Sunday, June 7, 2020
By:
Week 1 is in the books! And what a wild ride it’s been, even though I’ve spent the majority of it in my room on my computer. There’s no denying that this remote internship will certainly be a different experience from years past, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t just a bit disappointed about not physically working in D.C. but hey -- we’re in a pandemic. That is the fact that continues to put all aspects of day-to-day life into a new perspective that we’re all coping with.
I still feel incredibly lucky to have such a cool summer experience lined up when so many around the country have been canceled. Essentially, a big shout-out to the folks at SPS and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology (SST) for keeping this going.
This week in general has flown by. Monday was full of Zoom meetings for orientation in the SPS summer program, followed by some additional orientation meetings for working in the congressional office. The rest of the week has primarily consisted of attending and taking notes at various hearings and webinars. Essentially, I get to listen to experts and policymakers talk about science and technology in fields that run the gamut of research in the U.S., and all within a 15 second walk from the fridge. I’ve also been fortunate to be assigned to attend multiple presentations in areas that are of particular interest to me, namely climate and energy science. What continues to excite me about those research areas is that physics can be a pretty useful toolbox to understand phenomena in very applied, and pressing topics. For example, with just a little bit of knowledge of fluid mechanics and thermodynamics, understanding hurricanes and their risks becomes much more accessible (and we’re currently on the cusp of what’s slated to be a nasty hurricane season).
Right now, the interns in the SST office are working on putting together a newsletter with 2-page summaries of various events we’ve attended that relate to the office subcommittees’ work. I’m definitely still getting used to the flow and nuances of work in a congressional office, and it still feels a bit surreal to be sitting in on calls with members of Congress, even if my microphone and video are both muted (a fact I made sure to triple check). But everyone in the SST community has been super helpful and friendly -- a few staff members have even reached out to “virtually meet over coffee” next week, which I’m looking forward to.
I’ll close this post by shamelessly admitting that I am a novice when it comes to blogging. I wouldn’t be able to tell you the “key ingredients” needed to comprise a good blog post if you paid me. Nevertheless, I am fully committing to the challenge to write about the ins and outs of working in the U.S. Capitol from my home in mid-Michigan. There might be drama, comedy, or random quarantine hobbies that pop up throughout the summer. Who knows? There will almost certainly be random mentions of any cool physics I come across. But until next week, stay safe, stay sane, and stay quarky (I also refuse to apologize for any terrible physics puns that arise in these posts).
-Paul
Paul McKinley