Hello, and thanks for stopping by my blog! My name is Sam Hile, and I am a rising senior at Rice University majoring in Physics and Energy Policy Studies, with a minor in Energy and Water Sustainability. This blog is intended to give those interested a glimpse (mostly through pictures) of my travels in Israel and Jordan over the summer.

My primary purpose of stay is to serve as a volunteer research assistant to Dr. David Faiman and his team at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, who are attempting to model some characteristics of a particular kind of solar panel/mirror apparatus. I will be staying in university housing while working on this exciting project.

The second goal I have is to enhance my proficiency with the Arabic language. I recently completed an intensive year of independent study that focused mostly on reading and translating. So, it should be a fun challenge to begin developing my verbal skills in the language’s hub. To accomplish this, I plan on traveling to neighboring Jordan for at least a few days.

Please see the “Links” section to find out more information on the places I will be staying. I welcome your comments!