A Postcard From: Codie Fielder Kawaguchi ’18

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Name: Codie Fiedler Kawaguchi
Class Year: 2018
Major: Physics
Hometown: Bainbridge Island, Wash.

Internship Placement:
Job Title: Research Assistant
Location: University Of Michigan

This summer I am interning at the University of Michigan, as a part of the Climate and Space Science and Engineering team. Although my day-to-day work is relatively straightforward (running data analysis on hydrodynamic instabilities), I have also found myself attending department meetings and even participating in the coffee hour ritual (coffee and biscotti everyday at 3 p.m.).

I applied to this internship as a means of branching out while remaining in my preferred field, plasma physics — but the biscotti is also a plus.

Last summer was the first time I got into plasma physics research; at that time I was focused mainly on fusion energy and turbulence. I participated in Summer Science Research at Bryn Mawr College, where I worked in Professor David Schaffner’s Plasma lab. During this experience, we not only prepared for the end of summer Symposium, held at Bryn Mawr College, but we also geared up for the Department of Plasma Physics Conference, otherwise known as DPP. It was at this conference where I met Carolyn and she told me about the internship she planned to set up.

I was excited to work with Carolyn because it meant I could not only, see a whole new side of plasma physics, but also work with a fellow Mawrter. It has been great to hear from Carolyn what it was like to go from a small liberal arts school in undergrad to a huge university for graduate school. Moreover, it has been helpful and somewhat encouraging to hear about her experience going from a women’s college, and then entering into a male-dominated subject. She has said that her time at Bryn Mawr gave her the strength that she needed to survive in such an environment, and I have often believed that this would be the case for me as well.

Aside from transitioning from Bryn Mawr College, where it’s only a 10-minute walk to the lab from Erdman, to the University of Michigan where campus spans an entire city, I would say my biggest challenge has been navigating the Space Science Research Building. This structure is not only massive, but it is currently undergoing renovation. Because so many of the hallways are blocked off as you walk through, you are constantly being rerouted. It has been quite an adventure figuring out how to get from point A to B.

A Postcard From: Elena Luedy ’19

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Name: Elena Luedy
Class Year: 2019
Major: Growth and Structure of Cities
Hometown: Canton, Mich.
Job Title: Intern Assistant on the Oasis Project
Location: Detroit

What’s happening at your internship?

This summer I am working for a nonprofit organization focusing on the adaptation of their current aquaponic systems for urban use, specifically in the Great Lakes region. My work at the moment is primarily research-based, examining projects similar to this on local, domestic, and global scales. As my internship progresses, I will begin to assist in the generation of an economic report and model based on my findings, the application of grants for continuation of this project, and compiling materials for launching a crowdfunding campaign.

Why did you apply for this internship?

Growing up in the Detroit metropolitan area, the city of Detroit holds a special place in my heart. To be able to work on a project that supports the city has been incredibly important to me, and I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to not only give back to my community but to explore areas that I am interested in, for instance urban farming, the impact it has on food security, and what that means for Detroiters’ everyday lives.

What has been your favorite part of this internship?

My favorite part of this internship so far has been the ability to see how the simple act of starting a community garden has impacted so many lives. This internship really has shown me the power grassroots movements have in impacting local communities, something I think that often goes unnoticed in our day-to-day lives. Today more than ever I believe that it is important to show that you don’t have to be a major politician or CEO of a company; even just a small group of people can make meaningful change in people’s lives. To me, being able to witness this first hand has been the most meaningful aspect of the internship I’m working on, and something I hope to take with me as I continue with both my professional and academic life.

Was this internship what you expected it to be?

This internship has differed slightly from what I anticipated, as I initially was going to be working on the specific systems to better understand how they reacted to the local climate. However, due to some unforeseen circumstances, the pilot system was unable to be created in time. This has, however, allowed me to pursue other aspects of the project which may prove beneficial to my future academic endeavors; for example, I am able to work on the research and generation of an economic model that will assist in the application of grants and other research opportunities. I believe this will be incredibly valuable information, especially for future professional opportunities. Additionally, this change was made at the beginning of my internship, thus making the transition easier.

A Postcard From: Emmeline Douglas-Mann ’18

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Name: Emmeline Douglas-Mann
Class Year: 2018
Major: Physics
Hometown: Petrockstowe, Devon, U.K.
Internship Placement: Center for Laser Experimental Astrophysical Research, University of Michigan
Job Title: Research Assistant
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan

What’s happening at your internship?

I’m a research assistant at the Center for Laser Experimental Astrophysical Research (CLEAR) at the University of Michigan. CLEAR models and creates hot dense plasmas to study astrophysical processes in the laboratory. I’m building simulations to study hydrodynamic instabilities and analyzing the results.

Why did you apply for this internship?

I’m very interested in plasma physics and I hope to do further study in this area once I graduate. This internship was a great opportunity to learn more about the field, to develop skills in simulations, and experience the research environment at a large university.

What has been your favorite part of this internship?

Working in a big research group and meeting lots of new people.

What has been the biggest challenge you have faced at your internship?

Employment paperwork.

A Postcard From: Caiwei Shao ’18

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Name: Caiwei Shao
Year: 2018
Major: Economics and Mathematics
Hometown: Shandong, China
Internship Job Title: Research Assistant
Location: Beijing

What’s happening at your internship?

I work with a group of graduate school students, mostly Ph.D. candidates, and professors on their annual research paper about national accounts. Most of works I do is to support other group members for further analysis and research. I’m currently collecting previous literature and working papers in similar fields and trying to analyze the common elements under different methodology and results. I’m also responsible for collecting data from various resources and databases and adjusting them to a useful from for regression analysis.

Why did you apply for this internship?

As I want to apply for graduate school, my advisor suggested that I apply for an internship as a research assistant to see and experience how a professor works and how research progresses. I feel that this is a great opportunity for me to get more knowledge about a doctoral program, and it will help me to reflect on my career decisions after graduating from Bryn Mawr.

What has been your favorite part of this internship?

It is such a great opportunity for me to work and spend time with all the professors and Ph.D. candidates in this institution. Besides the academic work we do together, we always have lunch together and hang out on campus. As we have different backgrounds and experiences, I learn a lot of new things in our conversation. There are people who work after graduation and decide to continue to study in school after several years, and there are people who have an entirely different major in undergraduate school and find they like economics accidentally. I’m not only impressed by their professional skills, but also by their devotion to this subject and effort they are willing to put in their work. I learn a lot from them besides the academic knowledge, and they also give me advice for my study and following application. I feel very lucky to be around this group of people, and they are certainly my favorite part of this internship.

What has been the biggest challenge you have faced at this internship?

Even though I have almost finished my major plan in Economics, things I learned in school are not sufficient to complete my assigned tasks. I was first supposed to test a regression model by myself, but I found there are a lot of methodologies that I don’t understand and I couldn’t finish this task. Therefore, I borrowed many textbooks from seniors and asked questions more frequently, trying to fill the gap between them and me.

Welcome Summer 2017!

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Welcome to the Summer Internship blog!

With Bryn Mawr students interning across the globe, this blog will offer a glance at what they are completing throughout their summer break. We’ve asked them to send in “postcards” from their internship, highlighting the work they are doing, their experience working in the field, or even what it’s like living in a new city for a few months.

Enjoy your summer and this Summer Internship blog!