Internship
Students at DRSS are encouraged to complete a 72-hour internship. The purpose of the internship is to explore a field of interest; students can expand upon a field they like or explore a curiosity based on your experience during the internship. Students are expected to dress business-casual, but etiquette is subject to change at the behest of the internship mentor. Apart from technical skills, communication and collaboration skills are sharpened because students are themselves scouting for and communicating with organizations around the community.
Internship Lab
Report
Terahertz radiation—electromagnetic radiation consisting of frequencies from 0.1 to 30 THz—has become a very versatile tool. Its ability to be reflected and absorbed by materials at different frequencies proves to be a very powerful asset to assess the material non-destructively. It has already found its place in the security sector, with some Terahertz frequencies being able to indicate metal (an excellent reflector) under heavy clothing (minimal absorption/reflection), much like an x-ray machine would bones under the skin. An improvement of technology has now allowed many researchers to test other novel applications: monitoring the health of living plants. This study set out to test the effectiveness of the Terahertz imaging system in the context of imaging plants. The experiment is conducted on a leaf, that was detached from a plant. It was then imaged under Terahertz frequencies. Water is highly absorbent of Terahertz radiation at the 0.558, 0.753, 0.989 THz frequencies. The plant was then placed into a cup of water and was allowed to sit overnight. Another image of the plant was taken the next day. The objective of the experiment was to investigate if leaves can be revived after being cut off their branches. Since analysis of the Terahertz imaging showed that water content in the leaf increased overnight, it was concluded that detached leaves can exhibit capillary action.
Internship Diary
Career Exploration Report
This report was created as a means of exploring careers and colleges. Two careers were researched upon and two colleges/programs within those career fields were also researched. Since this document will be used in the future as a reference to decide a career path, the research is very thorough. The career sections discuss criteria pertinent to choosing a career such as pay, job outlook, and skills required to succeed in the field. The college exploration sections discuss many factors in applying for college: cost, coursework, proximity, etc. This research was facilitated entirely by the use of the Internet, and various sources like the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ website were used to gather data. Special care was taken in using credible sources (e.g. restricting the use of domains to .edu, .org, and .gov). This data was compiled into a research document that made access to information easy. The report was written without the use of personal pronouns and in a formal tone. The fields of computer programming and physics were researched. Although computer programming seemed of interest initially, research showed that it might not be a very popular career field. The demand for computer programmers is supposed to decrease in the coming decade. Physics boasts a higher job growth and a higher salary than computer programming. Ultimately, though, it is the passion for a field that matters, not the pay. Along with the careers, colleges were researched in the context of specific fields.
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