Career Exploration

My key takeaways from the trip were that engineers over time would improve and adapt to problems and achieve new goals after each problem was solved. It was extremely interesting to learn about everything to do with aerodynamics. I really enjoyed learning about different parts of planes & the history of supersonic planes as it helps me see another field of engineering I would be interested in. The orbital mechanics part was also one of my favorite parts. 

The Redefining Mobility Summit (RMS) was a really interesting conference on the future of transportation and commuting in the Bay Area. It was cool to be able to talk with different tech companies and startups from around the bay and network myself with them along with being able to see what people near me are working on and what could be implimented in the next couple of years.

This trip was really interesting to see the workflow at Lawrence Livermore labs and to learn about emerging technologies and work opportunities. I really enjoyed being able to talk with all the people working there and learn about so many different careers I could study in college and after.

Visiting OpenAI was a really eye-opening and interesting experience. I loved learning about tech startups in San Francisco and how most people get to skyrocket their ideas in a heavily competitive environment. My favorite part about this trip was learning about so many different use cases for AI and the research being done to make AI safer for everyone.  

It was really interesting to hear about Maynard's life and how he worked on engineering efforts at Chernobyl in 1991. I loved his thought process and how he explained the decisions made during his time mapping radioactivity in Chernobyl. This event ultimately led to future uses of robotics in natural disaster situations, like in 2011 when Japan's nuclear reactors exploded.

Jason's take on AI was extremely interesting and unique to hear. He went in depth on how Machine Learning improves over time and how it learns in different ways. The most unique way I thought was when two AI chatbots only learned while talking to each other. It was also cool to hear about the language modeling done for AI and Machine Learning and see how it affected the AI learning in different efficiencies.

Gary Richter was a very vibrant and funny person. He talked about his experience getting rid of nuclear weapons in old USSR facilities after they fell. His process of making decisions as a system analyst and looking into the government's best interest with sciences was unique and was very interesting to listen to. My favorite part of his speech was his constant emphasis on science being fun and to keep pursuing it in the future.

I loved Dr. Calvin Kam's story of growing his passion and where it started. He grew up in Hong Kong and was heavily inspired by their infrastructure and furthered his passion even today by teaching managing construction engineers. It was super cool to hear his involvement in well known projects like the California Science Center and Walt Disney Concert Hall.