Market design is not an especially large field. So when an interested student (read: me) comes along, it seems people like to help out.
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.