More than Coffee Mugs and Donuts

As our 10-week term of summer research comes to an end, I have a feeling of satisfaction for work done, but also with a feeling of eagerness for work yet to be explored and completed. This summer has brought with it an immense amount of personal and professional growth, all of which was showcased during our talks at the Lawrence University Summer Research Symposium just yesterday.

This past week was filled with presentation preparation and practice as we prepared for the Summer Symposium. While preparing my presentation, I came to realize that we ended the summer with more questions about ATom and TDA than we had started with. Crazy, right? I thought we were supposed to be answering questions...

NOPE. While it is true that we solved many problems this summer and answered several of the questions we started this journey with, it is also true that each "answer" we got led us to dozens of new questions.

I am ecstatic to be able to further pursue this research with my amazing mentor Professor Deanna Donohoue and research partner Cade Francour this coming fall. I continue to be intrigued by the questions we still have about TDA and the ATom data set, and I look forward to the many adventures this research opportunity has yet to offer.

Overall, this summer was an amazing experience that allowed me to grow in my knowledge of atmospheric chemistry, TDA, and coding. I've learned much more this summer than simply what makes a coffee mug equivalent to a donut. My takeaways from this summer are numerous, but some of the most important ones include:

A donut = A coffee mug

Atmospheric chemistry is complex, but important to understand.

Chemistry puns are always acceptable.

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

Fellow researchers are extremely valuable as collaborators, but they can also become priceless friends that keep you sane through the ups and downs of research.

Thanks for joining us on our journey this summer, and stay tuned for our blog posts this fall! More TDA adventures are sure to come.