Sunday, June 12, 2022
By:
This week has been a blur for me, but in the best of ways. I feel like I am just getting started, even though we are already 20% of the way through the internship. I have to constantly remind myself to make the most of this fleeting summer. I always enjoy living in new places, but for some reason, DC feels new and familiar at the same time.
Monday was my first day on NIST campus, and a lot of the time was spent going over orientation and going over some of the work I will be doing this summer. While I still haven’t started most of the physical work, I learned that I will be modifying the sample holder for a photoelectron emission microscope to accept electrical contact while it is imaging the sample. To do this, I have to model, and then modify the sample holder over multiple iterations which will then be manufactured by the machine shop. Then, I have to figure out a way to pulse the voltages so that the imaging occurs simultaneously with the pulses. This will be in the order of picoseconds, so everything must line up perfectly. There are a couple of other projects that I will be helping with as well, since Sujitra expects that there will be a lot of waiting, especially during the manufacturing phase of the project. One of these will involve building a small electrical probe station using components leftover by another NIST employee and writing out the software to run it. A probe station is essentially a device that allows you to supply a voltage while constantly measuring current, and other values such as resistance and capacitance. I have worked with one before, so I look forward to finding out how they actually work.
A lot of the work I did last week involved learning how I should model the (very expensive) sample holder and reviewing some lengthy papers. Part of this is because I still do not have access to my NIST email, and cannot access the computer on my desk, or go through any of the security trainings required to be in the lab. I think next week will be quite busy in terms of work, and I look forward to it! I have also had a lot of fun events and hangouts with the other interns, which has helped me balance all the work.
Apart from hanging out with the interns and exploring DC, our first SPS event was a lunch with Dr. John Mather on Thursday. While I didn’t know about the work he did until a few weeks ago, it was very helpful and inspirational to talk to a someone who had such a passion for science and Physics. I even got to ask him a couple of questions, which felt quite surreal. This was also my first day at the American Center for Physics building, and I have to give a shoutout to the most well-stocked beverage area I have seen in any office. As someone who has been carrying my own coffee in a thermos to the NIST campus every day, I certainly appreciated all that was on offer.
Friday was quite packed for us as well, since we went to a Nationals baseball game. As someone who does not follow sports, I didn’t anticipate enjoying the experience as much as I did. The stadium was only 70% full, so we did not have to contend with too large of a crowd, and the weather was perfect along with some really nice seats that gave us a great view of all the action. We also went to a midnight showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show, and it was definitely the most entertaining theatrical experience I’ve had in a while. The trifecta of the actual movie, the very impressive shadow cast, and the two people in front of us who had had practiced a synchronized quip for almost every scene in the movie really made the experience for me.
After getting back quite late on Friday, I spent most of Saturday inside, just doing work and some unpacking (still). At night, I went to the Lincoln Memorial to see the fireworks happening at Pride at the Pier from afar. I was mostly taken aback by the Memorial itself, and want to go back soon, especially since it is so close to us.
Today, we went to a Spy Museum, which was a blend of actual artifacts from spies and some exhibitions, and an interactive undercover spy game with activities littered throughout the two floors. I lost my initial spy identity, crawled through an air duct and found myself quite startled by a mailbox containing a bomb (extremely bright light with some pretty scary noises). We then went for a walk and bite to eat along the wharf, which was very pretty at golden hour.
I am really looking forward to next week, as we have an orchestra to go to, my work is finally starting to ramp up, and I might actually receive access to my email! I plan to try and go to more museums, as well as just explore DC more in general, since I will only be here for 8 more weeks.
Divyansh Chamria