Week 8: The Silent Room, NIST, Beach House, A Friend From Home

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Sunday, July 24, 2022

By:

Gizem Dogan

This week I do not know what to prioritize on this blog!

During the SPS field trip to NIST we each had twenty five minutes in groups of five in the anechoic chamber also known as the silent room. I musyt say it was one of the most memorable experiences of my life, feeling the blood rushing through my veins in my ear and hearing my eyes open and close. For some it might be the most disturbing of the experiences but for me it was somewhat soothing. Other than the anechoic chamber we had the chance to visit two labs within NIST and saved the time to tour the nuclear reactor facility that hosts scientists from across continents. Definitely qualifies to be one of the coolest days of my life.

Another highlight of my week was my highschool friend coming to visit me in DC. Until now I have always been the one reciving a DC tour but it was incredibly joyful for me to give a tour of this beautiful city and go through the mall as a tourist. We started with the White House and made our way to Jefferson Memorial biking through the mall and ended up at the fish market at the Wharf, one of my favourite places in the city. 

We also caught the Beach House concert at the Anthem. I've been looking forward to hering them sing live as they have been the band that introduced me to the dream pop genre. I had immense fun singing along to the songs that I listedned to for years in my school bus early in the morning. I just wish my best friend who is also a big fan could have been there with me to enjoy.

At work I interviewed one of my favourite physicists Erkcan Ozcan who collaborates with FluTV on Youtube to produce a popular science program that I enjoy very much. I am officially done with the update and have finished three book capsules that went to copyediting on Friday. I made considerable progress on the IPhO 2022 story and I believe it'll be finalized on Monday for online publication. 

We are nearing the end of the internship with only two more weeks to go. We are making more and more plans to spend the remaining time together. 

More on the next week's blog.

See you soon...

Gizem Dogan