I thought of week 9 as the last “real” week of this program, everyone is talking about wrapping u their poster/research It was very interesting seeing everyone at different paces. I just worked on my poster through this week and never really set foot inside the lab unless it was for the name of a chemical I used or a picture of a tool at the lab. I do feel like I’m going to clean up my viles and glass capillaries next week but I’ll start when Joe gives me the go-ahead. I don’t know if he’d want to use my samples or if someone in the lab would find it useful. It’d be a waste to dispose of it before getting official confirmation. In addition, I realized I’m going to miss everyone in the lab, at first everyone was distant and doing their own things but now everyone talks to me. They are all friendly and super nice. Whenever Joe wasn’t at the lab they would be happy to answer my questions or even ask em questions themselves. It was an incredible experience. Also the “It’s a wrap” event was also very fun, I met 2 new friends who were also just great to be around, it was a good social hangout even if near the end pretty much everyone was gone, I enjoyed going and seeing all the pictures everyone posted and hearing all the separate projects, hurdles, solutions and funny stories everyone had.

During week 8 the main focus was to finish the poster, specifically ironing out the details. What should I add? How do I shorten it out? I struggled a lot with the background and method since it became either too much text or un-identifiable. It eventually became easier for the method since it’s basically adding pictures to a step-by-step process but the background was the more challenging aspect, there’s too much to talk about for BNNT and Nanotubes in general so I wrote everything I thought was cool/important on my notebook and started crossing stuff off or circling them to make sure I add them. Another insanely challenging part was the phase diagram itself, I was very confused about how to do it and it was by far what changed the most. Joe thankfully helped me out and sent me a reference phase diagram he made from one of his papers. It was a lifesaver and I was able to do all of it on my own even if I had to research how to use certain programs in Excel and work around certain limitations, the only thing Joe thought I could’ve improved on it was adding H2SO4 t the top and CSA at the bottom which I did. I was very pleased with it and it was the thing that ate up most of my time compared to everything else. The 2nd hardest part was actually starting the poster, was the font correct? How were the spaces? Is the logo big enough? It was scary since Ive never done anything like it, I was walking on no man’s land, it was almost thrilling. I enjoyed the process an I found it very fun to find alternate solutions and compromise with the limitations of the poster.

Throughout this week I was finishing up my project, and there were some dilutions I needed to finish especially when it came to re-taking pictures for the poster. I felt like regardless if the public was gonna see it, just me, or Joe I wanted them to be the best they could be. I ended up retaking about 7 dilutions which are about 28 separate pictures using the POM. In addition, I felt like I could take better samples so I ended up re-sealing around 4 samples. I wanted everything to be above average even if most people wouldn’t notice. They ended up being worth it as through the making of my poster or analysis of the phases, agglomerates, and Liquid Crystals it was clear and less challenging than it normally is. My lab notebook also was working over time, it went through a lot of new samples, failed samples, and scrapped ones. But overall I got the work done as hard as it may be, I even came into the lab on Saturday to finish everything!

Sorry for the late submission, last week was a handful. We only had 3 days due to 4th of July, Joe was very busy again so me and Frank (the Teacher intern) started working on our own plan. Frank and I are helping each other in designing a poster together since they follow similar design philosophies, except his project focuses on BNNTs reaction with temperature while mine is with acidic concentration. It’s a huge help since we both give each other feedback on how BNNTs should be described to people who know nothing about it or test each other the knowledge in the progress. It’s more like a peer review more than anything. I did have some obstacles in my samples such as my yield being WAY too little. I had to start over from scratch but Joe was understanding and helpful. I Ended up going to the Lab on Friday even though it wasn’t necessary and on Saturday, since I felt like I needed to work on my setbacks, I feel a lot more confident and I’m sure Joe will be happy with the result. It was kinda scary on Saturday since it started to rain HARD but thankfully it calmed down by 5 ish so I was able to leave safely. Finally, the hurricane was scary, I am in the Seabrook area so it hit very hard and my power went out fairly early, unfortunately. Thankfully everyone is ok and I am excited for more time in the lab.

Hello! Week 5 was the most fun week yet! I took lots of pictures as well as kab videos. This entire week my mentor wasn’t here due to the lab having a conference somewhere in Boston. My lunches have been a lot more fun, usually, it’s just me and Adrian but recently Brandon and Chloe have been joining us! It’s a lot more fun and I’m happy I have a little group I can hang out with. Next week I wanna take a group picture with them! Anyways, in the lab, I have been managing. Joe has been extremely supportive and transparent and has answered all the questions I have as well as Frank (the teacher in our lab). I’ve been diluting all week and at first, I was concerned with the way the dilutions were coming out but now I’m a lot calmer. My main concern was that with every dilution there was less and less solution, so much so that it was extremely hard to see, my nerves were calmed when I realized 2 things- 1. It’s nanotechnology of course it’s gonna be small and 2. we only need enough to analyze it in a POM microscope which requires a super small capillary. I only need to redo… 2 samples which would take me about half a day and everything else I can do in 2 days and imaging would take about a day to do all 26 ish samples. So overall I’m on track and I feel confident in my findings. Finally, today’s (Friday) game night was super fun and I’m wondering where we can find all the photos from the events and the field trip. I met wonderful people so far and can’t wait to eat lunch with more people.

This week was very informational, to say the least. My mentor showed me how to dilute solutions. It’s a very lengthy process and also exhausting. As there is a lot of stuff that can go wrong so I have to be ver careful. He also helps me set up a spreadsheet that’ll calculate the process for me making it a lot faster, more efficient, and more accurate. I am very thankful to have him around even if he has other responsibilities, he makes time to explain thoroughly. In addition, we went on a field trip and it was incredible! I learned a lot and understood a lot of the keywords. Turns out that their process of separating water with agglomerates is similar to that of BNNT with outside contaminants or non-BNNT Boron or Carbon. I’m planning on taking more group pictures since I’ve become really close with the people here and I don’t wanna forget our lunch spot/ cool memories. I hope We are all still hanging out outside this internship! I look forward to posting group pictures in next week’s post and hopefully, new events will follow.

I am currently writing this in the morning so I’ll probably add some stuff by the time I turn this in. This week has been mentally taxing but I enjoyed it. On Monday Joe notified me of a Teacher assistant coming to the lab and how he wanted me to give him a tour of the lab and its procedures. The teacher finally came on Wednesday, his name is Frank Padron and he’s a University professor. I gave him a tour of the lab and showed him where the fire extinguishers, bathing stations, and eye washers, but also how to encapsulate samples in capillaries and how to deal with potential chemical spills. I’m happy I covered so much ground because Joe seemed exhausted when he came into the lab and seemed genuinely thankful I made his day easier, after talking to him about the rest of my plans he approved of them and allowed me to do as I planned until 3  pm. So with the remaining time that I had, I helped him understand the Polarizing Optical Microscope and showed him some of my samples as well as having a rough layout for the upcoming weeks. We get along really well and he’s a hard worker.

Another highlight has been lunches, I enjoy seeing my friends and talking since the professional atmosphere of the lab doesn’t allow for actual conversations (obviously due to the potential dangers of carelessness). It feels good to unwind and just have a chat, as quiet as I can be I still enjoy social interaction and wish more events like trivia night etc could happen.

Today Joe is going to be going through (name procedure) and I am sure excited, I like how it’s a combination of basic Calc and Chemistry and I am happy to do either of them. It’s a very lengthy procedure and each sample can take a minimum of around 30 minutes at least maybe around 1 hour due to my unfamiliarity with it. I am happy to learn it and get a grasp of it by the 3rd try, it only really has 1 difficult step or at least in my eyes.

Below is a video of a chemical and the setup of one of my workmates (Lily) setup since I thought it looked cool.

A lot happened in the 2nd week of the REU. Firstly, my mentor has been really supportive, and even though he’s very busy he still makes time to show me how to do tasks. On Thursday he gave me a heads up that he’ll be busy most if not all of Friday so he gave me 12 acid samples to encapsulate in capillaries and 7 pictures of each sample (10 if you count the 2 blanks and unpolarized picture). I have to do it by Tuesday and so far I have a bit over half done. He clearly expects a lot from me and I will not let him down. For my friends it’s been good, everyone is so busy but every now and then we meet up to eat lunch or just talk during our break, it’s nice to have a break from the very professional environment that is the labs and do something more laid back. In addition, I was able to visit Ms. Umezakis’s lab on Friday, everyone was so nice and I was able to see and then conduct various experiments, I was there for around an hour or an hour and a half. It certainly didn’t feel long, as I was constantly asked questions and I was also always asking about the methods and machines. Overall there’s a lot of work that needs to be done and a lot more papers that I need to read and understand, hopefully, I’ll have a smooth week for the upcoming week 3.

As of writing this, it is currently June 1, 2024. I have just completed my first week and I have a lot to say. It was a bumpy start due to my mentor not expecting me until next week so he had no activities or assignments for me to do. However, I did have a pending assignment of reading 4 scientific papers and writing slides and notes for them, so that’s what I focused on. I came in at 9 and wrote until 12 where I had my lunch and took a walk around campus until 1. I usually had lab safety training/tours around 1 – 4 depending on the day so I would schedule my work days around it and showed up 10 minutes early every time to avoid frustrations. I was taught how to sample and how to use an advanced microscope but nothing too serious or for too long (1 to 2 hours). I really get along with 2 people at the lab (besides my mentor) named Lily and Alex, they are very kind and very patient with me. Everyone is always busy so it’s hard to really get a conversation going. In terms of outside the lab, I planned to meet up with Adrian for lunch and hopefully, I can invite other people to join us in the upcoming days. I didn’t get too many pictures this week since I was so nervous and busy with writing and making slides but I will go crazy next week, I may even bring a camera or Polaroid. I did make new friends and talked to new people outside and inside the labs. Looking forward to next week and excited to present my presentation to my mentor. Also, almost forgot, I met Ms. Umezaki at yesterday’s event, she worked with Dr. Pasquali and is interested in making arrangements to have me at her lab or have me visit sometime! I’m honored to even be considered for another lab and having read her work I feel like her team is very talented (although it’s not a competition). Hopefully, I can prove myself to everyone around me and can meet people at the adjacent lab and figure out a way to also talk to everyone there. It will not deter my determination nor will it shift my focus away from my overall project. I am very excited!