Week 2: Reading
This week’s post may not be that fun or interesting just yet. I have finished the online part of the training, but I still have to do an in-person training session. The training will happen next week on Tuesday. Since Monday was President’s Day, I could not meet with Professor Eaton until Wednesday and we were able to discuss what would happen next week. She gave me some reading materials to go through and one of them was a current lab procedure manual Embry Riddle uses for the lab we are going to design. We are going to improve on the procedure they already have. Another paper she gave me to read was another lab procedure manual that explained the lab. The lab that we will make will have elements of both labs that are easy to follow. Students will be analyzing materials in things such as Tylenol. Professor Eaton also sent me an online owner’s manual for one of the machines we are going to be using. If anyone is wondering which machine we are going to be using, it is an IRAffinity-1S Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer. We also found some helpful videos that explain how the machine works. My in-person training will begin next week; so for this week, I’m just reading labs and procedures. I am also watching videos on the lab and how to run the tests. The plan for next week is to get me trained in-person, and then start working in a lab setting. This week might not have been exciting, but it had some very fundamental steps that will help me as I work towards my goals. Next week might be more interesting as I am excited to get started on working in the lab on Wednesday.