When I first arrived at Forthright Engineering, I was shown around their workplace and saw that their workshop was actually quite similar to the area of the maker space we have for the robotics team and I learned that, like the robotics team, computer-aided design was an important part of their design process. After I was introduced to the engineers at the firm, they showed me some of the projects that they were working on, including the one that I would be helping with. While I’m not allowed to go into greater detail about the specifics of each of the projects themselves, the range of fields these engineering tasks came from was really fascinating. My task is to research a certain technology that they may need to use, which means finding studies on its efficacy and reviewing relevant patents. Lastly, I was able to sit in a meeting about a project proposal, where they discussed the plans, like costs and timelines, of a new project.
Tag: Day1
Day 1
My first day at RTI was great. As soon as I got there, we toured a multitude of labs. These labs had extremely complex equipment for testing various things – such as the vapor from e-cigarettes, the power of LED lights, and even the quality of military suits in protecting soldiers from chemicals. The labs were very impressive. Then, I met with a scientist from the energy efficiency department and he gave me a tour of his lab, in which he is to turn biomass, such as feed-stock, into refined oil and other fuels. He even told me that he once turned chicken droppings into crude oil (kind of gross but really cool)! Michelle McCombs, who I am shadowing throughout my internship, also showed me how she downloads data from the MicroPEM, which is her main research project. The MicroPEM is a device that individuals wear to collect real-time data on the particulate matter they are exposed to/inhaling. She received 3 MicroPEMs back from Dartmouth College (many MicroPEMs are sent out on loan to colleges and universities for research, as well as to many third-world countries), and after she collected all the data we switched out the filters in the devices, cleaned them, and sent them back to Dartmouth. After lunch, I met with a chemical engineer who works on the efficiency of air filters in commercial settings and households, and it was really interesting to see SEM images (scanning electron microscopy) of these filters and the fine differences between dirt and human skin and what not. Then, I collected voltage and current data on MicroPEMs that were in the process of being shipped out. I already have learned so much from my first day and I am super excited for tomorrow!
Day 1 at Raleigh Orthopaedics in Cary
Even when I walked into the physical therapy office of Raleigh Orthopedics at 8am, it was packed. I was introduced to the people who worked there, which included two physical therapists, one strength and conditioning coach, one athletic trainer, and the receptionist. They were all very friendly and made me feel welcome. I spent the day watching what each person was doing, looking at different patients with a variety of needs. I saw knee injuries, ligament tears, back pains, heel issues, and a lot more. During my lunch break, I saw my good friend Ruhi Dholakia walk into the office, coming in for her weekly session. I didn’t expect to see her, but it shows how wide of a community physical therapy reaches. The most impressive thing I saw was when one of the therapists, Dennis, dry needle-ed a woman in her calf. He stuck many thin needles into the leg, leaving them sitting in one leg and moving the needles around in the other. The woman didn’t show any signs of pain, so I was quite surprised by that. I look forward to going back tomorrow and seeing more people and means of recovery. 
Ruhi putting in work for her shoulder recovery
Day 1: Commuting is Awful
I didn’t realize commuting would be such a struggle. I needed to get to work at 9 and it’s about a 30 minute drive from my house to Durham so I left around 8:10 am. I got to the museum at 9:15 am. It took me an hour! I went to the main staff meeting which was very interesting and made me want to go to more. I came in late and was already nervous. I awkwardly was introduced during a “what does this month look like” circle. It was a little mortifying being put on the spot in front of very passionate, intelligent, and hardworking individuals who are all much older than me. Then I worked on the Education budget’s excel spreadsheet for quite some time managing random things and writing comments on certain allocations of money. At 2:00 pm is another meeting for just the Education branch and I’m excited for that. I’ve already met a lot of people who do a lot of different things and it’s making me think about the future. The head curator seems to travel all the time which is a job I’d probably want. The person in charge of organizing how the art is curated and organized actually builds models of the rooms and hangs up tiny versions of the paintings where he thinks they should go. It was very cool. I think that the next meeting will be even a deeper look in.