Monday, July 06, 2015

Ten years of blogging about CMP/nano

A couple of weeks ago this blog passed through its tenth anniversary (!).  That makes me about 70 in blog-years.  At the time, science blogging was going through a rapid expansion, and since then there has been a major die-off (we still miss you, Incoherent Ponderer) - people decide that they aren't reaching their desired audience, or don't have the time, or have run out of things to say, etc. 

A lot has happened in nanoscience and condensed matter physics in the last decade:  the rise of graphene (a late post on this), the recognition of topological insulators, the discovery of the iron pnictide superconductors, observations related to Majorana fermions, to name a few.  It's been fun to watch and discuss.  I've written quite a bit (but not so much recently) on physics as as undergrad and cultural attitudes, choosing a grad school, choosing/finding a postdoc position, giving talks in general, trying to get a faculty job, and other career-oriented topics, as well as science policy.  Over time, I've leaned more toward trying to explain CMP and nano concepts in more accessible ways, and at least identifying why this can sometimes be more difficult in our discipline than in high energy physics. 

Anyway, it's been a lot of fun, and I'm not going anywhere, thanks in large part to knowing that you are actually continuing to read this.  Thanks for your support.  If there are particular topics you'd like to see, please comment as always.

5 comments:

Ted Sanders said...

Thanks for the decade of blogging!

Massimo said...

Thank you for the last ten years. You have been one of the most eloquent and compelling advocates of condensed matter physics in a world dominated by strings.
You have inspired many of us to follow in your footsteps, as well as to give up when it became clear that we could at best be pallid imitators.
Keep up with the good work!

Anonymous said...

Keep going strong.!!

Luke said...

Thank you for sharing your time with us! I'm sure there are a quiet-many that read and will continue to read over the coming years. All the best.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Prof. Natelson, here's to another 10! Condensed matter needs its advocates as much as ever!