Week 3: “Proper Labeling of Axes is Absolutely Crucial”

One of the highlights of the week was receiving this email from my PI:         

There's always room for a bit of humor in the lab. This is particularly relevant this week since I’m finally generating some data!

Monday was a good day. The conference that most of the lab group attended last week provided some new excitement and ideas; everybody seemed upbeat. I had my first group meeting, discussing an outline for my project with Dimin and Paul. On the experimental side of things, I continued working with Lepidocrocite samples, but first regenerated the glovebox since it ran out of gas (no pun intended). Simply trying to hook up a new tank of Nitrogen gas somehow turned into an hour of wrestling with large cylinders, untwisting feet of twisted copper tubing, and rummaging through giant boxes of nuts and bolts. Eventually we got it fixed, which was satisfying.

Tuesday I came in early to finish up the iron samples and adjust the pH, and then we headed out on a field trip to Bonneville Dam. The trip included a tour of the fish hatchery and generators. Since many of the interns are from out of state, we stopped at scenic spots such as Multnomah Falls along the way.

Wednesday and Thursday, I was finally ready to test the probe, Indigo Disulfonate, with the Lepidocrocite samples of varied iron II concentrations. Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP) and pH were also measured. Experimentation rolled on through Thursday afternoon. Now I’m off for Fourth of July weekend. Though short, this week was a good one!