Sunday, June 18, 2023
By:
Relieved is an understatement to how I feel right now. I finally finished my finals on Friday, which marked the end of my third year. This called for a post-final de-stress boba trip with some of the interns. This also means I get to fully immerse myself in the internship without worrying about school now!
There are so many things I want to explore now. After my meeting with my mentor on Thursday, I got my hands on some spectral data from the MUSE HUDF data release. Honestly, I have never tried to load FITS files into my computer before, but looking at the large memory size is a little terrifying. (I guess that is what the work laptop will be useful for.) That aside, I am excited to explore what the data has to offer, and perhaps try to replicate some plots from literature!
This week has also been a wild week full of stories and spontaneous adventures. On Thursday, the SPS Interns had a dinner event with the executive committee. It was a really valuable experience to talk with the committee members who have gone through similar undergrad experiences, and even experiences they had during their time in the SPS internship. One of the craziest stories came from Earl, the SPS historian. He told us about a scientist who was making measurements of radioactive atoms in a silver casing. TLDR this was the story of the Manhattan Project, and the project leader was Oppenheimer. Just hearing this completely blew my mind.
We also got the opportunity to attend a performance on Saturday from NOI, the National Orchestral Institute. Shoutout to Jack for this amazing experience! During the dinner before the performance, some interns and I got the chance to talk to two first violinists and learn about their absolutely impressive musical backgrounds. This definitely shined through during the performance. I must also mention the phenomenal piano soloist. He was completely immersed in the music and had so much passion while playing the keys. Man, this makes me miss playing in an orchestra.
Last but not least, I must brag about my step count for Sunday. I somehow walked 18,220 steps today during my little adventure to Georgetown Flea Market. The walk there was so relaxing and so much fun! Making sidequests to shops and cafes here and there probably contributed to at least half of the step count. Honestly, I feel like I can beat this step count next week. We shall see.
Until next week!
Tiffany Liou