Monday, June 3, 2024
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Week 1 is over!
Tuesday was orientation at the American Center for Physics, our first time meeting everyone and the SPS directors. Outside of presentations and speeches, we were split into groups to build the tallest marshmallow and spaghetti building. My group didn’t come in first, but we didn’t come in last, so that’s a win in my book.
Jenna and I had to leave orientation early to get our NIST IDs. The commute to NIST is brutal. It involves two trains and a shuttle and takes about one hour from the house. It may be worth the commute because the NIST campus is beautiful and the people are so kind. Jenna and I have offices two doors away from each other; any closer, we would likely spend most of the day chatting and not getting much work done…
Friday, I worked from ACP. The building is beautiful. There are offices with standing desks, big windows, and lots of plants. There are many Monsteras, so I might have to secretly take a clipping of a plant and propagate it from home! My mentor and I planned out my research project for the summer. I am a Mather Public Policy Intern, so the research is focused on policy recommendations rather than a technical report. I am working on making the FDA clinical trial process for drug approvals “smarter.”
The other SPS Interns have been great, we have played a few board games, SpikeBall, touch football (my team won), and went to a farmers market. I am excited for the rest of the summer!
Outside of work and friends, we have had a total of 3 fire alarms so far. The worst happened at 3 am. I barely made it out of the building awake.
Highlight: New Friends!
Lowlight: the NIST commute and 3 AM fire alarm
Charlotte Bimson