I am very excited to be starting the NEWT internship in just a few days. I will be arriving in El Paso on Sunday morning and will start working in Dr. Dino Villagran’s laboratory the following day. I have had two years of experience conducting research in a laboratory environment, but this will be my first time doing research in an internship setting. I will do my best to fulfill the duties as a NEWT intern because I would like to reflect well on my PI and research team at ASU. I will be working directly under the direction of graduate student Karen Ventura for the duration of the program. Karen has sent me a few papers and research procedures to look over before my arrival. It was nice to look at these research documents and I noticed right away that they are quite different from my prior research. In Dr. Dino’s laboratory, a large emphasis is place on metal organic frameworks (MOFs). These microporous structures with a high surface area are taken advantage of for applications in gas separation and catalysis. An interesting application of MOFs is the capture and separation of carbon dioxide, which is harmful to the environment. Overall, I am looking forward to working in a new laboratory and meeting the rest of the research team.