Thursday Aug 07, 2008

Plasma Seminar

Last Friday I gave a talk to some plasma physicists about the scrape-off layer (SOL), and it went very well.  My seminar lasted an hour, and they asked many questions.  It was like I was defending my research.  I couldn?t answer some questions because most of what I know about the SOL and plasma physics I learned this summer.  This experience was my first taste of what is to come in my professional career.  Seminars, like the one I gave, are very commonplace in a research driven environment.  Ideas are presented and debated among other scientists on a regular basis.  It is a very exciting atmosphere for me, and I am excited to pursue science even more.  

In November the Department of Energy (DOE) will be sending me to Dallas, Texas to present my research at the American Physical Society ? Division of Plasma Science (APS-DPS) meeting.  This meeting will comprise plasma and fusion research being done all over the US, presented by top researchers in the field.  I can?t wait to see what exciting new research is being done.  This internship has definitely been the most worthwhile endeavor in my undergraduate career.

This past weekend I met up with my girlfriend and dad in Washington, DC to get away from Princeton for a while.  We went to the Newseum, a museum about the history of journalism in the US.  The Newseum, is probably one of my favorite museums now.  I recommend it.  The trip to DC was fun, but it makes me even more anxious to come back home.  I?ve got a poster to make, a paper to write, and I?ve got to chop up my 1 hour presentation to 10 minutes so I can give the summary talk to my peers on the last day.  I?ll be busy until the last day, August 15... my birthday.  Then I have 4 days to rest, and then it?s back into full time student mode.