I started this morning by falling asleep during the bus ride to our first company visit.  I woke up shortly before arriving at SGL.  SGL is a company that works with carbon and manufactures carbon fiber.  I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation given by one of the employees because it focused on the engineering aspects of the company.  He showed us comparisons between the material properties of carbon fiber and steel, indicating the increase in strength and decrease in density.  This means that carbon fiber is just as strong as, if not stronger than, steel, while being significantly lighter.  This past semester, I took a class where I learned about different materials and their properties and strategies for choosing a material for a component.  One of the topics we discussed in class was the advantages and disadvantages of carbon fiber.  This was the first chance that I was able to see something that I had learned in one of my classes be applied to the real world.  Despite being exhausted and lacking sleep, the presenter had my full attention.  After the he finished talking about carbon fiber and the company, someone from HR talked to us about employment opportunities with SGL in Germany and elsewhere.  I was not expecting this as all of us just finished our Freshman year at Pitt and were years way from graduating and searching for jobs.  It made me feel like more of an adult and got me thinking about where I might want to work in the future, as I had not considered working anywhere outside of the US.  Next, we went on a tour of the facilities to see how carbon fiber is made.  My group started in the showroom, where many different applications of carbon and carbon fiber were on display.  Once again, we talked about the advantages of carbon over steel for many different applications.  Our tour guide asked us questions about which properties would be advantageous for each situation to keep us engaged.  My favorite example was when he showed us the door frame made from carbon fiber because he picked it up easily which would not have been possible if it was made from steel.  We finished the company visit and tour with a lunch provided by SGL.  There were also small books about manufacturing carbon and carbon fiber for us to take home with us.

Next, we rode the bus to Munich to see the BMW Museum and World.  We started the afternoon with walking around the museum.  There were several floors of different cars, showing the history of innovation at BMW.  My favorite exhibit was in the room about power.  Motors throughout the years were on display, and, by walking up to a sensor, I could listen to what the engine sounded like during each time period.  I found this interesting because I could see and hear the differences between the engines.

My group eventually became too tired to continue exploring the museum, so we crashed on benches near the exit.  The first few days of the trip were long, but I found this necessary to adjust to the new time zone.  Everyone met back up at the entrance of the museum to go to BMW world and start our free time.  To leave, we had to go through a revolving door, which each person would spin faster than the previous until the door was spinning too fast for anyone enter and the nearby security guard told us to stop.  We had a free hour to walk around BMW World and get lunch.  I got a sandwich and a pretzel from the café.  My group decided to go explore the Olympic Park that was a short walk away.  I enjoyed looking at the buildings because they had roofs that looked like netting but was a metal structure.

We hiked around the park for a while before returning to BMW world.  Next, we went on a tour of the factory.  The tour stated with a video about innovation at BMW.  Then, we were given a headset and receiver so that everyone could hear the tour guide while in the factory.  I have small ears, which made it difficult for me to keep the headset on my ear- it fell out countless times during the tour.  We finished up the tour, got back on the bus, and headed back to Augsburg.

 

 

We did not have dinner as the whole group tonight, so we were tasked with finding a place to eat in smaller groups.  We got back relatively late, so I went with a few others to McDonalds for dinner.  Everyone I know who has had McDonalds in another country has told me that it tastes different, but it tastes the same in Germany as it does in America in my opinion.

 

 

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Dog Counter: I only saw 2 dogs today, but that was because I was inside at company visits for the majority of the day.

 

Low of the Day:

I was not allowed to bring my backpack with into the museum or on the tour at BMW, so I had to leave it in a locker.  The lockers were different at the museum and for the tour- which I found odd because they were essentially in the same building.  At the museum, I had to pay a Euro coin to be able to remove the key and lock it, but I would get the coin back when I unlocked the locker.  Assuming the lockers were the same, I dug for a Euro coin before walking to the lockers before the tour.  However, when I put my backpack in the locker the lock was an electronic keypad where I created a password to lock/unlock the locker.

 

High of the Day:

I enjoyed the presentations at SGL because it focused on information that I had some previous knowledge of.  It was also interesting to learn about internship and job opportunities in Germany.