Cheers to an Enlightening 8 Weeks

“Like the legend of the phoenix
All ends with beginnings” -Daft Punk (Get Lucky)

Although I lament the end of this internship, I can’t help but notice that this is not an ending or a beginning, but rather another chapter in an infinite cycle of endings and beginnings. We are all Jedis in training, with no particular goal in sight besides excellence itself. We must heed the words of Master Yoda, “PATIENCE YOU MUST HAVE my young padawan,” for it will be a long journey. Whether it is math, physics, engineering, or biology (and don’t forget social science) it is not the next problem that is the objective, it is the journey that is important. Dwell not on endings and beginnings, dwell instead on the infinite succession of nows which have flowed for infinity before us, and which will flow for infinity to come.

And remember, we must not take the path of the dark side, AKA – DoD fellowship, because “If you end your training now — if you choose the quick and easy path as Vader did — you will become an agent of evil.” – Yoda again

“Fight! Vanquish foes and doubts, dear hero! Slay what haunts thee in fond shapes”
-Arjuna

Now Go!!! Congratulations, and fond wishes of good luck and enlightenment to all 🙂

-Paul Kovacs

Farewell

Time passes so fast, and it’s already my final week in INSET. My best experience in this summer is that I have a chance to work and meet with nice and friendly people from different fields. In a short time, I have learnt a lot of new things. I had a final presentation last week; even though it’s not so good, I am proud that now I can overcome my fear and speak in front of the crowds. My work in lab is pretty simple which I don’t have to deal with any dangerous chemicals and infectious diseases. The most frustrating part is doing analysis when a lot of problems come up although I have no ideas what is going wrong. Anyway, I mean that’s the way we do research, right? Repeating and redoing experiments until we reach the answers. I have never thought of going to grad-school before, but this internship definitely changes my mind. I am not hundred percent for sure now, and I hope that I can apply for another internship next summer. Goodbye INSET and thanks for helping me to have the greatest summer ever.

Can’t believe it’s over

I can’t believe this internship is almost over! I guess you can never get enough of beautiful views, friendly people, and great research experiences. During the preparation for my final presentation, when i put everything together i just realized how much I’ve learnt during this intership. I’ve been working in the O’Malley lab in chemical engineering department, there are alot of biology related stuff going on and i havn’t even taken any biology classes in my community college. But now, after finishing those experiments and doing extra readings, i really think i’ve learnt so much than i can ever imagine. I even felt i’m so much better prepared for my incoming fall semester in berkely. After experiencing the actual researches in the lab, I felt like I really enjoyed it and now I want to attend grad school better.

Thank you INSET for giving me this awesome opportunity of exploring my field and meeting so many friends!

Final thoughts

This internship has been very challenging but rewarding at the same time.  I got to get exposure to research, which gave me a better idea of what it takes to get a PhD.  I got to design custom parts for a robot using AutoCAD skills, and currently in the process of fabricating.  I got exposure to the Electrical Engineering field of communications, and will be prepared for the classes when I take them at UCSD.  I had an incredible mentor, and faculty advisor that gave me a great opportunity.  It was very exciting and fun, I can’t wait to apply for another internship and be able to use my experience in research to get another.

Bye INSET!

My summer is coming to a close.  I had a good time here and I learned more than I ever could have imagined.  I had a blast doing my final presentation and I am very proud of the work I produced in my lab.  My LabVIEW VI seems to do everything that it needs to do.  Maybe some day our equipment will work and we can test it for real.

A few weeks ago I was sad that I was leaving.  I’m ready to go now.  It was nice to create something useful but I’m ready to move on to a new project.  This internship reinforced my plans to go to grad school.  I’m really looking forward to having a project of my own some day.  In the meantime, I hope I’ll be able to find another project to work on this fall as an undergrad either in my current lab or somewhere else on campus.  I think I might be addicted to research.