Week 3

This was an interesting week, I have to say. It started out pretty good. Dr. Nugyen and I looked like we were making progress with the project. We also thought we were going to become rich. So, my main goal of the project is to find the efficiency of the solar cell. The experiment was already to run our first scan of the cell and so we did. The data that was taken was very surprising. It was telling us that we had a solar cell that was 1000% efficient. Yay!!! I have solved cold fusion. Also, the energy crisis and people won’t care that BP spilled tons and tons and still counting amounts of oil. Well as you can see that getting something 1000% efficient is not able to be done just like the things mentioned above. So of course we did something wrong. Dr. Nugyen started looking at my calculations thinking that those were the cause but of course those are correct. I already knew what the problem was because I had figured out that the way we were measuring intensity was wrong. The logic was correct but he just put numbers in the code that were wrong and made it off by a factor of 100. He didn’t know that because he didn’t understand what I had told him before. Well we figured out the problem, I guess he figured out the problem. It wasn’t a big deal and just a few things needed fixing on the program and those were taken care of in one day. Now we are able to take new measurements and hopefully this time the data will be good data. I will be working with it this afternoon. A scan is going on now and so I will get the data later. I learned that things will never go right the first time. I hope that by next week I can update about the good data and find the real efficiency of the solar cell.

I also learned this week, to make sure I have money before I go somewhere to eat and to look above me before I stand up on the bus. You are probably wondering why I learned this. Well on Monday a few of the interns were going to go see a Star Trek movie in Crystal City. We decided to go to dinner beforehand and we found a Louisiana style barbeque called the Kings Street Blues. I had the ribs and they were fantastic I recommend it to anyone. But, as we got the check I reach into my purse to get my wallet and there wasn’t one. Luckily, Raina was able to cover my check and I paid her back the next day with cash from my second story about money. So Zack and I both work at NIST and since we are the only people we really know at NIST we sometimes eat lunch together. Zack came to my office and pulled out his bread it was moldy and so we decided to go to the cafeteria. I got there just to buy some fruit but only had my debit card and then I got to the cashier and it was cash only. So I was embarrassed and I had to go to the ATM to get some cash and the change I got was enough to pay Raina back. On Thursday I was getting off the shuttle bus in the morning and as I stood up my head hit a television screen it hurt and it got worse when I hit my head again when getting off a different bus in the afternoon. So I learned a few things this week that are helpful for life and my job. Overall it is going well. I am ready to work harder and get the things done that I need to do.

Week 2

Hey so I have been forgetting to post my week 2 entry about my internship so here it is.

Well it is the end of the second week. This was the week I adjusted to not getting any sleep and have a long commute to work. Though I also got to know specifically what I will be working on for the rest of the summer. That meant I had to read a lot this week to learn about semiconductors. I am learning a lot about the research world and how slow or fast things go. One day you do a lot of productive things and another you spend the whole trying to fix mistakes but by doing that you are just making more and then you look back and you weren’t at all productive. This was the theme of my week.

Monday was a productive day. I was able to run a few scans that collected data that matched the data my advisor had. This means I set up the experiment correctly. That made me happy because I was doing things right. Tuesday was not that productive as far as the experiment goes. All I did was read different power points explaining semiconductors. I also had to prepare a few power point slides to present in our division meeting on Wednesday. That brings me to Wednesday. In the morning each intern in our division had to give a 3-5 min presentation on the research so far. I was able to answer most of the questions I was asked so I felt happy. There are some interesting projects going on that I am excited to hear about every week. That afternoon Dr. Nguyen asked me to make a few scans. I tried for an hour to put the detector in the optical system. The detector was too big to be able to be placed where it needed to be. I was so frustrated that I wasn’t able to do what I was asked but the nice thing was that Dr. Nguyen is very patient and that he wasn’t able to do it either. This was when the week got really slow. Because we weren’t able to place the detector in the system Dr. Nguyen decided to just set-up the rest of the set-up for the experiment. This made it that I couldn’t really do much until Dr. Nguyen so yesterday and today were full of reading more and more.

This week I was able to venture out and see more of DC. Tuesday I went with Linda swing dancing at the Jam Cellar. It was sooo cool to be dancing in an old mansion that had the old hardwood floors. I definitely want to go back. Wednesday I didn’t see more of DC but I did get to spend more time with the other interns. A few of us got together and played Settlers of Catan. It is one of my favorite board games. Yesterday most of us went to dinner at The Red Lion. I had an amazing burger and will go back to try a different burger some other time. What was funny was watching 8 physics majors trying to split up the bill. One would think that people that can do calculus in their heads can do simple addition and subtraction. I am excited to see the monuments tonight. I have seen them multiple times in my life but it will be fun to see them at night with the other interns. Well until next week.

Missionary Experiences

Attending BYU-Idaho doesn't allow me to have many missionary experiences. Yes, I can have missionary experiences with the other students even if they are a member but it isn't the same as when you get to talk to a person who doesn't know much or the things that they have been told aren't correct. That is why I love coming back home to the east coast where there are few Mormons.

My internship this summer has me living in DC with the other interns which is a great experience. Friday night we went to the Einstein Fellows Reception which is a bunch of high school science teachers that get an opportunity to spend a year on capitol hill. There was a little food there just some fancy stuff that I don't like so we were all hungry afterward. One of the interns Shane was like I want a burger and a beer. I was in for a burger and so were the rest of the interns. We decided to go to the Froggy Bottom Pub. I of course don't drink because 1. I'm 20 and 2. I don't want to. While we were there one of the other interns started talking about how she had a minor in religion and I started talking about the required religion courses that I have to take out at school. I then said the classes I had taken and we got talking about the Book of Mormon. It was a neat experience because the interns didn't have to agree with me but they were respectful enough that they asked more questions and let me talk.

Also, just the day before I was sitting down on the Metro riding it back home and a lady sat down next to me. I looked down and noticed a CTR ring on her finger and I was like she has to be Mormon there is no one else that would wear that than a Mormon. I turned to her and said I like your CTR ring. She looked confused and I was not going to say anything else because it looked like I had just embarrassed myself. She says, "Oh my ring, I have never heard the letters in English before." I asked her where she was from and she is from Brazil so she only had heard them in Portuguese. I got talking to her and it was nice to be sitting next to another member of the church. She had such a great spirit about her and taught me more about the importance of the temple. She travels a lot she said but where ever she is at she finds the temple she can go to. She said that the most important thing that she carries around with her is her temple recommend. That is such a great example. I was excited to meet her even though I couldn't understand everything that she said and vice versa.

Well I hope that I can be a good missionary this summer and hope that everyone else will take every opportunity that they get to do the same.

Week 1 as an Intern

My last post was about me getting a job at BYU-Idaho. I worked there for 6 weeks but while I was there I got offered a position as an intern at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) through the Society of Physics Students. This internship has lots of bonuses than other internships. The first is that it is paid. Second, I get to live in DC. Third, I am close enough to home that I can come home easily. The program requires me to write a weekly update to the people that hired me because they aren't seeing me work. I decided to keep everyone else updated that had been asking me that I would post my weekly update as a blog post. Below is my first update.

So, this was the first week, meaning it was very disorganized. I moved into the apartment and am trying to adjust to life in Washington D.C. The metro is an easy system to use and so it wasn’t hard finding my route to work. Over the summer I will be working at NIST. Though that is not where I started my week. On Tuesday, June 1^st all interns reported to ACP for orientation in the morning. After meeting people who work in different places in the building and being told what a great opportunity I have as an Intern, I was taken to NIST. That afternoon, I met John Suehle who is the group leader and the management who I blame things on. He gave Zach, the other SPS intern, and I a little knowledge of what we will be working on. After the brief introduction I met my supervisor for the summer, Dr. Nhan V. Nguyen. I talked to him about the basics of ym project but not a lot. I was assigned to a desk but had computer difficulties and am currently at a computer in the lab that I am going to be working in. The people at NIST are very nice and helped me out when I asked questions about where I needed to go at the end of the day to catch the shuttle for the Metro.

Day 2 started out waiting to be trained in safety so that I can actually work in a lab. The training wasn’t going to happen until 1:30pm so I had time to kill. I sat around and had an early lunch at the cafeteria which is way too expensive that I will be bringing a lunch with me from now on. The training went on forever but there are lots of safety hazards when working in a laboratory that we need to know about. I am done with training now and am able to start actually working on the project.

So when I came in yesterday I was actually able to learn more about the project. My project is to find external quantum efficiency (EQE) of a photovoltaic device. Currently, I am trying to calibrate a silicon diode detector so that I can use that to measure the intensity of the light at certain parts in the experiment set-up. Pictures of the set-up will be up next week. So I was able to run one scan yesterday to measure the intensity but haven’t been able to run anymore or do any data analysis. After my first scan was complete another person need the cord we are using to power our light source.

As far as doing anything in DC besides work, I haven’t adventured out yet. I am from Maryland and my younger sister graduated from High School on Wednesday and we had family in town and so I have gone home to visit every night. I am excited for the weekend and next week to learn more about DC and see what is available.