(L: Kendall/MIT Station on the Red Line and R: Kendall Square as seen from the Marriott Hotel, the venue of the conference)
I got back from Boston 2 days ago where I attended the Water Environment Federation's Urban River Restoration Conference, and wanted to write this down before my memories fade away. I will write a few things about Boston in my next blog entry, hopefully with some pictures, but for now, some observations and incidents from the conference:
1. Elected officials can be sensible: The plenary session at the conference was followed by a panel discussion involving the co-chairs of the conference and some invited guests. Prominent among them was Ms. Henrietta Davis, Vice-Mayor of Cambridge, MA - a city in the Greater Boston area that borders Boston along the Charles River. I found her quite knowledgeable in the area of city planning and waterfront development, topics that were the theme of the conference. The interesting thing is that she is not appointed by someone to this post, based on any expertise in this area. Instead, she is an elected official who has to give campaign speeches and participate in public forums/debates to retain her job. The fact that her constituency includes two of the finest internationally-recognized institutions - Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is only a small consolation. The city is economically and racially diverse, just like any metro city (if you think getting elected to the city council is easy, think Harvey Milk). I found her making sensible arguments and providing cogent responses, and not giving cliched talking points and campaign statements. She seemed to have traveled to other cities and attended other conferences in the 'Green Development' area. If she stands for re-election anytime, consider this an endorsement from me.
2. Not Indian anymore: I met a professor from Canada, who teaches at Queen's University and works on onsite wastewater treatment, the same topic that I work on broadly. We got talking about our mutual works, and I explained to him the state of onsite systems in Ohio and my proposed project, where I happened to mention the term 'health impacts', as it connected to my study. He then replied, "....and you know, healthcare is a big issue in *your* country." Hmmm... so he meant the U.S. by 'your' country. Interesting..!
3. You don't have a card?: I also met the North American director of the International Water Association and got into a conversation. She said her office likes to maintain contacts with universities and wanted to have my card. I replied that I am a student, assuming that she will understand what I meant (that I didn't have a card). Just when she was handing me her card, she noticed that I was not making any effort to take out a card (that didn't exist) and remarked, "..so you really don't have a card". I was definitely surprised, since I didn't expect that people would expect a visiting card from me, in spite of being a student. So, a lesson for those going to conferences - create your visiting card (hand-made/printed/whatever), so you can give your contact information to those who may want to contact you (in case they really want to!).
