Today was a day of learning! All of the REU studens presented their projects, 7 of them even gave a presentation in the CIS auditorium. As I did not have much else to do in terms of work, I stayed for the majority of the talks. Matt's focused around AGB stars, much of what I have been helping with. He talked about the life cycle of a star, specifically the AGB stage, and then what our work would help with in the future. Lauren talked about Terahertz, a type of wavelength that could replace X-rays due to it's harmless nature. She gave examples of how they worked, as well as listing pros and cons of using them in different areas of work (science, safety, etc...). Bruce talked about freeform mirrors; these mirrors are not flat, but can be bent into any shape possible using electronic charges. While currently they are only miniature, eventually they could replace car mirrors due to their increased viewing angle and depth of view. Vickie talked about noise reduction in images. Specifically, she gave examples of algorithms that reduce the effect of outside light sources in images, and how helpful this is for images of any type and wavelength. Then came a lunch break, were I ate DiBella's subs and cookies. While the lunch was meant for REU students and mentors only, Matt allowed Alexa and I to eat there as well due to our contributions. After eating, I met the other interns at Global Village, were we played cards again. At 1:30, Aviriana gave her talk about life on Mars. She found that 4 asteroids have been analyzed, hinting at the possibility of water (and thus a high probability of life) on Mars. However, they have been contaminated with terrestrial bacteria, and are not 100% accurate. After the presentations, I worked on my own presentation for next week. Today was important not only in giving me an idea of professional presentations, but also in providing me with knowledge of other possible research areas. Listening to the REU students only increased my interest in pursuing a career as a researcher.
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