Happy Monthiversary Penn Team!

This morning was "Breakfast with the Bomb," Ryan's lesson on the atomic bomb at the earlier time of 8:30, with bagels, donuts, and coffee.  Despite the alliterative title and free food, the lesson soon became very serious.  After covering the technical aspect of nuclear weapons, we moved on to the ethical consequences.  These consequences not only relate to the bomb, but to all of science in general. Even something as revolutionary as the Polio vaccine came with serious political and personal issues.  People don't normally discuss the ethical side of science, and it's something I never really considered.  By 10, I was full of bagels and new perspectives. 

Craig then lectured about special relativity, a confusing and intriguing topic.  We broke a little early for a long lunch, giving me time to go back to the dorm and grab my computer to work on my two remaining presentations.  After lunch, each group presented on a different experiment relating to exponential models.  Each presentation was different, but they were all interesting and a good start to the next two days of presenting.  After class, I put the finishing touches on my powerpoints and then started organizing my clothes to ease the packing process.

Ian loved his picture of One Direction!

Ivette moved us all with her speech

It has been exactly a month since we left El Cerrito, so Ian picked us up around 7 for a monthiversary dinner.  We went to The White Dog, a delicious restaurant about 10 minutes away from the dorm.  It was a great dinner, and it really started to sink in that this trip is practically over.  I ate mussels, gnocchi, lobster macaroni and cheese, and chocolate chip bread pudding, a family favorite.  At the end, we surprised Ian with a thank you card and presents.  He's been a great chaperone, and this trip wouldn't have been the same without him.  Ivette made a very beautiful impromptu speech about how close we have become and how amazing this trip has been.

When we got back, we had to complete evaluations of our experience with Summer Discovery.  Of course, mine was very positive as the staff here has been kind and helpful this entire month. Tomorrow we will learn about thermodynamics and present our interest group experiments.  Although we are approaching the end, class is keeping me busy, and there's never a boring moment.  The only huge challenge facing me now is zipping my suitcase and getting it under 50 pounds.