Week 1: Rough And Exciting

Hello everyone,

I started my first week by learning about Fusion360, a design software that can model products ranging from jewelry to cars. I had previously used the software in 7th and 8th grade; however, I re-learned the basics of Fusion360, such as sketching in 2D planes using constraints, extruding 2D objects into 3D, and modifying 3D objects. I designed a few products, like a ring with an engraving of my name. Wednesday was my first day attending the Intro to Engineering class. (Monday was supposed to be my first day, but the class was taking its midterms.) It was exciting to sit in a college class because the students were all prepared, interactive, and independent. The class focused on designing a toolbox using Fusion360, while I mostly observed the class.

Afterward, I got an Arduino, a mini-computer that is used to design experiments and collect data, so I can use it for my final project. In a robotics workshop, a professor taught me some of the basics of using Arduino and the ultrasonic sensor (senses distance using sound). During my independent time, I watched videos about operating the ultrasonic sensors and IR receiver (infrared sensor). I still kind of feel nervous about programming and designing Arduino sets, but, throughout the internship, I believe that I can improve my skills.

For my independent project, I started by reading about some of the basic interactions between neurons and brain components that lead to emotions. The readings taught me that emotions refer only to physical stimuli and that feelings are the actions conducted by our behavior to react to the emotion (Damasio, 2011). In addition, I have started to learn about specific brain regions, such as the lateral nucleus, central nucleus, and hippocampus that are responsible for sensing and acting regarding emotions. In the following weeks, I hope to continue this research and learn more about the molecular interactions (calcium movement) that can lead to different types of emotions. With these research papers, I am also working on finding specific types of drugs and neurodegenerative diseases that impact emotions.

Damasio, A. (2011, February 11). Neural basis of emotions. Scholarpedia. Retrieved December 14, 2022, from http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Neural_basis_of_emotions