Experiences from Summer of 2014

 

Everything has been going terrifically at SeaBotix so far. The staff quickly integrated me into the company environment, and I am all set up with a professional workspace and everything I need. I am currently working on a file migration project in which the company has me modifying old CAD files and migrating them to their new company network that enables increased security and access restriction. Thank you for checking up on me and the rest of the MTS interns. Have a great week. Regards, Cooper Bates, Point Loma HS.

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Everything is going great so far here at Fugro. My co-workers were all very welcoming during my first three weeks. I am certainly enjoying this new experience; it’s nice to glimpse at how the real world works in a corporate environment.  So far, I have been assisting in projects involving raster maps and ArcGIS. I have mostly been using ArcGIS during my time here for things like finding the bathymetry for images derived from satellites. I have also done a lot of digitizing. This week, I finished digitizing most of the California coastline for a future project in the office.  Overall, my experience as an intern has been good and I am really enjoying it.  Regards, Aitana Martinez- Huerta, San Diego HS.

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My internship at Sidus Solutions has been very educational and fun so far. Unfortunately, it is slightly shorter than the others for it is only a four week internship. I am currently in the middle of my second week at Sidus Solutions. The benefits of interning at a small company include allowing me to meet everyone rather quickly and I am fortunate to have discovered my coworkers are very welcoming and willing to explain the workings of the company to me. As for assignments and projects, I’ve been working closely with one of the engineers. He has essentially been my mentor and has taught me a significant amount about the company and its products. My first few days included mostly watching and learning through explanation of parts and assembling the products. I learned how to use a soldering iron, how to strip wires, and how to use a press fit during that time as well. I tested Sidus Solution’s new GUI program, a new pan and tilt machine, and a newly-assembled rotator. I was also shown how to de-gas oil filled machines and was allowed to perform the procedure myself. In my few moments of spare time at Sidus Solutions, I am slowly learning the programing language, C.  Overall, I am learning much more than I had anticipated despite not being as independent as I had hoped. However, despite this, I am thoroughly enjoying the internship!  Sincerely, Anne Chu, Westview HS.

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I want to start off by thanking you so very much for coordinating this program and allowing us this wonderful experience. Due to my time here at SonTek, I’ve been exposed to the world of marine technology in an interactive and personal way that I would have never been otherwise, and my interest in this field has peaked tenfold since I first began. In conjunction with this internship, I’ve been taking an oceanography course at the local community college, so I can happily say that I’m having an absolutely mind-blowing summer that encompasses various aspects of marine technology.  Things are going wonderful at SonTek. Straight from the get-go, I was given my own workspace in the reasearch and design department, and introduced to CADD software. On day one, I designed my first part on Solidworks and the part was printed by a 3D printer! I was immediately hooked. This internship has been a whirlwind of working with mechanical engineering and field testing. Sontek has been specifically working on a compass calibration problem with their product the M9 (a product that uses acoustic doppler profiling to map flow and measure bathymetry), so my work has mainly evolved around that. I’ve helped out by putting together a fixture that revolves on three axes to test the compass calibration; I’ve helped make modifications to the fixture and independently designed parts to improve the fixture. I’ve gone out multiple times to San Diego Bay and Lake Miramar to do field testing on the M9, and from those trips, I’ve learned a lot of basics about safety precaution and boat training. Adam Jackson and Lyn Harris, who are kind, patient, and wonderful company, have been my main mentors. Jerry is also very nice and a great overseer. I could not have asked for better people to work with. My only regret is that time has flow by so quickly! Thanks again, Britni Chau, Vista HS.

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I am in the middle of my third week as an intern at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Whale Acoustics Lab and everything is going exceptionally. It is hard to describe how fortunate and grateful I am to be a part of such a great program. I am studying ambient noise in the Gulf of Mexico by analyzing long-term acoustical data from various High-frequency Acoustic Recording Packages (HARPs). These HARPs have hydrophones on-board which record sound for very long periods of time. My job is to interpret the data by producing various plots using a software program that they created called Triton, which works through a software called MATLAB. MATLAB is an application that has its own high level language which I was completely unfamiliar with before starting the project. I have had to write a couple scripts and function that produce certain kinds of plots from the processed data. There are 6 sites within the Gulf of Mexico which have had 4 or 5 deployments each. The first HARP was placed in the Gulf after the oil spill in 2010. This was to answer the question of how the spill affected marine life in that area. There are still many questions that are unanswered, some of which we are attempting to answer during this project. Most of the plots I have produced are Spectra, made from LTSA files, which are Long-term Spectral Averages. The LTSA files show time vs frequency, with a third dimension of color, which shows pressure/volume of sound. The software I am using takes these files and basically squishes them together, producing a plot which shows frequency vs pressure (the average across a certain time period). There is a normal path that these plots should follow called the Wenz curve, which traces what Ambient noise should look like on a graph. The interesting part of all this comes when there are abnormalities in the data. If there is a huge spike at a certain frequency, like 200 Hz for example, then I have to go into the data and investigate what caused that. It could be anything from seismic air guns, to ships, or even wind. Based on the location of the deployment I am investigating, there are different variables that exist. There are also many comparisons that are needed such as: averages between deployments, averages between sites, deviation of the mean of monthly averages, and others. It is fun to think about all these things and to try to put together a story about the ambient noise in the Gulf. One highlight of my findings so far has been a Hurricane passing through the Gulf in August 2012. You could actually see the sound levels increase in the data when the Hurricane was present. To make this easily seen, I wrote a script to plot Wind speed data that I found from NOAA buoys alongside a time vs. sound level plot at 500 Hz. There was a very close correlation between the two and it was exciting to see that. It is fun to be a part of this research project and to discover new things. I am being challenged every day and I can’t think of a better way to spend my summer. You can’t beat the 2 minute walk down the beach or the kindness of all the people. SIO is such a great place to work. Thank you so much for this great opportunity. I am forever grateful and I am pleasantly surprised by how much experience this internship has given me. Thanks so much, Jesse Hall, Point Loma HS.

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Well, working at Teledyne Impulse has been very interesting. Everything is so high tech. They also have a great work team, they all work hard and fast. They are also very welcoming and helpful. For the last three weeks, I have been able to learn how to make TWs, Thermal Wire, I have also been privileged to work in the stock room, where I find the process entertaining for myself. Also, I was able to help an employee in the Wire Prep and I felt like I was there at the right time, as she had a lot of tasks during the time I was there. Lastly, I have been working on Solid Works this week.  So far, I’m still enjoying my time at Teledyne Impulse, as it is giving me the general idea of the kind work environment I am interested in. Jesus Eder, El Cajon HS.

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The internship (Leidos) has been going great so far. The people are nice and the work is intriguing and challenging. So far I have been involved in inventory management, some programming, and have also been working on cleaning a mobile command unit. It has been a very fun experience so far and I have greatly enjoyed the opportunity to get hands on experience in the field I’m looking to major in.  Thanks for this opportunity, Kyle Armstrong, Point Loma HS.

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This is actually my last week here at SIO! I started working the week right after school let out. Everything has been wonderful–though a totally different experience from last year interning for SeeScan. I am the only hs intern here along with an undergrad who helped me get started. My first task was to digitize maps of algae that spanned a period of forty years. That project was primarily useful for seeing the drastic population decline of algae over time on our coastal shelves. It truly was eye-opening. In the 1980s, there were hundreds upon hundreds of a specific type of algae found in this certain area, whereas in the 2000s, there was only perhaps a dozen or so of the same algae per map. This of course is linked to larger problems regarding marine life and the ecosystem of the ocean since algae is a primary producer and a foundational food source for all sorts of animals. The undergrad, Jimmy, who is working with me gave the analogy that a lack of algae in the sea is comparable to a lack of trees on land–a desert. I completed digitizing my maps about two weeks into the internship, and the past four weeks I have been tracking sea urchins using images taken by underwater cameras Ed had installed. For the maps, I used the program GRASS and for my current project I am using the R software–apparently a very useful data-organizing tool used by scientists in many fields, economists, etc. From what I’ve done, it is apparent that these urchins are slowly migrating upward toward a kelp forest, that they’re much more active at night, etc. I’ve had a great time so far at SIO. A regular thing to do here is go snorkeling at lunch, pretty cool! Very sad to be leaving soon, but I’m glad that the work I’ve done will actually be utilized and that I’m making a small contribution to the scientific community. Thank you so much again for the opportunity! Lisa Vo, Coronado HS.

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Things at NOAA couldn’t be better. I have been spending most of my time studying video footage from trawl nets from NOAA’s most recent survey, recording the data and analyzing  it. The variety of marine organisms on the videos is amazing I have seen everything from small invertebrates to baitfish and sharks. My supervisor, Kevin Stierhoff  and I are co-authoring a paper describing our methods and findings in the study. I have also had the opportunity to work with NOAA’s engineers in their ROV lab. This hands on work has taught me about complex electronics and the design of these high tech vehicles. Last week my supervisor and I attended 2 presentations by graduate students pursuing their PHD’s in the field of marine biology. Finally, thanks to NOAA’s proximity to La Jolla cove, I was able to witness, document, and help collect samples from the recent school of billions of anchovies and the various fish and mammals following the giant school in the cove. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity. I am so glad to have been placed in this position through MTS. Sincerely, Sam Sphire, St. Augustine HS.

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Everything’s going well, I’m having a good time with my coworkers and learning quite a bit as well. So far, I’ve been doing mainly data management and manipulation work-wise, with a side of learning programming and computer/technical skills while working (also be straight taught it by co-workers). Regards, Wiett Sills, The Rock Academy.

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Everything is going great at Teledyne RDI. I can’t believe I am already in my fifth week. My managers and co-workers are very friendly and nice to work with. I have been given several projects over the last few weeks that have been great learning experiences. I have had to write a program in C++ that extracts CTD data from a PD0 file and replaces the original data. I have also tested various third-party sensors to integrate with Teledyne’s products. I have one more week to go and I will be going out to the lake to collect data of wave profiles and water velocity. Kind Regards, Yashes Srinivasan, Rancho Bernado HS.