This week has been quite a whirlwind. I flew out to DC on Sunday and took a taxi to GWU dorms. In celebration of my arrival, the heavens opened and it started to pour. In the sixty feet it took to get from the cab to the Amsterdam hall, where I checked-in to my room, my jacket and suit cases were soaked through. Luckily, in the time that it took to check-in, the rains stopped and I walked the four blocks to my new dorm room. I spent the rest of the evening unpacking, before my roommate N came home and we started to get to know each other.
Monday was our first day of work. Orientation was quite a wealth of knowledge. We had the privilege of eating lunch with Dr. John Mather, a Nobel Laureate. It was really interesting to talk to him about science policy, education and his work at NASA. After our lunch, we headed off to our different assignments. Toni took C, AA and myself out to NIST, where I met my supervisor for the other part of my internship, Mary Satterfield. We also took a tour of the NIST museum and some of the labs, which was really cool. That evening, I met up with a friend of mine who was in town for a wedding and we had dinner.
Tuesday was our first real day of work. When we arrived, Toni quickly got C, J and me started on building a laser sound demo for the outreach on Sunday. It is so sweet! The music player modulates the intensity of the laser, which is shot at a solar cell. The solar cell turns the light back into a signal which is played by the speaker. C and I started going through the boxes of old SOCK kits later that day. After work, I went out to Virginia to meet up with an old college friend. We had dinner and then she kindly took me shopping. Now I have a pillow, yay!
Wednesday, C and I worked on a second demo for the outreach. This uses diffraction glasses to look at the spectra of LEDs vs a laser. We used poster board to create a display. After work, we all went out to dinner and told hilariously bad jokes. I really like the other interns, and we have a blast hanging out together.
Thursday, we worked on finishing up everything for Sunday. We all left early to attend the Einstein Fellows Poster Session and Reception at the Russell Senate Office Building. The Russell Building is beautiful and being by all the senator offices reminded me of the great city I am living in. It was really nice to talk to some of the educators who participated in the fellowship. It reminded me of why I am excited to go into education research.
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| With Einstein. back (l to r): R, AA, Einstein , me, N front: C, CA |
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| Second try. Back: N, C, A, Einstein, R, CA, AA front: me |
This evening we have plans to attend a free concert in the park and continue exploring the city. This week has been a amazing, as evidence by the lack of sleep. There is so much to do in DC! I am excited for the work and the adventures this summer.
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