Today I got to speak to Bilal Ghader about his time as a graduate student at Georgia Tech-Lorraine! Bilal is from Lebanon, and he got his undergraduate degree there in electrical and computer engineering at the American University of Beirut. When he was originally thinking about grad school, he couldn’t decide if he wanted a PhD or not, so he decided to start with a Master’s degree and see how it went from there.
He is especially interested in the field of robotics and decided to come to Georgia Tech-Lorraine because Georgia Tech is one of the best schools for robotics research. At GT-Lorraine, he’s pursuing robotics research and is currently working on a robot that uses laser scans to approximate its position more accurately than GPS can. In the long term, he’s interested in continuing to do robotics research, whether through a PhD program or through working for a company. “I was looking a bit,” he said, “and I see that there are some good opportunities in France and in Europe in general, so I’m thinking about applying to a few of those.” Depending on whether or not he decides to do an internship next semester or the next, he’ll finish his degree in either summer or fall of 2019.
One of Bilal’s favorite aspects of GT-Lorraine is the small class size and the fact that you can get to know just about everyone. He also likes that this small size allows you to take the classes that you want. In addition to this, he said, “I like the fact that Metz is in a very strategic location. I’ve been to two or three cities already—I’ve been to Strasbourg. I’ve been to Nancy. I’ve been to Luxembourg, and I went to Trier when they did the whole trip. So this is interesting!” He’s eager to take more trips next semester if he doesn’t do an internship now that he has more time and is settled into life GT-Lorraine.
An interesting and cool fact about Bilal that I learned during our conversation is that he enjoys collecting and assembling scale models! Right now, for instance, he’s waiting on an Amazon package that contains both a new car model and a new plane model. “I don’t know how or where I’m going to do them since I’m restricted in space in my dorm,” he pondered. “Basically what happens is that you have gray pieces of plastic, and you start by coloring them. I tend to get creative with the color; I don’t follow the instructions. Then you need to put the pieces together. It’s very delicate and it needs time, it needs precision and focus.”
Bilal also had lots of stickers on his laptop reflecting his interests, and he was kind enough to explain each one to me. Several were from hackathons, others from student organizations for events, and some were fun and artistic stickers that his friends had designed themselves! My favorite was one advertising a Lebanese hackathon called Reboot Beirut, naturally because it rhymed. From robots, to scale models, to hacking and coding projects, I’m sure Bilal’s passion for building and creating all kinds of things will serve him well in his engineering career! Best of luck to you and have an awesome rest of your time at GT-Lorraine, Bilal!
excitement. The first thing I did was eat delicious homemade Italian pasta, and go on the pebble-covered beach! The beach was beautiful: the water was a glistening turquoise color, it was surrounded by vibrant colored houses and rocks cascading up the rocks, and people of all ages walked along the beach. Later on that afternoon my friends and I ate the best gelato ever, saw a street show with a man jumping over fire, and enjoyed the nightlife in Nice. 
massive Oktoberfest grounds. The huge rides and attractions, the colorful food stands emanating delicious smells, the pervasive souvenir shops and the masses of humanity—all of it reminded me of the state fairs I’d been to back in the United States. The difference was that everything here was steeped in German culture. Instead of shorts and t-shirts, everywhere we looked we saw dirndls and lederhosen. Instead of corn dogs, cotton candy, and endless fried concoctions, the food stands were brimming with schnitzel, pretzels, and gingerbread. Amidst all these Bavarian traditions, however, Oktoberfest was easily one of the most touristy destinations I’ve visited. As we wandered through the crowds, I heard English being spoken as often as not.
As the rides were quite expensive, we decided that we only wanted to try one; so, naturally, we needed to choose the best and craziest one to satisfy our thrill-seeking. The Ferris wheel, rollercoasters, and merry-go-rounds were too mundane—we settled instead on a ridiculous, crazily spinning contraption that looked like a cross between a pendulum and a wagon wheel. Upon vaguely googling this to try to find out what it was, I discovered that there’s a 
experience in general. At the festival, we tried curryworst, a spicy saucy sausage on a bun that proved incredibly messy to eat but very yummy nonetheless. Our other fair fare (hehe) included apple funnel cake, gingerbread, frites, and a beautiful chocolate covered apple. On the Sunday morning before we left, we walked to an unassuming bakery a few blocks from where we were staying and got sandwiches and pastries, and I had one of the most delicious chocolate-filled donuts I’ve ever tasted. Finally, as we prepared to depart from the Munich train station, I realized my fatal mistake: I had come all this way to Germany and failed to eat a pretzel! I got one for the road before we left and ate it on the train, satisfied with the wonderful taste of Munich that this weekend had given me.
yummy food. Arriving in London, I expected to be surrounded by thick British accents while standing across from the Elizabeth Tower, commonly known as Big Ben. What I did see and hear was slightly different from what I expected: Big Ben was completely covered in metal ladders and construction equipment, and the British accents I heard were nearly what I thought they would be (they were the usually more diverse accents of tourists). Even though I was not able to see Big Benin its full glory, I did see the London Eye, Parliament and Parliament Square, and take my cliché picture in a telephone booth. It was also exciting to visit the Buckingham Palace and see the British flag flying high above the palace, indicating the Queen was home. The best part about the first day was going to Chinatown! I walked under the little red lanterns that decorated the sky, and saw Asian cuisine and shops and live street performances. That first night, I was able to see London come alive at night. Another fun thing that I did that night was going to M&M World! Even though I am not much of a chocolate person, I could not resist creating my personal multi-colored M&M goodie bag. 
