepare. Don't waste time on web.

 

But if you have already taken exams, then it might be fun to look at some UK universities. Not even wait for ajb to reply. It's fun.

 

I don't have direct acquaintance with UK universities. But I have associations with several because of interest in cosmology and astrophysics.

 

For instance, Roy Maartens is a world-class expert and he has a Cosmology Institute at Uni Portsmouth.

http://www.icg.port.ac.uk/people/staff/maartens.html

 

When I say world-class, I mean this. He is a top expert in both the theoretical and the observational. And he brings top people to the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation (ICG)---promising post-docs, bright young people.

 

I don't know how is the undergraduate program at Portsmouth. I only know it is a good place for PhD students and post-docs to get ideas and do their research.

 

Here for example Frederico Arroja

http://www.icg.port.ac.uk/people/students/arroja.html

 

Here Antonio Cardoso

http://www.icg.port.ac.uk/people/students/cardoso.html

 

These two are PhD students. There is a long list of post-docs at the ICG and also a long list of PhD students.

Here is the list:

http://www.icg.port.ac.uk/people/current.htm

 

You will see on this list also that one of their post-docs in the ICG is Portuguese, he is Dr. Francisco Lobo

He is interested in worm-holes and time-travel among other things (he has broad interests).

Here is his picture and a list of his publications---both the professional writings and the popular articles.

http://cosmo.fis.fc.ul.pt/~flobo/'>http://cosmo.fis.fc.ul.pt/~flobo/

Personally I think at this point in history there are better fields of research than worm holes and time travel! But obviously this man is not stupid, or merely a dreamer. Roy Maartens is a top cosmologist---very grounded in observation (not merely in equations). He would not have Lobo there with him at ICG unless Lobo is in some way excellent.

 

WAIT! It says that Lobo has finished his post-doc contract at the Portsmouth ICG and he has already gone back to Lisbon!

(They do not keep the list perfectly up-to-date)

Lobo is now at the Lisbon CAAUL (Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Lisbon).

http://www.oal.ul.pt/caaul/en/index.html

 

OK read carefully the list of the research interests of Dr Francisco Lobo, who is now in Lisbon but who has connections with a top Institute at Portsmouth, and see if you can visit him for a short advice about education plans. Maybe he will say not, but he might say yes. He can say if Uni Portsmouth would be a practical and beneficial place to try to get into. Perhaps he could say how best to proceed. Suggest names of people. Suggest other UK universities if there are some better for physics undergraduate studies.

==quote==

Personal Data

 

Researcher at the Centro de Astronomia e Astrofísica da Universidade de Lisboa (CAAUL).

Previously, a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth.

MSc and PhD degrees by the Science Faculty of the University of Lisbon.

 

Publications

(links to his professional papers on arXiv, SPIRES, NASA ADS Database, citebase)

 

News

New Scientist: Comments on Time Machine at the LHC (pdf)

New Scientist: Comments on cosmic time machine (pdf)

New Scientist: Pioneer anomaly - Extra force in modified gravity

New Scientist: Dark energy stars

National Geographic: Wormoles and time travel

International Herald Tribune: Back to the future: Seeking a refined theory of time

New York Times: Remembrance of Things Future: The Mystery of Time

 

 

Research Interests

Averaged cosmologies

Modified theories of gravity

Dark energy models

Brane Cosmology

Exact Solutions to the Einstein Field Equations

Lorentzian Wormholes and the Causal Structure of Spacetime

Energy Conditions and Closed Timelike Curves

Black Holes and Cosmology

Analogue models

Quantum Inequalities and Quantum Field Theory

 

==endquote==

 

His office is in Building C8 of the Campo Grande of the Uni Lisboa.

His email: flobo"AT"cosmo.fis.fc.ul.pt [replace "AT" with @]

 

Here is the page for his research group

http://cosmo.fis.fc.ul.pt/

(Cosmology and Gravitational Physics research group at the Uni Lisboa)

This way you can see who the other people are. It is better to look at a whole group than at a single individual.

Wow, look at Paulo Crawford's research interests!

http://cosmo.fis.fc.ul.pt/~crawford/pc_i_05.html

He also is interested in worm holes! Is this a strange Portuguese national characteristic??

Another one of the group is Paulo Aguiar, who did his undergrad work at Uni do Porto.

Here is his path:

Graduated in Física-Matemática Aplicada (Ramo de Astronomia) in Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto in February 1991.

Master degree in High Energy and Gravitation in Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa in November 1994, maintaining the thesis titled: Observational Problems in the Big Bang Cosmology, supervised by Prof. Paulo Crawford.

Ph. D. in Cosmology in May 2004, maintaining the thesis titled: Homogeneous Cosmologies: Observational Parameters Analysis, supervised by Prof. Paulo Crawford.

Here is his photo and homepage

http://cosmo.fis.fc.ul.pt/~paguiar/paguiar.html

 

My comment is that the University of Lisbon cannot be so terrible, because this man Lobo got his Masters degree and his PhD degree both from the UL. If they were so bad, then since he is a bright energetic fellow he would have gone somewhere else. But he did the graduate work at Lisbon. That doesn't necessarily mean Lisbon is good. (What matters is how you work, not where you are.) But it can't be a complete desert either!

And also Paulo Aguiar seems to be OK and he was entirely educated in Portugal! BS in O Porto, Masters and PhD Lisbon.

How bad can it be? It can't be all that bad!

 

I think I would rather be in Portsmouth. I respect Roy Maartens a whole bunch. Also King's College London has good people. Also Uni Nottingham has excellent quantum gravity people. It has John Barrett (so smart he is scary). There are several absolutely excellent places in UK, but just to keep focus let us think about Portsmouth. I wonder how the undergrad program there is.

====================

But look! Uni Lisbon has an undergrad program (Licenciatura) designed for future researchers in Astronomy and Astrophysics!

Here is the description!

http://www.oal.ul.pt/caaul/en/formacao/formacao.html

"Em 2003 foi criado um ramo de Astronomia e Astrofísica da Licenciatura em Física permitindo aos alunos uma sólida formação nesta ciência básica. Além disso, tem constituído uma óptima aposta para alunos que desejam seguir uma carreira posterior de investigação em Astronomia e Astrofísica ou Cosmologia."

 

And by the way here is the Erasmus coordinator, I think for studying part time at UK universities

http://fisica.fc.ul.pt/erasmus.html

http://fisica.fc.ul.pt/docentes/~gevansdf.html

 

Now it is clear. You go to Lisbon and talk to Paulo Aguiar, Paulo Crawford, and maybe that hotshot dude Francesco Lobo, all of them in the group for cosmology and gravitational physics. And you ask them about Licenciatura em Física. Is it really good or not? And you ask them about places in the UK to go for the Erasmus year. Is Portsmouth good? Or is some other place better?

They are all at CAAUL. You scope out the campus, maybe talk to a few students. Maybe talk to Dr Evans (the lady who coordinates Erasmus foreign study program). Steer clear of string theory, which is a trap with too many people in it and weak or non-existent experimental content.

 

for some reason Crawford and Lobo are both interested in worm-holes and time travel. which I can't understand, but there it is. And they are in the Lisbon cosmo and gravitational physics group. And there is a link to Portsmouth, where one of my favorite people (Maartens) is. Maybe that is all I can say. Perhaps AJB will have a different perspective.

 

You have to actually talk to students and professors directly in order to find out anything real.

Edited June 2, 2009 by Martin