BWSI: 0.5 of the way to completion! [pictures to be added]

 

I'm really excited that this summer I've gotten the amazing opportunity to be part of BWSI's (beaver works summer institute) E-textiles course-- not only do I get the chance to continue my interest in e-textiles, but I also to live next to Charles River and walk through MIT campus to classes for a month! [that the program has given me salads for lunch for the past two weeks is secondary lol]

For this post, I've separated my (so far) packed summer into a few categories: 

1. exploring Boston/Cambridge 

So I was lucky enough that my amazing sister (MIT alumni, 5 yr Cambridge resident) gave me a list of amazing things to do in the Boston area! I've been systematically making my way through the list whenever I'm not working on my projects. So far I've had amazing cuisine: Italian @ North end, Afghani food @ Helmland, Ice cream @ Toscanini's, and um...caprese sandwiches and 5 different varieties of salad for lunch every day at BWSI (I actually don't mind it too much though, salad can be surprisingly tasty when you're hungry). Below are a few pictures, because you know I go places just for food and merch (ex: HackMIT Blueprint had AMAZING food && merch). 

Besides food, I run 300+ smoots [unit of measurement on the smoot bridge] every morning in front of the Charles river (which isn't really an "outing" but an experience by itself). I love Boston downtown, and am still waiting on visiting the MIT press bookstore and the Isabella Stewart Garden. I've taken my parents to Faneuil hall (very fun place if you go on the weekends), Chinatown (loved the boba!), and boating on the Charles. 

My main take away is that the city is energetic and contemplative-- both qualities that make it seem alive. Everyone is running and boating and reading books in cafes. I heard a talk about quantum theory while walking around MIT campus the other day, and someone at Helmand was talking about AI optimization on the table next to us. Is this what it feel like to be in an academic city? Living here-- even if only a few weeks-- gives me a sense that the Boston area is much like the Charles river it surrounds: both constantly in motion and deep in thought. [it also doesn't hurt that I see random robotic arms through different windows and a diagram of a gear at the cafe next to my BWSI building.]

2. BWSI 

   a) the people 

       OH MY GOD they are so cool. One of them does origami (and is even invited to an MIT origami meeting), one of them creates balloon animals, and another sewed her dress from scratch-- all of them are really passionate about science as well. I was a bit awkward initially, until I bonded with a girl over science books and she asked me to go to the bookstore with her. This made me realize that books and hobbies can truly be used to connect with other people-- my shared interests in tennis and science and music made me feel comfortable here at bwsi. The TAs and instructors are amazing as well, they are so diverse in their expertise (e-textiles is interdisciplinary), and so supportive. 

   b) seminars: every day BWSI basically puts all of us in-person kids in a lecture room after lunch and we get to listen to an industry/academic expert talk about the coolest cutting-edge research they are working on. I love hearing about their work and journeys-- from discovering armor for microbes to helping with the Apollo mission. I love the Q&A sessions the students get to do as well! Below are a few uploaded notes (and I might post about my favorite lecture as well-- which was given by the director of MIT media lab) 

   b) AFFOA tour, Draper tour: In the same vein of giving us more exposure, BWSI arranged a few tours for us. AFFOA (advanced functional fabrics of america) works on advanced fabrics, and has many e-textile projects it works on. I loved looking at the labs and facilities their (although it is relatively small)-- and I even saw a hat that turns lightwaves into audio one can heard (this could be useful for military purposes). It gave me that pinch of excitement I feel whenever I see that rigid circuit boards can be turned into such unconventional mediums-- which somehow feels closer to the human body than like a phone. 

    The Draper tour was amazing as well-- I loved the SPECTER lab especially, in which professionals talked to us about designing astronaut suits and the complexity of it all. The bioengineering lab showed us organ on a chip technology (I'd only seen this on MIT tech review emails before!) and showed us a biosurvelliance device which I thought was pretty insane. The office space looked futuristic almost and led me to think that maybe defense is an interesting industry as well-- though I was mostly won over by the merch they gave us at the end and the cool looking access card with "MIT guest" written on it that they gave me upon entrance.

3. perspective on my work + e-textiles 

     My interest in e-textiles and its nicheness overall is what made me apply here in the first place (I don't know if I could have gotten these resources for this field elsewhere). In the past two weeks I've gotten to learn much more than I knew coming into this program: I learned about textile structure, how to manipulate it, learned more about circuits and wiring, and even got to see textile sensor demos. It blew my mind that I'm working with and making use of technology I'd only seen in research papers before. An instance I particularly loved was seeing Chrissy demo the textile pressure sensor, and explain how the voltage divider in the circuit helps it function. I'd only read about "textile sensors" before, but I got to see, touch, and make them this week!  

    In the next two weeks we have to start and finish working on our final projects-- I still have to finish researching for mine (but I've got a hunch I'm onto something very interesting) and will post about it after the. I've also completed my first e-textile project, an LED purse I machine/hand sewed through sheer persistence (sewing is SO TOUGH and not shorting the circuit is EVEN HARDER). To be honest, I'm not sure if I can/will go into e-textiles as a field ["officially"] but I find it sparks a joy in me in the current, so I've decided to throw myself into as many more projects as I can : )

4. etc; 

    Obviously throughout all of this excitement I still have-- tennis tryouts, piano competitions, and the (SATs?) coming up. So I've been taking advantage of the standard day having 24 hours and been spending most of it waking up 5:30 am to run to the tennis courts, playing, going to BWSI, playing piano, going out to see Boston, and researching at night. phew. Oh and on the weekends I'm coding a legislation monitoring app and studying for the SATs (along with eating good food!). Its the "etc" that makes me realize that maybe I too love being like the Charles river-- constantly moving, cruising, and lost in the depth of knowledge and experience.