Week 7: Road Trips and Power Spectral Densities

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Sunday, July 17, 2022

By:

Benjamin Johnson

During this week, I continued improving our reservoir computer training algorithm for the Lorenz system.  I carried on using the output weight matrix averaging technique to model the Lorenz equations based on a set of initial conditions and parameters, then producing a Power Spectral Density (PSD) for the solutions.  The PSD functions like a Fourier transformation to extract the frequencies present in the signal. 

So far, the method has been fairly accurate at predicting the frequencies for the given parameters using the Gaussian averaging method for the output weight matrices.  When compared to an explicitly calculated solution produced by the Runge-Kutta integration technique, the PSD is very similar.  In the following week, I’ll continue working on this training method for the reservoir computer and testing its potentials for performance.

On Monday, my parents came and met me in Alexandria after work, and we got dinner at a seafood restaurant in the area.  We then went for a lovely walk along the Potomac.  On Tuesday, they took me to an Italian restaurant in Georgetown.  It was fun until the walk home when I got absolutely drenched in a thunderstorm.  After that, I dried off and played another round of D&D with the other interns.

On Wednesday, we went kayaking on the Potomac again, but this time more of the interns got to come along.  The weather was fantastic, and it was just as enjoyable as last time.  On Thursday, I went up to ACP for a lunch with the SPS fundraising team and got to savor a delicious meal and fun times with the other interns.  On Friday, we attended the Jazz in the Garden event hosted at the sculpture garden by the National Mall.  The performance was exceptional, and we appreciated listening from the shade under the trees.  I would highly recommend attending if you enjoy jazz.

On Saturday, I travelled down to Charlottesville to visit my roommate and some other friends from school.  It was wonderful seeing everyone that I’ve been missing all summer, and I’m sad I already had to leave.  However, I’ve been having just as much fun in DC with the other interns, so I’m sure they’ll cheer me up soon.

Until next week!

Benjamin Johnson