I'm a scientist and a traveler, currently working on my PhD in Philly. Previously, I took a year off between undergrad and beginning my grad program and traveled the US, WWOOFing for 4 months in Hawai'i and Alaska.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Because it's a great way to meet people you otherwise never would have known. Because it's a super great way to stay in a place when you're on a super low budget. Because it's an exciting way to travel!

Interests

I'm interested in science (big surprise there), movies (nearly all of them), video games, animals, books (particularly scifi), cooking, farming, music, and meeting people who are different from me. Or the same, actually. I just like to meet people.

• animals
• books
• design
• concerts
• dining
• cooking
• coffee
• politics
• movies
• video games
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• teaching
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

Generally prefer classic and contemporary rock, alternative, some hard rock/metal, some pop, some hip-hop, some country (very very little), and some folk.

I love movies. My favorites are generally either dramas (LotR, A Beautiful Mind, etc ) or actions (Black Hawk Down, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, etc). I also enjoy comedies, but not romantic comedies. I also really don't like horror movies.

Books are fantastic. I particularly enjoy science fiction novels (favorite authors: Heinlein, Asimov, Robinson, Anthony), but I've been known to pick up a regular fiction from time to time (LotR, Harry Potter, etc) or even a non-fiction (history of science, history of medicine, biographies). Also, I'm a nerd, so you might find me reading a textbook on immunology or quantum physics from time to time.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Gosh this is a lot of pressure. Lemme try a few approaches:
Working as a stage hand for Christian metal concerts and doing stagecrew for Underoath.

Moved to Scotland and worked in a nanochemistry lab in Glasgow to design and test dipeptide nanofibers to establish their ability to stabilize light-harvesting proteins to use them for alternative energy.

Worked on a coffee farm in Hawai'i, on the Big Island

Worked on a CSA in Alaska, in Palmer (near Anchorage).

Teach, Learn, Share

I have a lot of knowledge about the scientific community: how research is done, how papers are published, how one becomes a professor, etc, that I'm happy to explain to anyone. Beyond that, I have a lot of general scientific knowledge that I would love to pass on! From the specifics of how organisms turn food or sunlight into energy, to the ways that molecules interact, to how to figure out the flight time of a cannonball. I love science and I love sharing it with other people.

Since the point of my travels are to expose myself to different cultures and ways of living, I'm most interested in just hearing about what life is like for you where you are! What are local politics like, what kinds of foods are popular, what do you do for fun, and all of that! Really, though, I like to hear people talk about things they're passionate about. So basically, if you want to tell me about it, I probably want to hear it!

What I Can Share with Hosts

Science knowledge of various kinds
Stories from travel
Stories from being homeschooled for my entire pre-college life

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, England, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Northern Ireland, Scotland, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Scotland, United States