Martin Di Stefano
Name:Martín Di Stefano Name of lab and location where you interned:
Los Alamos National Laboratory Description of summer assignment:Analyze the effectiveness of a Halbach array as a sweeping magnet. What did you like about the assignment?The physics of this assignment was relatively simple, so it was easy to wrap my head around the main ideas. This allowed me to focus on learning the analysis techniques (using Geant4 and ROOT) rather than having to struggle with the central concepts of the project. Did you have a mentor? If so, describe your interactions with your mentor.Yes. We would meet a few times a week to discuss my progress, or whenever necessary if I needed help with something. The only obstacle we had was physical separation because her office was "behind the fence" in a classified area of the lab, while mine was in an unclassified area. What did you learn? (Both technical and professional skills)Technically, I learned new ways for analyzing data in order to draw important conclusions. I learned how to use ROOT and Geant4, data analysis and simulations packages, which helped me improve my skill with C++, as both packages utilize object-oriented programming. Advice for other students about interning:It may seem intimidating at first going to work for a national lab, but just keep in mind that the primary goal of an internship, especially for undergrads, is to create a great learning experience. So don’t worry if you feel like your contributions are small – in a setting like this, every bit counts, and the experience you gain will allow you to be a more valuable resource in the future. Describe the hiring process you used to get the internship:For 2009, I applied online via AHETEMS. A few weeks later I received a phone call telling me to expect a call from my soon-to-be mentor. After a quick interview, I was on board for the summer. For 2010, I already had a foot in the door and was asked to come back, although I still had to go through all the administrative paperwork. What was your biggest challenge and how did you handle it?My biggest challenge was using the computer programs. I hadn’t used C++ before, so writing the code to be executed was quite difficult. However, my mentor was very encouraging and allowed me to take the extra time to learn my way around the different programs being used. Rather than just learn what I needed to survive, she encouraged me to take some extra time to play around and become more familiar with the tools I was using. |
