This first week in El Paso has been very eventful and a lot to take in, but I have really enjoyed my time here. As far as laboratory work, I have found out more of the details and scope of my overall project. I hope to accomplish as much as possible during this internship. Since my very first day, I began to work on my project and had hands on experience. I am very thankful for this because I feared that the first week or two I would just be training, cleaning, or not allowed to touch anything. About half of the time I worked under the direction of my mentor, and by the end of the week I was allowed to perform some lab work independently.

The main focus this week has been the synthesis of magnetite nanoparticles. The procedures following this were halted because some of the chemicals have not arrived yet. The next phase of my project is to synthesize graphene oxide and use hydrazine and ammonia to reduce graphene oxide. Each sheet of reduced graphene oxide will then be functionalized on the edges with magnetite nanoparticles. After making it through the first week, I was grateful to have a relaxing and restful weekend. I am definitely looking forward to another productive week ahead!