Week 6: Another Busy Week

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Friday, July 19, 2013

By:

Katherine Stankus

Dr. John Mather, Katherine Stankus, Nikki Sanford, and Representative Bill FosterThe main event this week was the markup of H.R. 2687: NASA Authorization Act of 2013 on Thursday which began at 11:15am and lasted until 5:30pm. A total of 38 amendments were proposed. In addition to preparing materials and helping out at the markup, I worked on a couple of research projects for staff and did some transcription edits.

On Friday, Nikki and I met Dr. John Mather and Representative Bill Foster for breakfast at the Member’s Dining Room. It was nice to meet with Dr. Mather again and to meet Representative Bill Foster and learn about his transition from physics to politics.

All of the Society of Physics Students (SPS) Interns in front of the Newton Apple Tree Clone at NIST In the afternoon, Nikki and I made the commute to Shady Grove for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) tour that one of the other Society of Physics Students (SPS) interns planned for everyone. We went to several different labs within the facility and learned what the mission of NIST is and how it differs from the National Labs. To conclude, Friday evening consisted of going to the Food Truck Festival located by the Navy Yard metro station. The selection of foods to choose from was slightly overwhelming but the atmosphere was a lot of fun. Also, next to the Food Truck Festival was a Nationals baseball game. As a result of the surplus of people at the Nationals Game and the Food Truck Festival, the metro ride home was the most crowded I have been on since I’ve been here.

Katherine Stankus