Market design is not an especially large field. So when an interested student (read: me) comes along, it seems people like to help out. There’s no benefit in lying about the way things are.
Advisor Kyle looped me in on an email including Thayer, market design economist at NC State. Thayer learned I was in Switzerland and told me to meet up with Bettina, a theorist out of Lausanne, who he said was very, very awesome.
Bettina and I bantered briefly over email before figuring out the best day I could stop by and see her. Eventually we found a time––a clear-skied Friday afternoon––and we teased a few ideas: meeting her students, sharing research ideas; and she joked about another, namely swimming in the near-freezing Lake Geneva water. Little did she know I would accept.
I could barely stand the water––literally, I could barely stand in the water––but I lasted a good few seconds while she swam her daily ten-or-so minutes. More important than the swim was the view: clear waters barricaded by the Alps and a beautiful sunset. Check out the video below.
Bettina showed me around Lausanne, cooked me TooGoodToGo romanesco, made fun of the way I ate, introduced me to her students, and enjoyed a G&T with me on her balcony overlooking the city. If this is academia, I’m (probably) in.