Week 2 : Settling In
The start of this week marks the actual beginning of the internship,with all the fumbling of people's names and frequently forgetting to clock in.
For the bulk of this week I have found myself working on an Arduino (a small highly customizable computer) in the Bio lab. The language in it is not very complicated, very much akin to starter object oriented languages (programming languages that focus on variables). The kit itself came with several projects already packaged and fully stocked with all necessary components.
I was suprised to see that there was actually no learning curve in the projects provided.So much in fact that I chose one of the higher level projects, that being a light that operates on bio-electricity (currents of electricity from your
For this project I noticed that certain lines of code that I wrote did not accurately line up with the designated ports for power. After a solid day of bug testing I found that the error was actually attributed to an incorrectly chosen wire, in this case a breadboard jumper instead of a battery wire.
Once I relieved this I ran the code once more and everything fell into place. After writing a very concise report on the project, I began rewiring the Arduino and writing pseudo code for a modified version that will light specific lights based on wattage output. This is still in it's early stages, but I will post updates as the phases developed.
Wednesday rolls around and a fellow STEM scholar and I finally meet with the IT department. After the "Hi nice to meet you's"s and firm handshakes, we discussed what we would be tasked with. Now on paper, it sounds tedious and remedial; cleaning closets for an internship. Yet, the strange amount of weight it holds and faith being put in the two of us is very much telling otherwise. These "closets" located on campus (approx. 60+) house servers for each floor of each building. Many of these have not been taken care of or are relinquished for many an employees siesta's due to their large AC's each is equipped with. Not only that, but there is also a matter of assuring nothing is left that may be hazardous,salvaging any intact equipment, and moving items that may cause problems in certain scenarios (say a stockpile of cardboard or low hanging wires).
It is more akin to inspecting, and with it comes knowledge of the ins and outs of the various networks and a master key to all electronically locked doors on campus. Needless to say, I am pleasantly surprised to how hands on the approach of this. I will continue to write about these inspections as the weeks continue.
For the second week, things are beginning to fire on all cylinders. My doubts of anything else have been dashed, and I am now seeing myself be presented sums of knowledge through the experts I have the pleasure of meeting on campus and the academic experiences I am now sharing with fellow scholars.
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| An Arduino Uno |
I was suprised to see that there was actually no learning curve in the projects provided.So much in fact that I chose one of the higher level projects, that being a light that operates on bio-electricity (currents of electricity from your
body).
 |
| Lines of code (left), and a short blurb describing their functionality (right). |
Once I relieved this I ran the code once more and everything fell into place. After writing a very concise report on the project, I began rewiring the Arduino and writing pseudo code for a modified version that will light specific lights based on wattage output. This is still in it's early stages, but I will post updates as the phases developed.
Wednesday rolls around and a fellow STEM scholar and I finally meet with the IT department. After the "Hi nice to meet you's"s and firm handshakes, we discussed what we would be tasked with. Now on paper, it sounds tedious and remedial; cleaning closets for an internship. Yet, the strange amount of weight it holds and faith being put in the two of us is very much telling otherwise. These "closets" located on campus (approx. 60+) house servers for each floor of each building. Many of these have not been taken care of or are relinquished for many an employees siesta's due to their large AC's each is equipped with. Not only that, but there is also a matter of assuring nothing is left that may be hazardous,salvaging any intact equipment, and moving items that may cause problems in certain scenarios (say a stockpile of cardboard or low hanging wires).
It is more akin to inspecting, and with it comes knowledge of the ins and outs of the various networks and a master key to all electronically locked doors on campus. Needless to say, I am pleasantly surprised to how hands on the approach of this. I will continue to write about these inspections as the weeks continue.
For the second week, things are beginning to fire on all cylinders. My doubts of anything else have been dashed, and I am now seeing myself be presented sums of knowledge through the experts I have the pleasure of meeting on campus and the academic experiences I am now sharing with fellow scholars.
As much as a painstaking task it is to code, I can't help but feel a sense of achievement when finishing a series of code and seeing that it indeed works perfectly. As for meeting with good ol' Symeon, it was a relief to finally work for the department we're destined for. Yes, it does sound like grunt work on paper, but as you explained, it's more than meets the eye.
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