Summer BME Workshop at the University of Patras

Patras BME Workshop This time it all started Thursday afternoon when I finally arrived in Patras. The trip was eventful - starting with a canceled flight from Atlanta to JFK. So I took the flight to Milano - then from Milano to Athen, taxi to the bus station, bus to Patas where Ovidiu, Adi and Laura were waiting. This visit was to participate in the Summer Biomedical Engineering Workshop at the University of Patras, and of course, additional adventures with my (adopted) Romanian family.

Click here for information about the symposium

Getting there: Delta 72 from Atlanta to Milano and return on Delta 133

A view of the Alps - on the way to Milano

The BME Workshop

The sunrise

Tassos, Frank and the BME Workshop

Nikos and Clinical Engineering Overview

My Lecture and the roundtable discussion about life, BME careers and jogging

and here is the powerpoint presentation of my talk

Patras Biomedical Engineering Workshop - thoughts about being a biomedical engineer or HTML Presentation of ppt

Work and Play: Kalogria (studies of bioluminescence), Nafpaktos, Rio and Patras

Kalogria, Olga, Radu, Misha, Laura and Ovidiu: a day of swimming, and diving and underwater photos, and big blue medusa(s) (jelly fish)

and a flying man

Ovidiu

And the very interesting blue medusa - they appeared white with faint blue tint, as seen on the right - but I used a flash (left) - and perhaps the camera flash excited a fluorescent component? Click for more insights into bioluminescence and here for insights into calcium imaging with fluorescent markers

Another great sunset over the sea grass at Kalogria s flash, and bez flash

Rio

THe next day Ovidiu taught me how to identify clams buried in the sand - two small holes - which you dive down to and start scooping out the sand under the clams until you catch it. The problem was to prepare. So we went to our favorite taverna, Olympia, for advice from our professor.

and of course, always nice sunsets to look at

To Nafpaktos and beyond

The next day, a bicycle trip to Nafpaktos - sort of: Ovidiu and Radu but there were challenges and so we did not leave until Sunday

A reunion with my old bicycle from my Fulbright adventure (now Alin is the caretaker)

Last minute preparations, and our team is ready to leave

Work on the new cable stay bridge between Rio and Antirio - and fishing

There are new sights (the building of the new bridge) and old sights (fishing at the ferry docks)

We took the ferry from Rio to Antirrion by ferry and enjoyed the local folks and entertainment and then started our trip to Nafpaktos, about 15 km away - then another 10 km to the beach

And entertainment: people watching and music

Then we started serious bicycle motion

We reached Nafpaktos, and stopped at the small harbor for lunch, and saw the same "thing" swimming in the water that I saw in 1997 - but don't know what it is?

The harbor