PHASE 1: Personal Introduction
Hello! ¡Hola hola! Guten Tag! My name is Miguel Jimenez Gomez, Miguel for short! I am currently a rising Junior majoring in Mechanical Engineering with a Thermal Fluids specialization, and minoring in Engineering Design and German Studies.
Before enrolling at Rice University, a lot of my studies and activities in high school were founded on my interest for engineering. Growing up with parents who are engineers, I found it very interesting to hear about what they do at their jobs, particularly what they help design and the tools and software they use for designs. In high school, I focused a majority of my studies in STEM, such as following the Project Lead The Way (PLTW) standard engineering courses and participating in extracurricular events in Technology Student Association (TSA)!
Another large foundation to my interest in engineering is my passion for motorsports and motor racing. Growing up, I have always had a passion for cars due to racing games such as the Gran Turismo and DiRT series, and often I found the motor racing vehicles the most interesting due to how unique and varied they were due to the many motorsports disciplines out there. As I read more about the history of motor racing, I learned more on how much innovation and engineering plays a role in the development of racing technology. This is a very important role of motorsports as a whole, as ultimately, this technology is what makes its way into the road vehicles we drive today. Because of this role that motor racing (and by extension, engineering overall) plays in our world, I became determined to one day work in a motor racing department for a brand. I have managed to check out some cool cars over the years too! My favorite visits were to the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart as it is my favorite brand.
Me in 2019 at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart with a 1971 Porsche 917 LH (Langheck).
1977 Porsche 935 from my visit in 2023.
1982 Porsche 956. The exhibit is indeed upside down to showcase the possibility of the car to drive inverted given its downforce generation from ground effect!
For as much appreciation as I have for the world of engineering, if I could choose to do something for the rest of my life with complete stability would be photography and cinematography. Since freshman year of high school, I have worked with analog photography, picking up formats and even Super 8 cinematography over the years! I also did some work in a darkroom for 2 semesters at the Glassell School of Art in Houston. I find working with analog film very rewarding due to its more careful approach to capturing images than digital. Furthermore, the cameras are quirkier, yet intuitive to use.
Below is my favorite photograph of mine!
“Rose Garden”
PHASE 2: All About Europe and Amsterdam!
For me, studying abroad in Europe is something of interest to me as I have the current goal to pursue a Master’s degree in the continent. As I mentioned, I have been studying German to hopefully attend graduate school at a German university due to their strong engineering programs. Thus, familiarizing myself with how life is in Europe is crucial, and thankfully I have managed to experience a good amount of the continent. During the Summer of 2023, I participated in the Leipzig Fellowship study abroad opportunity by the German Studies department to study German in Germany for months. Thanks to this, I was able to experience the flow of life in Germany, which I enjoyed so much I experienced ZEROOO homesickness.
With iSEED Amsterdam and Paris offering a similar opportunity to study in Europe, I look forward to experience life and studies on this continent again, and to take advantage of the most it has to offer!
Below are some photographs I took during my study in Germany!
“Leipziger Altbauten”, early 20th Century buildings common in Germany and Europe as a whole.
“Domplatz”, a visit to the city of Erfurt.
“Sächsische Schweiz und Elbe”, hiking in the Saxon Switzerland park near the Elbe river.
My Beaulieu 6008 S and a cartridge of Kodak Ektachrome 100D Super 8 film!
During my first day in Amsterdam, my roommate Winson and I took a walk around the areas of ClinkNOORD and Amsterdam Centraal, and we got a pretty good feel for these parts of the city. I appreciate how easy it is to walk around the city, and what a sight seeing sooooo many bicycles too! Plus the ferry boats are also super helpful in getting around too. On my second day here, I explored a bit past Amsterdam Centraal to do some photography and cinematography. I found the city to be stunning due to the canals and building designs, and it was very neat to feel the vibes. To compliment the public transportation again, having a combination of trams and a metro is very convenient to travel around (although it took a bit to figure things out).
Unfortunately, the first day of the course did not go all too well due to a medical emergency I had to attend, but after a clinic visit, I managed to improve. I appreciate the help provided by Dr. Panahi and Amy in attending my issue. Here is to hoping that things are manageable for the rest of the program.
Besides that, it was mega interesting seeing the Eye Filmmuseum. As I stated, I have some knowledge with cinematography from working with Super 8 film, so it was interesting to see some old 35mm cameras and projectors on view.
For Wednesday, we finally got to meet our group for the Universiteit van Amsterdam x Rice University Hackathon! Something that I was surprised about when meeting the students were their various international backgrounds. It reminded me a lot of how universities like Rice are in the United States as well.
We also took the time to visit the AMS Institute and hear from those who lead and work at the institute or projects. It was very interesting to tour their place, especially their Makerspace as it reminded me or Rice’s OEDK. My favorite part of the tour was the showcase of the Roboat, as it sounds like a very promising innovation for public water transportation.
AMS Institute.
Demonstration of testing done for the Roboat.