Bogdan explains, `At the time it was compulsory, and I had been dodging it on one pretext or the other because I was simply not interested. But finally there was no escaping and I had to do it. I trained as a tank driver...and also in shooting from the tank. Since I was training willy-nilly, I had made up my mind to make the most of the situation. I took up shooting targets as a sport that would improve my concentration. Despite my reservations, I have to admit that holding a weapon feels very powerful. Also I started studying changes taking place in one's personality due to irregular sleeping hours, bad food, poor accommodations and obscure orders of one's superiors. I feel all of these result in making one less sensitive because that is the only way one can cope; and, insensitivity is not always undesirable virtue, in my view. In a nutshell, this experience did have some benefits. For me the most important one was that it reinforced the ugliness of war. Ordinarily, I would have watched the goings-on in Iraq sitting on my comfortable couch, forgetting about them after a while, but after my service I can really empathize with the locals and also with the troops.'
Bogdan is enjoying talking, in part because he could not talk at all for the past week, having undergone a tonsillitis operation. `The pain was simply excruciating. I had heard quite a few negative remarks about the Dutch medical system, so I was a bit apprehensive about the way my problem would be treated. But the medication was proving to be futile and the pain was only getting worse so the doctors decided to operate. Everything went off smoothly and I don't have anything to complain about. It is such a relief,' he sighs.
Bogdan had started working as a PhD student in Romania, but more favorable economic conditions in western Europe brought him to the UT. He is pursuing a doctoral degree with the Thermal Engineering Department.
Bogdan's research concerns the co-production of synthesis gas and power. Synthetic gas is a mixture consisting mainly of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Such mixtures represent the intermediary step from hydrocarbons (substances which consist of hydrogen and carbon) to bulk chemicals (like acetic acid, methanol, ammonia etc) and synthetic fuels (like synthetic diesel), all of which are but a few of the many applications in the chemical industry.
Bogdan lives in Enschede with his seventeen-month old daughter and his wife, who is pursuing a Post-doc at the UT. The trio is looking forward to the summer when they will go home to Romania; that is, `unless my forthcoming promotion in October throws cold water on our plans,' Bogdan chuckles.
Hometown: Bucharest, Romania
Favorite food: Burrito
Favorite movie: A Beautiful Mind
Favorite musical group: The Beatles
Favorite book: Jurnalul fericirii (The Journal of Happiness) by Nicolae Steinhardt.
Dream Destination: Canada
Best part of living in NL: Living in an open society which has so many options
Worst part of living in NL: Not being able to visit home as much as I would like
