Pilot Testing with the Summer Flying By - Dante Navarro

I finished the final prototype for my data visualization application, so I can start the pilot study with participants from around imec.  During the pilot study I will begin to work on aesthetic features as well as more efficient user interaction for the application.  As a reminder, the application is the contextualization of stress values gathered from a wearable watch in the form of a calendar, map and weather application. 

Most of the application development and data analysis for this particular study are located in Ghent, where I have made several trips to present my application for feedback and showing new features that have been added throughout the development timeline.

The finishing touches were implemented, so now the application uses actual data in real time.  Around the office I have been asking users to utilize the Chill Band + (the wearable device that uses sensors to compute a quantitative stress value) to gather various data samples to populate the database I query for my application.

Beginning the pilot study with the Chill Band +

With my time here I have grown to accept the responsibilities of an independent project because the outcome is purely a function of the work and time that I put into the project.   Ultimately the design features that I chose to implement come from user testing that guides these decisions. I think this is unique to participating in STEM in an international setting because the motivation for the completion of a project seems to rely heavily on self-motivation rather than another outside motivating factor. Being part of a mostly coding project has provided me with tools that I will use in the future but ultimately, I feel like I would like to become a larger role in the product development pipeline such as the development of the hardware of wearable devices.

Understanding that the internship is coming to an end, I have made sure to appreciate the time that we have left here by spending it with good company.  During the Fourth of July many of our colleagues were gone, so the following week, we had a barbecue on the outside of our residence.  It was really an amazing way to socialize with people that we see every day in a non-work setting. 

Having a great time with imec co-workers at our BBQ

Rome and Reflections - Ariel Slepyan

I can’t believe my internship at IMEC is almost over. Knowing that I only have two weeks left is really hard to believe!

With mixed feelings, this also means our presentations are coming up. Next Friday all of us interns will be presenting our summer work to our departments, and although preparing can be slightly stressful, I am excited to share my work and learn about what the other interns have been working on in more detail.

Recently, I have not been running many experiments and have been focusing on creating computer simulations. While it is not as exciting as being in the lab, learning how to use sophisticated and powerful software like COMSOL will help me a lot in the future. Moreover, COMSOL can create beautiful, and very colorful figures. It allows me to simulate and visualize complicated phenomena like a non-uniform electric field inside of a microfluidic channel.

Simulating non-uniform electric field inside a microfluidic channel using COSMOL

Two weekends ago I went to Rome, which is an amazing city and walking through it feels like one big outdoor museum. While I was travelling to Rome, my little sister was travelling to Russia. We decided that she could make a pitstop in Rome and we could enjoy the weekend together. I was really happy to see her, and it was great exploring an ancient city together.

Visiting the Pantheon in Rome with my sister Dana

Overall, when I look back at my time this summer, I feel that I have really grown as a person. Being in a foreign country was the first time I was truly independent. At first it was a little scary realizing I was thousands of miles from home, but after a while the sentiment became appealing and I imagine I could living abroad for years.

One of my biggest learning moments was how to cook dinner meals for myself. Before this trip I relied on FFC and Nolan’s as my top two sources of food. But in Belgium I was forced to learn how to prepare my own meals and this is very helpful for next year when I am living off campus – and without a meal plan.

The experience has also taught me to worry less about the little things, and while travelling to just enjoy my time. From what I have realized, I feel that over planning and coordinating can be useful, but sometimes spur of the moment decisions and a lack of planning make for great experiences.