It’s a lot easier to get things done when people work together. This experience has really reinforced that belief of mine and has shown me that teamwork is effective even and especially in a scientific setting. The camaraderie that we have developed through diligently running countless trials of experiments is second to none. Being able to see each other’s strengths and weaknesses and helping each other out towards a greater goal has been very successful. It’s good to know that people have your back.

August 1, 2016

As the summer winds down and Fall semester fast approaches, it can be useful to take a step back and look at how far we have come. When I first got here, I was excited but had little idea of what to expect. Everything started moving so quickly. If I am being perfectly honest, after the second or third week I was feeling pretty discouraged and didn’t think I could accomplish what I wanted to achieve due to my inexperience with physics and engineering. I seriously considered dropping the program, but something deep inside me told me to keep trying. To take it as far as I could. I kept my feet to the ground and after a while, things got easier. I’m not particularly used to academic challenges, but I have faced my fair share of adversity in life and one thing I have learned is that giving up is the easy route. It takes work and dedication to follow a path of success. Everyone has doubts, and even when you can’t seem to believe in yourself always remember that there are others who believe in you. So don’t believe in yourself… Believe in the you who believes in yourself! Believe in me! Believe in the me that believes in you!

Noah Irby

Is there a better way to start August off than with a lecture on granular temperature?  Probably, but this was pretty intriguing stuff. I never would have expected at the start of the summer to have learned as much as I have here. Even though my note-taking skills could use a little work. #REU2016

With a daytime high of 96 degrees F (Freedom units) I sure am glad to be working indoors. I took a few minutes today to appreciate the elegance of some of the posters around the lab, as well as take a look at some of the smaller scientific apparatuses like this miniature wind farm. Fun fact: Wind energy is one of the least efficient sources of power per unit of space. I may be staying indoors, but let’s stick to solar and hydropower for renewables eh?

As someone that comes from a non-engineering background, it’s a real special treat to be working at CEGE and SAFL for the summer. To see so many cool projects like the above pictured inception-esque building setup they have going on is absolutely incredible. I still think Geography is the way to go, but I gotta hand it to these engineers, they know their stuff.

Just a regular day at the lab. Finishing up the last couple experiments today. Mondays are everyone’s favorite.

Wow! Week Five already! It’s been a crazy first half of the summer and here’s to the next half. Pictured above is me with my trademark smile and  handy-dandy horse brush we use in a process called flume grooming. Basically it’s just like grooming a dog, except the dog is our experimental flume and we clean out beads instead of dust and fleas. Also pictured is a fortune I received today, with a message applicable to all of us here at the REU:

“One must know that there is a path at the end of the road.”

To me this means that even at the end of this experience, we all have paths to follow. While it may be hard to get there, we just have to keep moving.

Peace out brothers and sisters, I’ll see you in the next episode of REU SLAWR Blog posts!

Not only was Niagara Cave dark inside, it was wet too. Really cool to see underground streams and waterfalls and gain some insight into the erosional processes that formed this cavern. Just watch your step.

We took a trip on down to do some spelunking and boy was it cool. Pictured here is the same group of stalactites with the flash on and off to showcase how dark this cave really is. Awesome bit of geology

A big thank you to Diana and Dean for setting up this great picnic on our way to lake Pepin. Warm sunny days like these spent with friends are nigh unforgettable

Hey folks, Week 3 is already over. Time sure is flying. It’s important to find things to do and to stay busy with experiments. Make sure every day is a good one. Here’s some cool pictures to make sure you have a good day. On the left is a model of a shallow well pump, which looks like a strange blue submarine to me. On the right is a sieve full of 2mm zirconium silicate beads, in the shape of a smiley face 🙂

Say what you will about Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory, it’s got some pretty fancy equipment. Featured above is our high-speed camera, our mechanized crane, and a super-cool scale that I have no idea how it actually works. Sure SAFL is full of dust, bugs, and especially water, but the toys we get to play with are top-notch. This is just the stuff we get to use. Next week we will take a look at some of the projects the actual engineers and researchers are working on!

Week two is underway, with a minor complication…

Day one of running experiments in the large flume at SAFL ended with a CRASH as all 72,000 of our glass beads evacuated. The noise was deafening, the clean-up was arduous, but the memories? Priceless 🙂

Our team spent today getting acquianted with the Civil Engineering Building and the Fluids lab where we will be conducting our research on debris flows. We took some time washing supplies and taking safety training courses so that we can start digging in soon! It’s a beautiful laboratory for this mad scientist!