Monday, June 27, 2022
By:
This week might have been my favorite so far! I got a lot done, and it finally feels like I have settled into a schedule.
At NIST, I went from having very little experience with coding in Python, to being able to operate both the electrometer and power source simultaneously. Now, I just need to build an interface around it so that other people can actually use it for the probe station. I also had a second journal club presentation, in which I talked about how other groups have modified sample holders to have different functionality. We then had a discussion on how we can do something similar with our equipment. It was quite exciting to be part of this discussion with the researchers at NIST, and I feel like I learned a lot about how scientists come up with hypothesis to test and work on. However, with two projects, I feel like a lot of my time has been spent learning the software I am working with such as AutoCad or PyMeasure. Now that I have learned how to use these tools better, I am hoping I can start working faster since we only have six weeks left.
On Monday, we went to a Bowling Alley which ended up being enjoyable. I started off not being able to bowl at all but was able to get better within the course of a few games. I also played a round of Dance Dance Revolution with Justin, and got destroyed. On Wednesday, we had an SPS picnic at Mikayla’s which I ended up walking to. DC is definitely not the best city to walk in, but I really enjoy doing it because it allows me get familiar with the area. The picnic was was a lot of fun – we played a few games of pool (which I have missed playing), had some nice conversations, and we were even able to get a few pictures on the roof before the thunderstorm.
Thursday night, we had Session 0 for the D&D game we are starting up, with Taylor C. as the DM. This is my first time playing a full campaign, so I am excited to learn more about the world and how it works. We went to Quigley's again on Friday, and it didn't disappoint. Saturday was Astronomy on the Mall, where we set up tables on the National Mall with different activities and experiments for visitors to try. It was very rewarding and encouraging to see people of all ages be interested in Physics, especially Physics Trivia and Boomwhackers. Thank you to SPS, and especially to Janessa for coming up with these demonstrations. The event was to celebrate the Summer Solstice, and a few of the Smithsonian Museums were staying open till midnight. A few interns and I decided to go to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art after the event. Exploring the museum at night enhanced the experience, and I imagine it was less crowded than during the day. I haven’t gone to all of them quite yet, but I have been trying to go to at least one every week, so that I would have gone to most of them by the time the summer ends.
I spent most of my Sunday preparing for the next week at work, and biking around the Georgetown area. DC was quite fun to bike in because of the wide lanes, so I might be going on further expeditions soon.
Until next week,
Divyansh Chamria