Tessa Bailey, Environmental Engineering and Geoscience at the U of Utah, Week 3

After returning from Montrose on Tuesday, I continued my internship on Wednesday. I started the day 3D modelling. In the computer lab where I spend most of my time, there is a 3D printed model of a mountain range, so I was inspired by this to try to make my own! So, that morning I experimented with a 3D modelling software called Autodesk Inventor to model one of my own. After lunch, I met a grad student named Adriann Liceralde who works in chemical engineering. He has worked on CO2 sensors much like the ones I will be building, so he came in to show me the different CO2 sensors he has made and how they work! Since I didn’t have all the parts to build my own sensor yet, I took apart some wire casing on an old sensor to see how it was wired to figure out how I could replicate it. 

I started Thursday continuing my 3D modelled range where I figured out a tool I have never used before. This tool was just what I needed to make a super basic mountain range. 

Even though it’s basic I’m proud I figured out a tool I’ve never used before, and I know it will be super useful in the future. I planned to use the library’s 3D printers to print my model later, but in the meantime I figured out how to work with some of Adriann’s sensors. 

This is the first sensor I learned how to use. As Adriann was explaining how to use it he also taught me that this sensor, NDIR, uses wavelengths of light to measure the CO2, which I think is pretty cool!  Once I was able to use this sensor well and knew how it worked I went to the library to get my mountain range model printed! The estimated print time was seven hours, so I let the printer get started and planned on picking it up the next day! 

I started Friday working with another one of Adriann’s sensors, and since I had it basically figured out, I conducted a small experiment by testing the interior CO2 levels vs the outdoor levels. As I hypothesized, the outdoor concentration was much lower than the indoor ones. This makes sense since there’s less space inside for the CO2 to be. After that, I helped Zhidi and Ting clean the lab so it’ll be a good environment for our groundwater experiment. Ting and I then started calibrating the pH monitor so that it will be ready for our experiment too. Once it was calibrated I went back to the library to pick up my finished model!

In my free time this week I did a ton of climbing at a gym that’s only 10 minutes away from where I’m staying! It’s also right next to an REI, so I got new climbing shoes and started breaking them in!

After work on friday I went to a local farmers market that was held in Liberty Park in Salt Lake! On Sunday I got a chocolate banana crepe and a latte at Greenhouse Effect Coffee and Crepes, and it was amazing as always!