So I finished and gave that presentation, made some progress on my paper revisions, and took some more steps towards trying to fix my out-of-commission instrument, and now a vacuum pump has failed.
Wednesday I ordered replacement parts for two of the vacuum gauges. Yesterday I installed them, only to discover that they weren't actually the problem. Replacing the gauges themselves was my last idea. Without more expertise or information I was stuck. I went in this morning to write down some numbers to include in my plea-for-help email, only to discover that one of the vacuum pumps had died. So now that just raises more questions. This pump just came back from repair and refurbishment, and had been working fine for a week, so now what?? Did it fail because something is wrong with the pump? Or is the same upstream problem responsible for the vacuum gauge issue behind the pump situation? Ugh. I should be able to eliminate or confirm the former as soon as I get another (sufficiently strong) pair of hands to help me get the pump off the instrument. Somehow I don't think the 80 lb female Chinese first year in my office can be much help in this respect...
Seriously hoping February will be better than January has been...
I used to be a grad student. And now I'm not (thank goodness). I spent a year as a post doc in industry in Baltimore before starting a "real" job with the same company. These are my tales of science, food, travel, and life.
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