Dear Diary,

I feel: 😴(sleepy)

This morning I showed up at 8:15am. I put together questions for the Department Chair of the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering here at ISU. As I was looking up ISU faculty, I also Googled University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) faculty. There are so many professors working with robotics. I’m thinking about reaching out to some professors working in robotics labs I’m interested in. It’s a dream come true to be attending a school so jam packed with knowledge.

Professor Stephen Gilbert came to speak with us for the lunch and lecture today! Although we already know who he is, we didn’t know what he was working on or his background. He shared former research projects utilizing emerging technologies and future research projects he’s interested in.
Professor Gilbert also shared his career path to where he is now. It seems that the place where people end up can never be predicted. He mentioned how people noticed him through his hard work and connections he had through others. He also kept his options open enabling him to go to Cyprus, start a company, and ultimately find the job he wanted.

This afternoon, the 3D scanning team worked on Matlab coding and the x3p file conversion implementation. The coding is going well, but we’re having difficulties with the file conversion.

We had a Craft of Research class this afternoon, and Andrew taught us about good and bad graphics/figures. It’s important that the visuals you include are easy to understand. He also discussed the importance of knowing your audience. For example, people looking to learn more versus clients looking to utilize your work. Being able to cater to both audiences well is definitely an important skill.

This evening we went on a hike at Ledges State Park. On the drive there, the surrounding area was … flat. We saw corn!!! 😊(happy) Mind you, it was very very short, but we still saw it! When we got there, there was a lake path or another steeper path. We ended up choosing the steeper path, and it was nice. It was interesting though, because the path wasn’t just dirt. The path was made almost completely with wood. There were even wooden stairs! There was also a section where you crossed through a stream of water.
It was surprising to find elevation here in Iowa. My iPhone says I climbed 30 flights of stairs in an hour. This also probably means I went down a decent amount of stairs too. While the group was a little divided due to the rate at which some of us climbed, I really enjoyed the slower pace group (Emmanuelle, Jennifer, Bradon, and I). We got to talk and enjoy nature.
When we got back to the dorms, there were fireflies out and about in our courtyard area! They’re really pretty. Lucas and Emmanuelle even caught a few for us to look at!

Tidbit(s) of information:

• Professor Gilbert mentioned one of the purposes of these blogs is to record the mundane, and it makes me feel better about my systematic “Hi. Today I did x, y, and z actions” posts. While I sometimes add thoughts and feelings, overall, having a record of what I did this summer will be fun to look back at. I’ve never had a progress record this detailed before.
• I’m confident taking the bus now! 😊(happy) I can now be lazy and take the bus to work everyday.
• Quick shoutout to my family: I love you, and I miss you.

Sincerely,
Lara