I submitted this abstract yesterday. It is about the research I did over the summer and I am continuing to do now. If all goes according to plan, I will be presenting a poster about it in Virginia at the NSF conference at the end of January.
Cubic oxide semiconductors for deep ultra-violet applications
Ultraviolet and Deep ultraviolet (DUV) optoelectronic devices may be realizable using wide bandgap cubic oxide compounds. Important applications of such technologies include missile plume detection, water purification, dermatological treatment and non-line of sight ultraviolet communication. Our work focuses on ZnxMg1-xO and NixMg1-xO thin films grown on lattice-matched MgO (100) substrates using oxygen-plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). We show these compounds to exhibit bandgap tunability in the ultraviolet region directly related to the varying Mg concentration and comprise a mutually compatible, complementary materials family.
Investigation into fabrication and photoresponse techniques for both types of films will be presented. Various metals were scrutinized for use as contacts for Hall measurements as well as transmission line measurement (TLM). Following examination of the metals, MSM sizing and fabrication techniques were characterized. This process involved an annealing experiment to further solidify the contacts. Initial findings from the spectral photoresponse testing will be discussed. Overall the response was encouraging, and demonstrates favorable results without external filters.
So! My blog has reached 1000 hits today. I don’t really know why or if that is significant, but I just wanted to point it out because I noticed it. LOL
So far today, I have taken a Statics test and gone to work in the lab for a few hours, Im about to attend the SPECS meeting, then meet with my sister to help her study, then class, then a SWE meeting tonight. So busy! I haven’t started freaking out about my physics test on Monday yet, but I probably should. Starting tonight, all of my free time is going to studying for that…
Ok. So I was glancing through some of my old posts, and I saw that I said that I didn’t really like sushi. Well, I have an update for you… I like sushi. Here is a picture of me and my friends at a sushi restaurant for our birthdays this summer… yum!!
There you have it. Proof. I will admit that I am not a sushi expert by any means, I have not tried too many different types of rolls, but lately I really like spicy rolls. The other day at school for lunch I had combo spicy rolls with brown rice… very good, especially because I was starving.
Now that we have gotten that cleared up, I thought I would post a picture from Halloween. You can’t see my whole outfit, but I like this picture so here it is…
Brooke, Lindsay, Farah, Sarah, and Me! I made my outfit out of two IKEA bags. It is two parts, a halter top and a skirt. I really didn’t know exactly what I was doing when I started, but it was two days before our costume party, and so instead of just sitting there looking at the bags, I started cutting. Luckily it all turned out great! I had an awesome Halloween this year, which was my goal. Last year I didn’t do anything but this year I went to a few different parties and got to see lots of friends, definitely had a good time. Ok, I found a picture of Sarah and I where you can see the whole outfit… I hope everyone else had a Happy Halloween! : )
Last night I made my family’s famous caesar salad dressing again… it came out ok. Its still good, but certainly not as good as when my dad makes it! Its the best. But I want to keep practicing it until I don’t need the recipe any more. I am having a salad with it right now. I got some organic romaine and organic baby spinach and put some feta cheese on it with the dressing. It reminds me of being home and having dinner with my family. I miss that. I miss the food and the family, haha. I miss my sister and my dad and my mom and my dog and my cat. I feel like I haven’t been home in forever, and even when I am its not like it used to be. But I enjoy where and who I live with now, and I am excited about where my life is going. I am also excited about making christmas cookies soon… another family recipe. Why are grandmas so good at food?! I want to be a grandma that makes delicious meals one day… haha, and I don’t want to have short hair! So many older women have short hair, I guess they just don’t want to maintain it, but I plan to never do that. I will not get a mans haircut just because Im lazy, its really not that difficult to have long hair. Two things I just said reminded me of a flight of the conchords song, so here it is…
This is one of my favorite pictures from California. We were in downtown Long Beach, so there really wasn’t much grass anywhere, and I feel like this shot that my friend Alyssa took in this little park really represents that. My friend Sarah photoshopped the color and I think she did a great job! : )
So. As I mentioned, I went to California for conference two weeks ago, and it was so much fun. I had a really great time and took a million pictures. When I got back and I was on my computer I saw my bookmark for my blog and I thought, I could blog alllll about Long Beach and everything I did and put up lots of pictures, but then I also thought, I don’t have time for all that, so I never blogged at all. I started thinking about it, and I think the trouble I have had with maintaining a blog is that I feel like I have to either go all out, or not do it at all. I get so absolutely busy and instead of just taking 5 minutes to make a post, I think that it has to be this big long production and so I don’t do it because I don’t have time. My goal is to kind of get over that, and accept less than perfect, because as far as blogs go… having a crappy blog would be better than not doing it at all, at least when the overarching goal is to simply have one.
So speaking of conference and pictures… I finally ordered a bunch of prints so I can scrapbook. I have not done any scrapbooking for a long time but I really enjoy it and I feel like I am pretty good at it too, I am usually pretty proud of the end result. So I went ahead and ordered 300 pictures a few minutes ago. Initially I was going to order them from Walmart.com but I ended up going with SnapFish because you get 50 free prints for new members, and I was able to get free shipping too (order over $20) so I ended up spending about half as much as I would have at Walmart. I cant wait to get them in the mail! There are about 150 from conference and 150 from a bunch of random events over the past year that I wanted to scrapbook as well. Unfortunately I am already and I am anticipating being super busy in the next few weeks so I am skeptical of how much scrapbooking will actually get done, if nothing else, It will happen over winter break, which is actually fast approaching. We only have about 5 weeks of school left, I cant believe it, I have so much to do between now and then… oh well!
I am really looking forward to this holiday season. I am going to my grandparent’s for Thanksgiving and I am just really looking forward to seeing family then and over winter break. I don’t know why I am more excited this year than other years about the holiday season, but I am. I already heard some Christmas music at Einstein Bagels on Tuesday… I love it! : )
Now I am going to go get ready for a costume party! Wearing my IKEA outfit again. haha ; )
Today I took my physics test. I studied in the library all day, and I was kind of in a bad mood about the test, mostly just frustrated at the amount of material that was given with little direction and no effort from the professor to update any of her previous practice tests or formula sheets to reflect what would be on this particular test. Anyway, the test went well, and I am glad its over with. Now I just have to study all day tomorrow, and then take my computer organization test and then I will start packing for conference. Im so excited!! : )
Also, today was John’s birthday, and even though he was sick and we were both busy and had tests/homework, we had a pretty nice day. He opened his presents this morning and loved all of them. Then we went out to breakfast. We are planning on having a postponed celebratory day, where we kind of pretend that day is his birthday, because today just wasn’t convenient for a birthday. haha. He makes me so happy. <3 <3 <3
So. As you know. I have two tests coming up, and today I was supposed to get a lot more studying done than I actually did, but thats another story, another less exciting story. So next week on Thursday I am flying to Long Beach, California with 19 other girlies to attend the Society of Women Engineers National Conference. I am sooooo excited. It is going to be so fun, and be a much needed break from school. We will be in Long Beach from Thursday until Sunday, and attending events at the conference each day.
One of the days is a career fair, and there will be hundreds of companies there looking for potential employees. Ideally I would love to get an internship for next summer, but I also don’t feel a lot of pressure about this particular career fair, like I absolutely need to do everything perfect because this is my only chance to get a job ever, because its not. I have my résumé up to date, and I just need to print out copies (on résumé paper, haha). I also would like to have more time to look up the companies that are going to be there, so I can target certain ones, but I really don’t have a lot because of my tests… 0_0
Anyway, this whole career fair is what prompted my shopping this evening. I went to Dillards to try and find a professional suit to wear. I ended up finding some really cute stuff. I picked out a pair of black pants and a black jacket/blazer. I also got two cute pencil skirts and a turquoise shirt. But the thing I was most excited about was this super cute dress that I got. Its so pretty, black on the bottom and the top is white. I cant wait to wear it. I am so excited. It makes me want to get all dressed up and go somewhere fancy. I also want to just wear it all the time. It also makes me want to only wear gorgeous dresses wherever I go, and have a closet full of them. And if I had a closet full of them, in that closet would also be tons of really cool shoes. I wish I had the money and the motivation to buy and wear fancy shoes… and dresses. Which brings me back to the tests… always the tests… one day, I will have passed all the tests, and I will have a pretty little diploma hanging up in a nice frame that my mom already has and that will lead to my excellent job and that job will in time… lead to shoes and dresses, because thats really what its all about.
Ok. Thats not really what its all about, but they are so cute! Its about being happy, and I really am happy. Especially when I am done shopping and I come home with lots of cute outfits and an occasion to look forward to wearing them in! Soon the tests will be over with and I will go get a pedicure with Sarah, and we will take our cute little toesies down to Orlando International and hop a plane to LAX! I. Cant. Wait.
So. I have not been on here in months, but I am excited at the prospect of ‘blogging’. I am refraining from saying “again” because I don’t really think making like 4 posts counts… but this is my second attempt. Basically, I am super busy, but I like the internet so I am going to try and think of some exciting things and put them here… and I am also going to put some info about the food that I make. Ideally I would like to be making all kinds of exciting things and do something a little more Julie & Julia style… but I am so damn busy that that wont be happening any time soon. I don’t really know where to start so I am going to start with today!
I have two tests early next week. Two tests next week = studying all this week. Thats what I did this morning, studied in the Harris building until class… 0_0 then I had class allll day… from 1:30 until 7:15. ew. I was super annoyed with my Networks Lab because its really frustrating for a few reasons, plus there is a difficult language barrier with the TA. I was pretty fed up with the class before I even got there, so I literally sat there the whole time and did nothing. Everyone else in my group was like, woah, Amber is so quiet, and they all knew I was annoyed with the class, and they were too. The reason I was super quiet is because I was in a bad mood and I didn’t want to take it out on them or say something mean.
Today in my lunchbox I packed: an everything bagel with plain cream cheese for breakfast, a Vitamin water, crackers and peanut butter, a granola bar, a banana, raisins, and a salad with raspberry vinegarette dressing and feta cheese. Everything was fantastic! It was a good amount of food to get me through the day (on campus from 11:00-7:30). The salad was my favorite, mostly because I love feta cheese and It was my favorite dressing. : )
For dinner I assembled my team of Cooking Power Rangers. They helped me in my attempt to cook the potatoes that I randomly bought. I ended up boiling them and making them into mashed potatoes… Everything turned out great and thinking about the salad I had for lunch made me want another… so I cut up some lettuce for a nice salad… and there we have it! Dinner is served… : )
Soooo… All my classes are done, and all I have left are 4 finals next week… I can’t believe this semester is already over. The end seems so close, yet I have to really put in some serious hours between now and next Friday, pretty much all of my time in the next week will be spent studying. I really just want to relax and do nothing, but I just have this last *final* push before I can kick back, and sleep in, and do nothing… I cant wait
On Wednesday I went to an Avenged Sevenfold concert with my boyfriend and two of our mutual friends. It was the 3rd time I have seen them live, and they were just as good as the first two. Also performing was Saving Abel, Shinedown, and Buckcherry; all of whom were very interesting and I really enjoyed. At the end of the show, A7X said that they wouldn’t be back to Orlando on a tour again for about a year and a half because they are going home to work on a new album, so thats pretty exciting, at least to me.
