Wednesday, July 6, 2016

July 6

On my first day as an intern, we spent two hours in the Red Barn (which, unfortunately, did not have air conditioning) doing team bonding exercises. Mr. Pow and Mr. Callens watched as we struggled to flip over a magic carpet in the "air," purify toxic waste (water in a jar) protected by force fields and more. While mostly successful, the best lessons came from our failures: we learned the benefits of communication and trust as Zihao plummeted from our carpet and we accidentally knocked over our tin of purified water.
After a tour, where we peered wide-eyed into various labs, and a lunch at Salsarita's, we were sent off to meet with our advisors. My group, with the exception of Professor Joel Kastner, is all female. Everyone was welcoming and eager to explain their work. Essentially, they are trying to figure out if a certain star is young or old. This particular star has distinctive features that apply to both young and old stars. I was given an astronomy textbook to read and learned about the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and the idea behind their work from Kristina and Joel. I have a lot to learn but I'm looking forward to the summer here at RIT.

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