The date is 01Jun2024 as of the writing of this post. This is the end of the first week of the START REU Program along with the internship associated with it. The internship takes place in the Chong Xie lab located in the Bioscience Research Center (BRC). These posts will consist of descriptions of events and research that took place during each day work was performed.

Tuesday (28MAY2024):

This was the day that orientation for the program began. We, the undergraduates of both the Start REU and Sustainability REU programs, were gathered to receive information on our responsibilities and expectations for our respective programs along with our Rice ID’s and parking passes There was a lot of information given to us during this time, but it was difficult to retain all of the information at once. I had to go over the papers a few more times to get a better understanding. However, there was still confusion on our requirements for weekly hours at this time. If I remember correctly, I believe it was said that for the undergraduates in the START REU Program, the 40 hour per week requirement did not apply and that we should have received our time requirements from the program director. We also took part in a seminar which was very interesting to learn about.

Wednesday (29MAY2024):

Continuing the orientation from the previous day, we were scheduled to attend safety training courses required for our internships. Since I had already taken the General Lab Safety Training prior, I did not have to attend. I was able to reach the building to attend the Biosafety Training, but I was worried I wouldn’t make it on time due to being unfamiliar with the shuttle system on campus. I accidentally passed the building while on the shuttle and had to walk back. After the Biosafety training, we went to where we thought we were supposed to have lunch with our mentors. It turns out that this was for the Sustainability REU and did not apply to the START REU undergraduates. We needed to meet with our mentors and begin working in our labs. I had messaged my mentor telling him I was on my way, but being unfamiliar with the shuttle system I had decided to drive to the BRC building to get there as soon as possible. When I got to the parking garage, I was under the impression that the Rice ID I was given yesterday would allow me access to the BRC parking garage. It was not accepted, so I called for assistance and I was let through after I explained my reason for being there. When I had met with my mentor, I discovered that he was not aware that I was scheduled to meet him that day as he informed me that he never received a copy of the orientation schedule or even a notice of today’s events. At this time, I was worn out from running back and forth. In the end, we discussed how we wanted to set up the internship plan so that I would know what was expected of me as well as my goals for this internship. The day finished after going back to campus to finish the laser training and I was worn out.

Thursday (30MAY2024):

On Thursday, I began to get into the research for the labs I would be helping with. I was able to observe the process behind the imaging experiment and learn more about the equipment and programs behind it. To get a better understanding of the techniques, I was asked to answer two questions he had given me to research along with an article that would help with one of them. It took me quite a while and I had trouble with understanding the context and depth of the questions at first, but he was able to clarify things and I was able to get one of the questions done by the time my work was over for the day. I was also introduced to some of the instruments available in the workshop which I enjoyed learning about. I was not as tired that day, as it was less confusing than the previous two days.

Friday (31MAY2024):

I started the work day by attending a group meeting for the project, I listened to them discuss the topic of Nanoelectric Thread (NET) insertion and the current problems they were looking to tackle, as well as options regarding types of manufacturing methods for creating shuttles for the NETs. Afterwards, I met with my mentor and continued working on the readings and research for the question I had yet to complete. It took a couple of hours and I felt I was really close to the answer. When I did find what I thought was the answer, we looked over them. Where I found out that I had focused on the wrong aspect of the question, in which I was supposed to find out why a certain mathematical model was used for our experiment in particular. I had done research into the mathematical model itself and how it worked. I was able to watch another run of the imaging experiment with more detail on the processes and equipment as well as how to set up the experiment and how to analyze the data. After the data was analyzed, my mentor and I went to another lab where we discussed the surgical robot aspect of the internship. We discussed the mechanisms currently being worked on and was ready, and looking forward to, helping with assembly of components. Unfortunately, an unexpected episode of digestion problems forced me to end the work day early.Thankfully, my mentor helped me get back to my car on campus so I could get back to my apartment and rest. I was disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to help with assembly, despite the fact that there was nothing I could do at the time.

 

[End of post for Week 1]