Friday March 10, 2006

Judging interview started the second day, after a breakfast to introduce the judges. Each student was scheduled for one fifteen-minute interview in each of four rooms, with each room run by three judges. The times were staggered, with interviews running all of Friday and into Saturday morning. Mine were at 9:15, 1:15, and 4:15 Friday, and 10:45 Saturday; there's actually a lot of free time. I spent much of this time hanging out in the eLounge with everyone else, discussing interview questions and oozing nervous energy, with a few breaks to jot down impressions of how the interview went and to eat soybeans and Cheerios in the hotel room.

In the evening, Eric Lander (an alumnus of the program) gave an absolutely amazing talk about genomics. One of the most interesting points was actually personal: he started off working in math, then taught at Harvard Business School, and on what amounted to a whim changed to biology--he was simply fascinated by it. He ended up helping to lead the Human Genome Project. Moral of the story: attachment to a field is only productive to a certain point; taking a risk and trying something new could be what you're meant to do.

Eric Lander discusses genomics. (Photo by Feature Photo Service)

After that keynote address, we had a fancy formal dinner with the judges and some people from Intel. I recall one of the waiters putting my napkin on my lap for me halfway through the meal; that is probably not a mistake you want to make. After dinner, we got asteroids named after us before dessert. That was one full evening!