Monday

On this last week of my summer internship here at Rice. I did do some 3D printing, but it was simple stuff that I needed to print. Then I headed to Fodren Library on the fourth floor with some REU mates and practice our one-minute pitches, and I did go okay to say the least. And rest of the day, I was focusing on my models.

Tuesday

The first thing I did was attend my last REU meeting. Honestly, without being so cliche I was actually getting used to these meetings, it just seemed so routine to me. And what we did was practice our elevator pitches with our group, and once again I think mine went good. And as far as the project went, all I could do was rewire the adapter from the printer, and that was all.

 

Wednesday

My mentor and I practiced my poster presentation early in the morning, and she gave me good feedback regarding my introduction, as well as my way explaining things to her. Since I have a hard time doing that kind of stuff. And after that, all I did was assemble both extruders so it can properly function to extrude food paste, and called it a day after that.

 

 

Thursday

I wanted to see if I could do some more final touches on my project just for curiosity’s sake, and what I found out was the many ways that I can optimize this project, and implemented it into a broader scope of things. Like having a cooling option onto the printer, and how to disable the thermistor option in the printer on top of that. Thankfully, my PI was at the lab at the time, and he let me hear me out, and I also remember that the Gulf Coast Undergraduate Research Symposium (GCURS) was something that I could participate in to talk about my project and what I did so far, and wanted his permission to see if I could still participate in doing this project right after my internship. And he told me that he would let progress even further as a volunteer. Which was great, because at the end of the day I was only in it for the personal progress and gains that came along the way, rather than from a financial and economic incentive behind it. So I was thankful for letting me have that opportunity, and I made sure of that. Plus, I also practiced my poster presentation at Fodren Library with my fellow REU mates, but this time on the sixth floor. And once again, I can’t stress this enough, I did a good job presenting my posters with my fellow REU mates who I can proudly call my friends.


All I can say about this experience is that it opened my perspective into new ventures that I once thought about doing, but really wanted to take advantage of it, but instead just having it as an afterthought in my head. But the more importantly, this program got me out of my shell as an introverted, reserved guy, who slacked off most of the time if I have to be frank with you guys. This internship has really changed my trajectory of what I want to do as far as academia goes, and even though I faced a lot of obstacles along the way, and I also didn’t actually complete my project the way it should’ve be. Everything happens for a reason, and I am a firm believer of that because of what went on these last ten weeks of my life. I want to thank everyone who read this blog one last time, and I hope that your endeavors, whatever that may be go well, and that your accomplishments get better and better as the years go by, and that everything will be alright here on out for y’all. And I wish you all nothing but the best. Take care.



Brandon Espinoza.

 

Monday

I started the week by spray painting the extruders in the morning. This step was essential to ensure the extruders had a smooth, professional finish, which would improve both their appearance and functionality. I arrived on campus at noon and spent the rest of the day assembling the prototype. The process involved carefully fitting together various parts I had previously printed and prepared. It was meticulous work, requiring patience and precision, but seeing the prototype take shape was incredibly rewarding.

Tuesday

The day began with the weekly REU meeting, where we discussed poster drafts with other REU members. This meeting was beneficial as it provided an opportunity to receive constructive feedback and improve our presentations. After the meeting, I headed to my lab and focused on designing a new mount for the prototype. This involved using CAD software to create a design that would securely hold the extruders in place while allowing for smooth operation. It took several iterations to get the design right, but I was pleased with the final version.

 

Wednesday

I dedicated the day to testing the extrusion process. This involved rewriting the printer’s code and manipulating the gcode settings to achieve optimal extrusion. The process was filled with trial and error; each attempt provided insights into what adjustments were needed. By carefully observing the results and making precise changes, I gradually improved the extrusion process. It was a challenging but educational experience, teaching me a lot about the intricacies of 3D printing and coding.

Thursday

My focus for the day was preparing my slides for a lab presentation scheduled for the next day. I spent the morning drafting and organizing the slides to ensure they clearly conveyed the key points of my project. In the afternoon, my mentor provided valuable guidance, helping me refine the content and improve my presentation skills. This preparation was crucial in boosting my confidence and ensuring that I was well-prepared for the presentation.

Friday

In the morning, I rehearsed my presentation with my mentor. We went through the slides several times, making final adjustments to ensure everything was polished and cohesive. During the lab presentation, I felt well-prepared and confident. I presented my work clearly and effectively, handling the Q&A session with ease. After the presentations, we celebrated the departure of a postdoc lab mate who is heading to Tulane as an assistant professor. We had a small toast to congratulate him on his new position, which was a nice way to end the week on a positive note.

This week was packed with hands-on work, collaboration, and learning. Each day presented new challenges and accomplishments, deepening my interest in 3D printing and research. It was a fulfilling week that reinforced my passion for science and innovation.

Thank you for reading,
Brandon Espinoza.

 

Monday

I kicked off the week by designing both extruder systems. This involved meticulous planning and CAD work, in this case using Tinkercad to ensure the components would fit together seamlessly. Afterward, I headed to OEDK (Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen) to prep the hardware for assembling the syringe systems. This preparation was crucial to ensure that the assembly process would go smoothly later in the week.

Tuesday

My day started with an abstract-writing workshop, which was incredibly informative. I learned valuable techniques to improve my writing skills, especially for scientific abstracts. After the workshop, I attended my weekly REU meeting, where some of my REU mates presented their projects. It was inspiring to see their progress and learn from their experiences.

Wednesday

Continuing with my work from Monday, I focused on further designing the extruder systems. The intricate details and adjustments took up most of my day. Later, I went back to OEDK to prep more hardware for assembling the syringe systems. The hands-on work was both challenging and satisfying, as each step brought me closer to completing the prototypes.

Thursday

I just spent the day finalizing the designs for the extruder systems and ensuring everything was ready for assembly. After finishing the designs, I made another trip to OEDK to prepare the hardware. This stage involved double-checking measurements and making sure all components were accounted for. The anticipation of seeing the final product kept me motivated throughout the day.

Friday

The day began with a trip to BRC (BioScience Research Collaborative) building for my presentation. I felt like I did a decent job with my presentation skills, clearly conveying my project’s progress and goals. Afterward, I headed to OEDK to print the prototypes for both extruder systems. However, when I returned later to retrieve the parts, I discovered that someone had stolen them weirdly enough. This really turned my day upside down from the mood that I was in, and threw off my schedule as well. As a result, I arrived an hour late to my weekly lab meeting, being still upset about the missing parts while my lab mates were presenting their findings.

Despite the setback on Friday, the week was filled with significant progress in designing and preparing the extruder systems. The combination of workshops, presentations, and hands-on work provided a balanced and productive week. Each challenge taught me valuable lessons, and each success fueled my passion for 3D printing and innovation.

Thank you for reading,
Brandon Espinoza.

WEDNESDAY

I told my mentor that I wanted to focus on my abstract because it was due on that day through slack, and she understood. So I headed to the library to do that. But before that, I headed to the earth science building to get my paycheck from Faiza. Once I arrived to Fodren library. All I did all day writing, as well as editing my abstract.

THURSDAY

On this day, I was finally given the materials for the extruders. However, it was only like 60% of the parts that I needed actually shipped. So my mentor told me to assemble the parts that I already had. So that’s what I did most of the day. I was just watching a tutorial on YouTube about to assemble it. Thankfully, there was additional parts in the workshop that was in the lab so I just improvised all throughout. That was all.

 

FRIDAY

I just focused on taking apart the printing, mostly focusing on taking out the parts that extrude the filament, and that was it. After that, I just assembled the parts for the gear extruder, and that took a while. After that was done, I participated in my lab meeting, and my PI has recently arrived from a conference in Japan and brought some snacks from there while my mentor did her presentation about her project. Then I chatted up with my lab mates, and wrapped up this week.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading,

Brandon Espinoza.

MONDAY

The first thing I did was to at least try to fix the extruder on my 3D printer, because if the extruder didn’t work that meant that I couldn’t print anything to begin with. And I did everything, like unplugging it, rewiring it properly, and unscrewing the nozzle and cleaning it. But nothing worked. However, my mentor told me about a maker space that had 3D printers that I can use in the meantime called the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen, or ODEK for short. This place had everything engineering-oriented, like of course a 3D printing station, machine shop, wood shop, a wet lab, and much more to be honest. But in order to get in, I had to take a safety quiz and had to pass it with a 89 or higher to do. So I did, and got 95 which was fine. All I had to do was remember the safety guidelines on their website and watch a 6 minute video, and that was it. I was guided by a SURFN internee student who worked in my lab that knew the ins-and-outs of ODEK, and showed me through the ropes of the 3D printing station, and told me which printer I needed to use in order the prints for my model. The ideal printer for it was the Bambu Lab X1 Carbon 3D printer, and it was more sophisticated than the printer I had in the lab, this printer in particular was enclosed, and had a quicker print time by cutting half the time it would’ve taken have I used the CR-10S printer. So the first thing that I decided to print was the ram for the pneumatic extruder, which took about two-and-a-half hours to printer rather than the 6 hours it taken if the 3D printer in the lab haven’t broken down. And while I was waiting for the ram to print, my mentor told me if I wanted to rehearse my powerpoint presentation with her so she can give me pointers on what to say and do when I present, and it went great. And it took long enough to see how my ram to finish printing. And that was it.

 

TUESDAY

Before I went to the GRB building, I had to go to ODEK to this time print the body of the pneumatic extruder, and that would take about 9 hours or so, so basically I had spend all day and then some to wait for it to print completely compared to the 1 day and 9 hour journey it would’ve taken haven’t the 3D printer in the lab didn’t break down. Some things just happen for a reason when I think about it. Because going to ODEK, and using the Bambu Lab X1 Carbon 3D printer is saving so much time that I feel confident in completing my project on time. While that was happening, I went to weekly REU meeting at GRB W212 where a project manager of a startup here at Rice talked about this exciting venture about CO2 capturing, and replacing it with hydrogen in the most effective and cheapest way possible, this intrigued so much that I asked for the presenter’s LinkedIn once her presentation was finished. Then when that was over with, me and a couple of my REU friends headed to the study rooms found in Fondren Library where we would practice our presentations with each other. And this time around I was a little bit nervous because it was a larger crowd. However, my friends told that I did great, and that was all I needed to hear. After that I headed off to ODEK to see how the body for the pneumatic extruder was looking, and while it was still printing I reedited the powerpoint because I forgot to do correctly like how Professor Faiza wanted me to do it, which was fair. Once the print was done, I asked the assistants there if I can print some models overnight, those being all the parts needed for the mechanical extruder, which isn’t a lot. As well as another body, but this time with 80 percent infill density because the body that I already printed was at 30 percent infill density, and looked flimsy and not strong enough. And they told me that I could, and so I did. The last thing that I did was to take out the supports from the body of the pneumatic extruder, and hoping that the prints are finished early in the morning.

 

WEDNESDAY

I headed straight to ODEK to see if my prints were done, and turns out that the body for the pneumatic extruder was, but the parts for the mechanical extruder would have to take another hour-and-a-half to complete. And looking back at it the day before, it would’ve taken 15 hours to print whereas it would’ve taken 1 day 10 hours and 46 minutes to print if the 3D printer in the lab haven’t broken down. While it kept printing, I took down the supports yet again from the body for the pneumatic extruder, and just waited a little bit once I was done with that. Once it was actually finished, I had to do the same thing I had to do for other prints prior, which was taking the supports, and it took over an hour this time around. When everything was set and done, I dropped off the prints to the lab and told my mentor about it, and she told that other materials and parts needed will arrive next Monday the latest. So I am just waiting for that at the moment, and just have a great four-day weekend. And I hope that you guys do so as well.

 

 

Thank you for reading,
Brandon Espinoza.

MONDAY

All I did was basically do my powerpoint because I wanted to speak to my mentor face-to-face, and tell her what I needed to do compared to texting it via slack. I much rather do that one-on-one interaction than anything else. And she was helpful all throughout. So basically, that’s all I did on that day, just doing the powerpoint, and getting the final approval of it by my mentor.

 

TUESDAY

I went to the career/research workshop in the morning, and it was nice to know what to do in the academia side of things. The first assignment that I did was print some lines given its extrusion rate, or E, and then measure the lines that I printed with a measuring device. And the other assignment that I also did was create a shopping list to get the materials for both extruders, plus show the links so my mentor can buy them. That was most exhausting thing I had to do so far because it was so tedious to begin with. Other than that, I just focused on my prints, and that was all.

 

WEDNESDAY

All I did throughout most of the day was watch some tutorials about the settings in the Cura slicer, in particular about how to cater the settings for the PETG filament. That’s what I did while I was at the library because I wanted to be in a peaceful, and silent environment. And I felt productive during that time too. Then right after that in the afternoon, I had lunch with some REU friends, and headed off to my lab where all I did was put the filament to dry it overnight. And that was it.

 

THURSDAY

I printed with the PETG filament. The first thing that I wanted to print was the benchy model. Which is just the tugboat print. Once I printed it, there were some “blotches” if you will that were on the model, and I just thought that it’s just the remnants of the old PLA filament just stuck there, so I did another print, and the same thing happened. I asked a lab mate of mine who knows his way around 3D printers, and asked him what went wrong, and he told that there might some clogging issues going on with the extruder. And he was right all along, it was so bad that I couldn’t open up the noddle with my wrench. And I did once I got back home, and all I did was thinking how can I fix it.

 

FRIDAY

So when I arrived to my lab, the first thing I obviously did was fix the issue of the clog. I tried my best disassemble it. However, all the screws were too tight, and it took some time and a heat gun to resolve that issue. And then another problem happened and it was that my mentor instead told me to use the PLA filament rather than the PETG due to time’s sake. And to be honest, I’m glad that she said that. Anyways, this week has been by far the most busiest week in my opinion, and I know that it will probably get more hectic as the weeks go by. But I knew what I signed up for. So here’s a picture of the skyline while I am typing this in the O’Connor building just to get away from it all for a while and focus on this blog.

 

Thanks for reading,
Brandon Espinoza.

MONDAY

All I did was basically understand and know the simple commands of gcode so I can get the lines to print exactly how I wanted it to be. I understood what “F” meant, which was the feed rate, or in layman’s terms, the speed in which the printer goes. That day as well, my mentor and I met up with my PI to talk about our progress before he headed out to a conference. And this is where I showed my line tests to him, he was impressed by it to be honest. However, there was one thing that I forgot to do, and that was to evaluate “E”, or the extrusion rate. That day I felt like my confidence fell down a bit, but the bright side of it all is that I learned something from it.

Horinzontal Line TestTUESDAY

We had our usual REU meeting where we discuss about goals and aspirations of where do you want to be in the foreseeable future versus where you’re at right now. Then headed off to George R. Brown Hall to where we did a little icebreaker-sort of activity. I headed off to print some more line strips, as well as mess around with the extrusion rate parameters. Then all of a sudden, the printer jammed and it couldn’t work. I watched some videos on YouTube to see what I can do, and I also went on reddit to figure it out. But nothing happened, I felt hopeless. That determination was really testing me this time around. And I couldn’t stop thinking about it once I got back home.



THURSDAY

The first I did was try to fix the printer. That’s all I thought about the day before. But then it clicked, after seeing video after video, and reading reddit comment after reddit comment. The problem was the wiring. So I went upstairs because there was a replica 3D printer that was fully-functional, and I saw how it was wired. And there it was, problem fixed. Yet, there was one more hurdle to overcome, and that was the filament itself. You see, depending on the type of filament that you use. In this case, the filament that I am using was PLA, it can be prone to dryness and moisture. So I just set the temperature in the filament dryer for 3 hours, and that was it. I printed the benchmark print to see if the printer was up and running, and it did print out the benchy. And I felt relieved.


FRIDAY

We went to the Sugarland Surface Water Treatment Plant where we got see the water treatment process and the like. It was interesting and all. But, once I got back to my lab, I felt a bit queasy and ill. It was probably the smell of the plant that sent me into sensory overload. So therefore, that’s is how I got sick. I was gagging a bit when I was thinking about having lunch with my REU mates. And when I got there, my stomach was hurting, and ate nothing at all of course. So I decided to let my mentor know that I would leaving early because I wasn’t feeling so good. And thankfully, she understood.

 


Thank you for reading,
Brandon Espinoza.

MONDAY

To be honest, Monday was a very simple day. I just practiced my printing skills. As well as trying to wrap up reading the articles that I was given by my mentor. I guess the one thing that I learned was how to use and operate the 3D food printer that my mentor uses, which is the Procusini 5.0.

Other than that, my mentor just told me to keep up with my assignments because she knew that I was falling behind, and this is where I came to a realization that there was a reason why I got picked into this REU over many other candidates, and I took that for granted. And this made me overwhelmed because I don’t tend to adapt to new situations right away when it comes to different, and in my case, extreme situations. But that shouldn’t change the fact that I should keep up with my assignments. Since after all, the people who didn’t get in over me would’ve done this type of work with ease, and I just feel like I was doing a disservice to those who were rejected and actually rise to the occasion, as well as the people who oversaw the decision to pick me of all people. That was my wake up call. This alone should keep me motivated, and it did. Because I actually finished all of my assignments that my mentor gave me that day. Despite sleeping sleeping for like 4 hours or so that night.

TUESDAY

I knew that this day was going to be incredibility busy for me. Because first of all, the weekly meeting was today, where we discussed about discrimination and harassment in the workplace and talking about it with a group, and it went well. Which meant that I wasn’t shy enough to speak to random strangers at least. Then I headed to the REU meeting where we talked about ambition and drive, and they brought along an entrepreneurial coach who talked about start-ups and start-up culture in general. Then I went to straight to my lab, which is on the other wing of the George R. Brown building. And finally, progress was getting made because I was going to print some food. My mentor went to the ropes with me like she did yesterday because I was going to print a chocolate figure instead of a plastic one. And I printed out a star-like figure as my first print, and honestly the printing process for food, at least in this printer, compared to the CR-10 was way more easier to operate.



WEDNESDAY

I felt very stressed out for some reason on this day. So I didn’t do enough of what was expected of me. And this day was tiring to say the least. Because all I did, was reread some articles and turned all of my notes and takeaways from what I read, and turing them into powerpoint slides. Maybe I felt burnt out or whatever, so I walked around campus for a bit right after lunch. However, I did manage myself for the rest of the day. And tried my best that tomorrow would be the same thing.



THURSDAY

Knowing what happened to me the day before, I just tried my best to be positive and just focus on the job at hand. And it was quite similar to what I did the day before, just simply rereading some articles, and turning what I evaluated and what I learned from into powerpoint slides. I knew that the work was monotonous really, but once I actually finished it this time around. It just felt so rewarding, and it’s so cliche to say that. But that was my honest reaction after a grueling days work. And tomorrow I can finally focus on 3D printing at least.



FRIDAY

I did work on 3D printing. However, this time around it was to see if I can manipulate the G code so I can make the print go into a straight line, both vertically and horizontally right into the center of the printer bed. And to be quite frank, it wasn’t that complicated really. All I did was used the code used to make the purge line, and just copy and paste it until I found the center of the printer in my slicer, and that was it.



But the next challenge will have to be figuring out the line dimensions and the parameters so I can print different-sized lines. And I hope that I can figure that out by the end of this week.





Thanks for reading,
Brandon Espinoza.

MONDAY

My first Monday as an REU student was as abrupt as I expected it to be. At first, I only read articles about different types of 3D printers and technologies. In particular, DIW (Direct Ink Writing) printing technology, and FFF/FDM (Fused Filament Fabrication/Fused Deposition Modeling) printing. Then, out of nowhere my mentor told me to meet up with her alongside my PI to talk about what the project was going to be exactly. I mean, I knew since last Friday that I was going to retrofit a 3D printer and converting it into a 3D food printer, but now I knew what type of 3D printer I was going to work with. Which was a CR-10S Pro V2 by Creality.

 

So by tomorrow I was actually going to be hands-on in the lab instead of being alone in a separate room, reading and “understanding” articles that my mentor assigned to me. And as if things weren’t chaotic enough, well at least for me. I get overwhelmed easily. My mom told me that she wasn’t going to pick me up from campus because she fell ill, thankfully my mentor was very understanding about my situation and I left via Uber an hour and a half earlier than expected. But to make up for lost time, or at least an hour and a half of it, I just read the remaining articles that I needed to read to compensate the 8 hour workday requirement.

TUESDAY

This is where the fun happens. This is where I try to 3D print something for the first time. But before that, I attended the weekly meeting at Brockman Hall, where we discussed essentially about icebreakers that us, REU students, can implement in our environment in the lab as a way to deal with certain issues that can use to defend ourselves, and just do our job basically. After that, the R-STEM REU students headed to the mechanical engineering building to discuss about how to deal with a research paper, and what are they way to read and analyze it properly. Then when it was all set and done, I and along with others from the SURF program were being taught on how to use the 3D printer. The same printer that Neethu and I are going to retrofit. The only downside of that day was that I didn’t get to print anything at all to begin with. Until tomorrow…

WEDNESDAY

The day was the day. The day I was finally going to 3D print something. But first, I had to wrap some PowerPoints about the articles that I read about the different types of printing, those being DIW and FFF/FDM printing of course. After that, finally after all this time, I will print something from the 3D printer that were given to us before it gets retrofitted. And the first thing I wanted to print was hook to put in lab coat when all the fun stuff begins.

 

Then I had an ambition in mind, and that was making a lego person. And that is where Operation: Lego Man begins. I did the head first to its full scale to get my idea across. It looks nice, but it wasn’t ideal. So I tried to minimized it to a par to get it to the size that I wanted (or at least to realistic to that of an actual lego person. Because it was either that, or print an airless basketball. But first of all, it was too big for to print it out completely to its fullest scale, second it would’ve taken at least 2 and a half days to print it out to at least if minimize it to scale of that of what the printer required, and lastly I mentioned basketball, so… Celtics in six. I’m just saying.). After the head was finished, I also did the torso. And that was a wrap, it ended quite quickly than what I expected to sadly.

THURSDAY

The first full day of Operation: Lego Man was about to begin. But first, I had to attend on how to do a journal presentation seminar of sorts. It was good, since I always have issues when it came to public speaking, so it was a good resource for me before the showcase starts. It seemed all good until now… However, the printer had major issues when I came in to the lab. It took around 4 hours to fix it until me and my lab mates realized that that the extruder nozzle was clogged, so we just basically had to replace it. So I didn’t have enough to time build it piece by piece, and when I tried to print another lego head, but it was warped to the point that the face itself looked like it had some massive scars.

 

 

And also, I was supposed to work with the 3D food printer with my mentor as well. But she told me that it had some major troubleshooting problems, and it will fixed hopefully around next week or so. But all-in-all, Project: Lego Man will live to see another day.

FRIDAY

Today I bring you with some good news and some bad news. The good news is that the food 3D printer is fixed, which means that I can start practicing on Monday on how to print food, in this case how to print chocolate. The bad news is that Operation: Lego Man was a failure, all I had was the torso and the head and that is it.

 

 

Also, I had my third meeting between my PI before he went on a trip to the east coast, as well as with my mentor. And we discussed on what to do about my project. Overall, I was anxious because I knew what they were talking about, but when it came to the PI when he asked me some questions, I got lost in translation every time I answered. I was never the best explainer at all to begin with. But I did just enough to defend myself, and just well enough to get my point across to him. It wasn’t so bad to be honest, at least my mentor wasn’t angry with me at least. And when the day almost came to an end, I partook in another weekly lab meeting where I tried my best to get involved until the rest of my REU members headed to the Grand Hall to play some trivia, and I just left to go home taking some snacks with me that they offered there.

Thanks for reading,

Brandon Espinoza.

My first week at Rice as a student intern for the Climate and Sustainability REU has been so far, more optimistic as the days gone by. Because prior to attending my first day here, I had some preconceived notions about it that were all over the place in all honesty. Such as, what will the project going to be? How is my cohort going to view me as? Will I mess up to the point where they kick me out of the REU? To, I hope that I am learning and absorbing all the material while I am working? How can I dedicate myself and fixate it to the umpteenth degree? And, am I willing to commit to myself to change my life for the better? Basically, just normal stuff to think about really.

The first day that I got here, I was a nervous wreck as soon as I stepped in to the door at Rayzor Hall. I didn’t know everyone there, my self-introductory PowerPoint felt pretty poorly made to say the least. But when I got my breakfast whilst siting alone in the beginning. All of a sudden, a couple of people sat at my table and began talking to me. That’s where everything changed for me, this is my chance to at least get out of my comfort zone from the introvert that I usually am, and at least loosen up a little. That’s why I was here, apart from the academic endeavors that I was going to pursue, another reason why I committed myself to be here was due to me challenging myself socially because if I want to survive in the real world, I have to at least open up and just talk to random people who I never knew. That is just how life is unfortunately. And that’s the mentality I came in afterwards, and that was the best choice I could’ve done for myself that day. Despite me mumbling some of my words during my self-introductory presentation. All-in-all, I had a good time. But I know it would be different the very next day.

Wednesday came along, the day I would have to met my mentor, Neethu Pottackal. She was honestly very transparent about what were going to do. However, my PI was still out of the country at the time, so I was still unsure what my project was going to be. But I least knew where his office was, as well as the lab that I was going to work in, and my work space too. That was all, it was a short day to be honest.

Thursday, that was the day that my mentor gave me some research papers to read through. And it was officially my first full day working at the REU, and I tried to meet up with my PI in his office and when I did, he was busy. So we greeted quickly, and he went about his day. So yeah, the research papers were about the functionality and use of 3D food printers. This also included watching some videos about it, as well as reading some articles too. Another simple day.

And now friday, after re-reading the research papers I did a PowerPoint presentation about what I learned about 3D food printing and the works. Right after that, me and my mentor worked on the compact, then I finally met and spoke one-on-one with my PI professor, Dr. Daniel Preston who was a well-versed person, if I do say so myself. A little while later, I partook in a meeting session between PhD students and the professor himself, but that was cut short because I was off to the welcome reception, and did my best impression of being friendly and whatnot. I did okay, at least for my standards which doesn’t say a lot to be frank. Then my mom picked me up from campus and off I went home. Also side note, my project is about turning a typical 3D printer to a 3D food printer. That’s all for this week.

Thank you for reading,
Brandon Espinoza.