News bytes

Some new (and not so new) releases from the world of science:

Forbidden atomic transitions: Controlling matter 1,000 times more precisely using high-resolution spectroscopy


A nano-generator from the power of rolling tires


How many meteorite craters are out there?



Aside from my news bites (bytes?) I have begun my internship at NIST (The National Institute of Standards and Technology) in Gaithersburg, Maryland.  If you don't know much about NIST, you should. As a lab, NIST is comparable to Los Alamos and Oak Ridge.  My internship is part of a project called an RET, or Research Experience for Teachers, funded through the University of Maryland.

At NIST, I have joined the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) and will have the opportunity to use neutron diffraction to explore the nature of various materials.  A lot of their work (at least in this section) falls under what you would call "soft matter" as they experiment on materials such as polymers, metals, ceramics, magnetic materials, fluids and biological molecules.

As it happens when you join a new lab, the first few days are all about getting acquainted to the place and learning what is going on.  My mentors, Boualem and Cedric, (who have been incredibly friendly and accommodating) were finishing an experiment in which they measured the differences in neutron scattering on a biological sample as they changed the pressure on the sample.  One of my first tasks is to analyze the data from that experiment. So I am learning all about a software package known as IGOR to perform the analysis.

It is an exciting time, and I look forward to learning so much more.  I love to get outside of the classroom and the summer is the perfect time to do something like this.  I am not thinking about school or classes at all and just about the science.

I will be back often this summer to write about what is happening at NIST.