I would have really liked to attend Stephen’s luncheon lecture, learn about his projects and how was his time in Namibia like, but I couldn’t because of my orientation. But Rhoda introduced me to this African restaurant in Des Moines- … Continue reading →
Dr. Barakat gave us a talk last Thursday on her projects and a little bit about her PhD journey. The projects she worked with are really really interesting and so much complicated. As my mentor, I already knew a little … Continue reading →
There’s so many cool people to meet here, and all of these cool people know other cool people, and all of these cool people combined are doing so much cool stuff, so how can I possibly feel like what I … Continue reading →
Shoutout Stephen Gilbert! He gave us a lecture on how to apply to grad school. Going into it, I thought I knew what that process would be like, but I was surprised to realize I knew very little about the … Continue reading →
Today has been a whirlwind. We started off with a talk by Stephen G about how to apply to grad school which was really interesting. I didn’t realize that the application process to undergrad was so different, and that it’s … Continue reading →
I’m definitely somewhat of a perfectionist, and I don’t really want to show someone what I’m working on until it’s in a state I’m happy with. But throughout the last few weeks, I have been really happy with the feedback … Continue reading →
Time is running quick. We are in the final stages of our project with only two and a half weeks left and we have lots to do. Our group specifically, Echo XR, is working on audio recordings for our iterative … Continue reading →
Over the last seven days we have had three amazing guest speakers at our luncheon lectures who all reminded me the importance of exploration in my learning. The first was Miko Wilford, a professor in Psychology focused on the behaviors … Continue reading →
Last week we all had to opportunity to travel down to Iowa City and get to see some of the university. Our purpose there though was to meet with the other REU there to listen and learn about their research … Continue reading →
I’d love to say that growing up was the easiest thing I’ve done, that school felt like a breeze, life always felt comfortable, and I never had to worry about what the future holds for me. Don’t get me wrong, … Continue reading →
On Friday, we had the opportunity to visit the University of Iowa campus and swap presentation with the REU group there. It was interesting to see how they faced similar research challenges, despite all their projects being based in the … Continue reading →
On Friday we went to the University of Iowa and visited with one of their REU Programs. We all gave presentations on our research. It was really cool to see what sorts of medical tech they were working on! Thanks … Continue reading →
Last Friday on July 11th we headed to the University of Iowa for presentations at 7:30am. The car ride there was pretty great, all the girls from the REU + Johann joined a jam on Spotify and we were just … Continue reading →
On Friday, our group hopped into a couple vans and drove 2 hours to the University of Iowa. There, we met 11 other REU students and got to watch them present about each of their projects. Their topics were health … Continue reading →
Last week Friday, we went to University of Iowa to give some presentations on our projects and also hear about their projects as well. It was a super cool experience to visit another university, hear about their program and also … Continue reading →
Merate Barakat: Thanks for telling us about your journey, Dr. Barakat! I was cool to learn how adventurous you have been in your career. London sounds really fun! In project related news: things are coming along. It’s great to have … Continue reading →
Today a lot has happened, it feels like a lot has happened. Natasha had presented a class to us about thinking and decision making, it was an interesting topic that was talked about. This lecture was a bit different and … Continue reading →
We talked with Miko and Patricia yesterday about what they had to work on and are working on. The projects heavily focused on psychology law, which was really interesting. I especially learned a lot of terms in the legal field, … Continue reading →
The four-day weekend was much needed. It felt so good to relax and have a good amount of time off. I felt as if so much happened this past week. On the 3rd of July, the remaining of the interns … Continue reading →
I very much enjoyed both of the luncheon lectures with both of these speakers. Beginning with Debra Kumar, her overall adventure and experience with Google was insane. She was so humble and sweet. It’s crazy that she had worked at … Continue reading →
The 4th of July gave us a great break. We went out to the waterpark, which was really nice and not so hot! We saw Alex there and hung out with him for a while, too! On Sunday, I decided … Continue reading →
We just got done listening to our luncheon lecture speaker Miko Wilford. I love coming out of luncheon lectures because I always feel like I learned SO much and this was no exception. I dont know much about the legal … Continue reading →
I started creating engineering projects about four years ago now, and in that time I have learned a lot about what it takes to actually make a project come to life. Some things I have learned include how to research … Continue reading →
A big thank you to Debra Kumar for coming and speaking with us last week. I thought it was super cool to hear about her experience at Google and how the culture shifted into something she no longer believed in, … Continue reading →
We concluded our deeper dive sessions with a presentation on our different MCAs last Wednesday. I felt anxious before, but relieved after the presentation. I especially noted the feedback that I had on mine, and I appreciated all the projects; … Continue reading →
Last Wednesday we finally finished our MCA projects. I was sort of relieved to get these out of the way although it would have been nice to have been able to implement all the things that we wanted to into … Continue reading →
Prior to the Holiday weekend, I was really stressed and busy with working on both the MCA and project. I really needed a quick reset with all of the work we had been doing. I got to see both my … Continue reading →
It’s the start of week 7 and almost a week since the MCA’s, even though I’m a little late, I couldn’t be more happy and grateful for everyone in this program who has done nothing but support me up until … Continue reading →
To Debra Kumar: Thank you for taking the time to tell us about your journey! I hope you will enjoy your work at Wikimedia. Yesterday we did Zumba after work. I had never done it before, but it was fun! … Continue reading →
Understanding and knowing your body is very important for your development. I’m specifically talking about productivity here. During my freshman year, I had trouble knowing when to do my homework, especially when it came to writing essays. During the day, … Continue reading →
This week has definitely been intense working with both the MCA projects and the larger project, but it’s been really exciting watching our MCA come together. Seeing how the ML model is working with the unity environment for our object … Continue reading →
Now that we are in week six of the REU, we are finally starting to develop our interface for the experiment for NAVI. This is a really exciting moment, but it’s also super hard and frustrating. With personal projects, I’ve … Continue reading →
Jumpscare! Jk, its me. I’m now attempting to build something like a roman bust using blender and then solid works for the base. I will update later with the solidworks image. And even later when it’s 3D Printed. The weekend … Continue reading →
I took the time this weekend to rest as much as possible after the week we had between our MCA projects and our main research. We had BBQ on Saturday and played some Jackbox to relax. Well today, back to … Continue reading →
This weekend was a great break from all of the work we have been doing for our MCA work. Not only did I get to see Ringo Starr live for free, but also got to see a free firework show … Continue reading →
I think my MCA deeper dive project is coming along pretty well. I’m finding different models of what I want to print that are cool, I’ve tried different materials- some have failed, and others have succeeded. But honestly, I’m a … Continue reading →
Quick blog post. I spent the last 8 hours or so on class trying to get pas the first step, but these last two hours for my MCA has been really nice. Stephen and Adam are helping out a ton, … Continue reading →
Our projects are just an overall emotional rollercoaster, one day I’m feeling great, the next day confused, another lost and so on. From what I hear so far though is that that’s perfectly normal. I think our Deeper Dive project … Continue reading →
For my MCA, I’ve been working on going from a 3D scan to a 3D print. It been going really well actually! Definitely not perfect scans, but way better than Alex expected. Shout out Alex, Sam, and Emily for helping … Continue reading →
When starting a new project, how can you know what tools to use, how long it will take, what roadblocks you will run into, or if your method is even close to the most effective way of solving the problem? … Continue reading →
Holly gave us a talk today about her experience with the REU in 2014, her career path and what she’s working on now. In her work she is doing a lot of things, a lot of data analysis as well … Continue reading →
I forgot to mention all the other luncheon guest speakers in the previous weeks. Thank you Eliot, Jack, Jim, and Holly for giving us advice through your stories about your life. The career ups and downs are always interesting to … Continue reading →
Today is our official first “optional” activity, which means we are already halfway through the program. That’s insane!! Anyways, for our activity today we are going to play Badminton at the State Gym which I’m super excited about. I have … Continue reading →
Huge thank you to Holly Oberbroeckling for coming and talking with us today. She took part in the SPIRE EIT intern group in 2014! We got to learn about her experience in the program and her group’s project which was … Continue reading →
I just want to take a moment to talk about all the speakers in our luncheon lectures thus far, Eliot Winer, Jack Miller, Jim Oliver and Holly Oberbroecking. I think that these lectures are extremely helpful and always give us … Continue reading →
Today, a former REU intern from the 2014 SPIRE EIT program here at Iowa State came to give us all a talk! It was so inspiring hearing her describe her undergraduate path and how she got to where she is … Continue reading →
When was the last time I blogged? Between our research project and my MCA deeper dive, the word busy takes on its full meaning. I have been printing everything cool these past days and working with Jacky and Aidan on … Continue reading →
Lunch with Holly was really nice to have ensuring that the process we are going through is tough but highly worth it. Hearing the experience she had here a decade ago, similar to ours, really motivated me to keep pushing … Continue reading →
Yesterday, I realized learning something new can be really frustrating and also really rewarding. I had never touched unity prior to this REU and had no plan to touch it due to a lack of time and some interest in … Continue reading →
This week has gone by fast. I’ve been working with Nathan on what we want to do for our deeper dive project and I just started getting somewhere yesterday with the model! Unfortunately we may have to pivot seeing as … Continue reading →
Well, no one comes up to you on a whim and tells you what you need to know. The endless and boundless thirst for knowledge will always be what sets people apart from being good and being great. There is so much … Continue reading →
Where to start? So much has happened. I haven’t blogged in a minute. Sometimes it feels when things get really busy, the small tasks get dropped lol. I’ve been playing God Of War through the ISU gym pass in the … Continue reading →
A couple of us got the privilege to watch the movie The Social Network. During this movie we learned the backstory on how Mark Zuckerberg became to be as well as the Winklevoss twins. The movie was great retaining its … Continue reading →
We went a little bit over the history and background of additive manufacturing and 3D Printing on Friday with Alex. 3D Printing was once called rapid prototyping because first it was cost-effective, and it allowed, with the means at hand, … Continue reading →
Eliot and Sarah taught us how to make pasta yesterday. Was it good? Very good, it even takes less than a minute to cook homemade pasta. Will I try it on my own? Hmmmm not sure. Natasha and David made … Continue reading →
Hey interns, I’ll just talk about a few events that were pretty interesting yesterday. We had a pasta event, where we pretty much had Eliot guide us like a baby on how to make the pasta. Natasha and David made … Continue reading →
One of the coolest parts about the intern experience has been the luncheon lectures we have each week. Elliot did the first lecture, and we learned all about his experience in research and how he has gotten to where he … Continue reading →
We got our deeper dive groups! I was put in the machine learning group with Adam and Stephen which I’m excited about because I don’t know much about ML and since it’s such a hot topic right now in tech, … Continue reading →
We made homemade pasta with Eliot and Sarah! It was so fun, and very kind of them to take the time to teach us. They showed us how to make the dough. Apparently, fresh pasta cooks in like 90 seconds, … Continue reading →
We often have luncheon lectures during which we learn about the backgrounds of our guests. So far, we have had Eliot, Jack Miller and Jim Oliver who is the director of the student innovation center. From each of them I learned a lot. Eliot who … Continue reading →
How is week 4 almost at the end?? So we just have 6 weeks left?? ☹️
Continue reading →The weekly luncheon learns that the REU organizes are a super incredible opportunity, and I’m so thankful that the team has organized them for us! Besides the free food (!!!) the luncheon learns are a great way to have some … Continue reading →
What’s the best use case for AI? Maybe it’s figuring out where all my time disappears off to 🙁 For the past about 2 weeks, I’ve felt like it has been really hard to stay on top of our research. … Continue reading →
We were placed in our deeper dive topics yesterday and youpiiiiiiii I’m in additive manufacturing, supervised by Alex. I am really excited to what we are going to do, and what I will do, but at the same time scared … Continue reading →
This Tuesday we had Karaoke night & it was so much fun! Everyone participated and sang at least one song. It was nice to see people get out of their comfort zones and enjoying themselves. Even David sang a few … Continue reading →
Our team had another soundscape talk with Dr. Barakat, one of our faculty mentors. It’s interesting how acoustics and soundscape are somewhat related to history and sociology. Sound is unique to a community based on their routine and history; it … Continue reading →
We have officially finished our unity class, and I have loved every minute of it. Unlike blender, I understand it a lot more and can take advantage of the C# scripts. Now as we head into the next 2 weeks, … Continue reading →
We started blender last week, then started Unity this week. I would say Blender allows for a lot of creativity but also has A LOT of functionalities to know. Unity is also really, really cool. I’m still working on improving … Continue reading →
It’s rough, thinking you have the perfect research question, imagining a plan that everything will follow smoothly, As I should known with all our mentors past stories and all of the tellings of failure, our brilliant research question was pretty … Continue reading →
This week we started Unity! I’ve been so excited for the creative aspects of this part of our courses and it has been so much fun. Being able to import our blender houses into an environment that we can actually … Continue reading →
We tried the taco pizza at pizza pit. It was pretty decent. I mean, I’d still prefer just a taco, but honestly it was better than the great plains taco pizza. In project related news, we had an interview with … Continue reading →
The talk with Jack Miller was really interesting! I really enjoyed how real he kept it with us. He gave us great advice and overall talked about some really cool stuff. He is such a cool guy, he offered to … Continue reading →
It’s been a minute since I last blogged, so much has happened. Yesterday we did light painting which was actually super cool. Right now, we are using blender and its chill. Yesterday some of the gang and I went to … Continue reading →
The first thing that comes to mind is paper straws. In no way am I saying use plastic straws. I just believe the no straw alternative is best and papers straws just simply do not hold up. Second I had … Continue reading →
Here are a couple things that I immediately thought of, just in my own dorm room that could definitely be more user friendly. This is meant to be a table for you to place your stuff on while in your … Continue reading →
For a long period of my life I found history to be completely useless. I didn’t understand why I should care learning about these situations that are outside of my life. I thought that for the most part they were … Continue reading →
The sun’s warm fire smolders into embers, and the moon’s gentle strength rises once again. The crickets chirp, an owl hoots. The world rests, preparing for a new day.
Continue reading →Its coming along! I added a door, a window, a lamp, some rocks, and a funky new tree. Blender is chill and fun! I like it.
Continue reading →First things first, I had no idea what light color painting was going into this activity. We got together in a studio, grabbing various lights and colors, and made lovely photos. By far the best ones where with fire and … Continue reading →
For today’s blog post, I will talk about yesterday, 6/12. With our research, our goals became more clear as we became more knowledgable with the concept of self driving cars, more specifically, the remote operators that can assist if there … Continue reading →
2 interfaces that are frustrating for the user. 1: This water bottle is frustrating for the user. I like to carry my water bottles around by the handle/hook, but this edge is sharp. it makes it uncomfortable to hold. It … Continue reading →
Alright! This one is more about our research. Since last week, we have been reading, reading, reading, researching, annotating, reading articles for our project. I’m discovering so many concepts in Acoustics and VR; it’s sometimes frustrating to read and having … Continue reading →
Today we had light painting, it was soooo cool.
Continue reading →As the title implies, yeah, being an intern is actually really cool. Not only do you get to work on something you are passionate about, but you also get to work alongside the most creative and even more passionate people … Continue reading →
Today we started working with blender which I was excited about but was a lot harder than I was expecting. There are so many amazing things you can make with it and so I really hope it starts to get … Continue reading →
Being an intern is super great, you get to learn a bunch of cool stuff while getting paid. Especially at the start of the program there seems to be a lot of flexibility on what you are working on at … Continue reading →
Oh Blender! The dappled sun shines through the leaves of the octagon tree. The grass is a gentle hue of green. The iridescent roof reflects the beauty of the sky. For my first time, I’d say i did pretty well.
Continue reading →Week 3 has been a blast so far! We started working with studio works to get familiar with making parts and assembling them. I may not be an engineer but working with this tool has been such a fun challenge … Continue reading →
Yesterday we starting working with solid works! This is one of the things I was pretty excited about, seeing as I enjoy modeling but haven’t worked with CAD since high school. There was definitely a learning curve but today I … Continue reading →
We went to the Ames Farmer’s Market Saturday. It was cool yeah, I would say cool, and I bought some pretty jewelries there. We biked to go back and forth, and that was my first time biking for more than … Continue reading →
Yesterday, on Monday, we learned some topics on SolidWorks, which was my first time, and it was pretty rough with lots of new material to learn. At first, I had no idea idea what I was doing, I was trying … Continue reading →
We got bikes! I love bikes, I used to Mountain Bike race back in High School. Somehow I managed to talk my way into a bike with a little bit of front suspension, even though they mostly only had road … Continue reading →
We finally had the chance to try taco pizza on Sunday, and I was disappointed. It definitely didn’t live up to the anticipated hype (Taco Salad is better). The pizza break was very needed after a rough week attempting to … Continue reading →
This week could not have ended in a better way. We all got to go over to We Cycle where we got the privilege to meet Dennis and Wolfgang. Let me start by saying how cool and amazing these two … Continue reading →
It’s almost the end of week 2, I can’t believe I haven’t been here for even 1 and a half weeks, but I already feel so welcomed and excited for the rest of the program. On Tuesday we all played … Continue reading →
Yesterday was a blast! We started off the day taking group photos around campus which was so much fun, I can’t wait see how they turned out. Then we got back and had a really interesting lunch and learn meeting … Continue reading →
Today we got our bikes and since I didn’t know how to ride one, Madeleine taught me. I learned pretty quickly and was quite surprised by myself. Madeleine is the best biking instructor!!!! Just a few more practice sessions and … Continue reading →
For today’s lunch, we went to a restaurant “Pizza Pit” to eat, pizza. Before, we had a lot of recommendations saying that this pizza was cheap and really good tasting. So, we had to go try it out, it took … Continue reading →
This week is focused on C++, which was a bit daunting because most of the other interns are CS majors, and I am not. I have a focus in mechanical engineering, and my small experience with code taught me to, … Continue reading →
Hi guys! Last night we had game night and got to play wearwolf and taboo which was a ton of fun and everyone got super into it! Today we did another C++ lesson and I got to help a couple … Continue reading →
Apparently, there is a thing here called taco pizza and also breakfast pizza here in Iowa. We we’re planning on walking to Pizza Pit on Tuesday so the interns would have a chance to try this incredible creation that is … Continue reading →
Week 2 has been a lot of fun learning even more about C++ and cyber sickness. Along with this we got the opportunity to listen to a phd student’s research on gestures in vr and color perception in local villages … Continue reading →
From my reading of research ethics and HCI and yesterday’s class, the IRB is responsible mostly for reviewing research using human as subjects. The process takes so much time; I saw the IRB application, which is about 27 pages, I … Continue reading →
I think people generally hold the notion helping people is good, and that time is a scarce resource. So when choosing research to work on, how do we choose the most important project. Given the potential for research to impact … Continue reading →
Since we have blog time every single day of this week, I’m gonna write only about one topic for this post. Today we had a presentation shown to us about colors and gestures, all involving VR. This topic was interesting … Continue reading →
Today we started off with a talk about ethics in human testing for research. It’s so much more in depth then I ever expected. But now, i recognize that it is a really important step in the research process, seeing … Continue reading →
It has been an interesting first week! On Saturday, we went to an Escape Room and ate a Zombie Burger which was quite interesting. My burger had fried bananas and peanut butter which was actually really good! For the most … Continue reading →
My first week at SPIRE is officially done and I’m so ecstatic! After my first blog, a lot more stuff happened. On Friday we did team building and it gave me a much better understanding of our research goals to … Continue reading →
On Saturday after our escape room, we went to see the Red Bull soapbox race that was going on in De Moines and it was super cool! Although it was hard to see the actual races, it was a great … Continue reading →
Going into week 2 I was swamped with readings, reading around 50 pages of research about our project. Although it was boring and hard to read, it was overall really interesting. Besides that, we started week 2 off with C++ … Continue reading →
The starting of this week is much more intense guys… We are learning C++ programming, and it is a bit scary. We had to install the console at the beginning, and it took so much time! On the other hand, … Continue reading →
It’s the start of our first full week for the program and we are learning C++. I haven’t used C++ before, but I can definitely see the parallels to other object-oriented programming languages like C#. I’m still learning and hope … Continue reading →
Work-wise, the first week was more focused on team building, tours of the lab, and learning foundational research skills. We began reading some background papers in related studies. I’m excited for the weeks to come. The NAVI team is looking at some really cool stuff. … Continue reading →
Alright, we’ve made it to the second week! I’m working on putting together a slideshow of one of the research papers I found about cyber sickness and reading the other papers we were given to review. Everything is going by … Continue reading →
What’s up, today is the first Monday since the start of the program and a some exciting stuff has happened. With the research stuff first, we have learned C++ for the first time today, we had some team building activities … Continue reading →
We made it to the first week! Meeting the interns and the mentors I’ll be working with has been so exciting. Everyone is from a different US state which is exciting, as I’m hoping to learn from their various geographical … Continue reading →
The week was a lot of fun getting to know all the other interns here along with getting to all of the great faculty and mentors. We got to look at the early stages of the research process which included … Continue reading →
After a few days here, I’m kind of upset that everything is so nice compared to KU and that it seems like there is so much opportunity for good quality research. Maybe my view is just biased because I’ve very … Continue reading →
Yesterday, we did the famous team activity tower building with marshmallows and pasta, ours (team EchoXR) was really hummm… Today, we learnt a lot about all the projects, and I particularly learnt more about the project I’ll be working on … Continue reading →
It’s been 2.5 days of the SPIRE-EIT REU program, and so much has already been done! First coming here I was nervous meeting everyone, but everyone is so nice! On the first day we all went to Dr. Gilbert’s house … Continue reading →
Hmmmm, let’s talk a little bit about my arrival two days ago. First, I was so excited to get to ISU and meet the other interns and our mentors. I took the same plane as Jacky (who is by the … Continue reading →
It’s been two days since I arrived in Ames and started my research internships at Iowa State University. It honestly already feels like I have found a home here. I super excited to start learning and doing some research but … Continue reading →
Today is my 3rd day as an intern! We’ve learned a bunch about research and done a lot of introductory stuff. We just got back from Thai Kitchen (great food), had a great lunch with our faculty mentors. I found … Continue reading →
For today’s blog, I’ll talk about my arrival on the 27th to what I did now. Waking up at 2:30 am on the 27th was probably the worst part, but I was able to sleep on the plane over here, … Continue reading →
Today we got an introduction to the three different research projects. Each mentor and staff members presented a slide of what their research project was about. We then got into our individual groups to discuss more about our projects and … Continue reading →
Tuesday was a lot of fun, getting to know some faculty and our mentors over dinner at Stephen’s house. Also our oven fan is basically a jet engine smh. Wednesday was a long day. The highlights included winning the scavenger … Continue reading →
I am thrilled to share that the 2025 SPIRE-EIT REU program is coming together beautifully! This year promises to be an incredible journey of learning, discovery, and collaboration. Here are some of the exciting updates: Welcoming Our Program MentorsWe are … Continue reading →
We are excited to announce that applications for the SPIRE-EIT REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) program are now being accepted! This is a fantastic opportunity for undergraduate students to engage in cutting-edge research and gain valuable experience in the field … Continue reading →
We are thrilled to announce the dates for our 2025 Summer SPIRE-EIT (Summer Program for Interdisciplinary Research and Education – Emerging Interface Technologies) REU program! Mark your calendars for May 27, 2025 – August 2, 2025. Applications will be opening … Continue reading →
Exciting News: Our New SPIRE-EIT REU Website is About to Go Live! We are thrilled to announce that our website for the SPIRE-EIT 2025 program is about to go live! 🎉 Reflecting on an Amazing SPIRE-EIT 2024 This past year has … Continue reading →