Week 1

This week started off on Memorial Day, so the program directors decided that since most of us arrived on Sunday, and the program didn't start until Tuesday, it would be nice to meet and socialize on Monday. So we all met for lunch at noon and then went to the science museum. I met most of our group at the lunch and everyone was really nice! The museum was cool too - it had four floors of exhibits split between the old and new building, and the top floor had a live butterfly exhibit that my roommate, Maya, and I visited! After we all finished exploring the museum, we split into groups and carpooled back home. I would say half of the group has a car, so it hasn't been too hard finding a ride once we got to know each other. On our way home, we made a pit stop at Target to get some stuff that we forgot to bring from home. The next morning I woke up at 7 to get ready for our first day. Maya and I decided to walk to the math building together, and it took us about 25 minutes to get there! Considering Marist is a small school, I was not used to walking so much. NC State has a huge campus that is spread out and I still have to explore most of it. Anyways, the first day was pretty chill, we did some introductions, and then listened to the presentations on all the projects running this summer - there are definitely some interesting topics! After that we met with our project mentors and group. Our project title got slightly modified from what I posted last week, but the description is still the same. Our actual project title is "Multi-fidelity Sensor Placement in Bayesian Inverse Problems". Anyways, once we arrived at our office space, we got lectured on SVD and QR Decomposition. Two things I had never heard before, so I was totally lost the whole time. Luckily, my other group mate, Geena, also didn't learn this in linear algebra, so I wasn't alone. Hugo, the post-doc working with us, broke down these concepts further the next day for us to better understand.

Some of the topics we had to review and understand for our project.

The next couple of days were spent working in our teams. It really felt like a 9-5 job. We also get a break for lunch and our team has been eating out almost every day; so far we have had Chipotle, Mediterranean, and Greek food. Also, my professor from Marist, Dr. Glomski, came to visit me on Thursday! We went out for dinner at a Hibachi place (which was really good, I will definitely be going back!) and then went for dessert at an ice cream and cookie place down the street. It felt so nice seeing him and catching up. On Friday, we all had to give our first presentation. It was a 12-15 minute presentation on our project and the progress we have made so far. It wasn't too bad, and after we finished, we got to eat cookies and tea/coffee! The program also created a "social Friday" thing where every Friday a different group has to decide on a social activity to do. Since it was raining the whole week, we decided to do an indoor activity so we chose game night. We did a foosball tournament (I lost the first round), played cards, and board games! Then on Saturday, some of us decided to go on a hike. It was at Umstead State Park which was a 15 min drive and again we split up and carpooled there. It was a beautiful day outside too - not too hot! We had a mix of people who had never been on a hike to those that have. I am not a hiker, but the hike wasn't too bad and it was fun getting to know more people from our REU group. After we finished walking the trail, we went for lunch together at a nearby burger place.

Stopped along the trail for a group picture!

Thanks for reading! Until next time,

Gaby