Daniel Willson, 2026 SPS Careers Toolbox Intern
Daniel Willson.
Biography
SPS Chapter: Wichita State University
My name is Daniel Willson Jr. and I’m a recent graduate of Wichita State University as of May 2026. Over the course of my studies, I’ve developed my research in nuclear physics, primarily using gamma-ray spectroscopy methods as well as a focus on astrophysics. In physics I have met dozens of new friends and made many worthwhile connections, and I feel there is always room to grow.
In my youth I did any sport I really could including soccer, baseball, football, and wrestling. I enjoyed participating in sports, but I always felt academia was where I exceled. In my free time I have a wide range of hobbies including traveling, photography/photo editing, building Legos, sewing, and participating in car meets and events.
A couple of random fun facts about me are, my favorite food is cherry cheesecake, I have a ragdoll Siamese cat named Neko, and I have unintentionally amassed ~72,000 followers on TikTok and garnered 5.9 million likes with around 50 million views.
Internship
Host: Society of Physics Students
Internship Blog
Week 1
My first week in DC was quite an adjustment to a small city in Kansas to say the least. Massive structures with large population densities aren’t something I was ever acclimated with being in Kansas. On my first day, I had to learn to use a metro system and that was something I had never done before. Then with the trains packed with hundreds of people shoulder to shoulder like sardines, it was very easy to become confused, but thankfully we have a great crew of interns to help one another through that struggle.
After arriving I got to know some of the AIP staff I’d be working with and acclimate myself to the AIP DC office which was genuinely beautiful. During my lunch break I took the liberty to explore the surrounding area and decided to head for Chinatown for a bite to eat. I found this small restaurant called China Boy and ordered steamed pork dumplings and they were easily an 8.9/10.
While doing a wide range of activities including near daily walks with the other interns to explore the local area, I have befriended quite a few of them and look forward to many adventures with them this summer. So far, we have gone to see the Washington Monument, the White House (from a distance), the unfinished reflective pool, and the Lincoln Memorial. Seeing these all in person versus a textbook was quite a surreal experience for me to say the least.
While on one of our walks, we walked past a bookstore where I went in and bought Isaac Asimovs The Foundation for a sci-fi summer read and walked along the Potomac with my new friends. I’m ecstatic for the coming weeks and can’t wait to write about this summer further.
Over the next few weeks, we have lots of plans for different notable locations, museums, and events, so be sure to tune back into my blog page to see the adventures!
Week 2
With the start of the second week, I’ve gotten to know a lot of my team directly and got my work assigned to me, so it has been a far busier week for me than the latter. This week has been much more work-oriented for me, so I don’t have many intern adventures to contribute to this iteration of the blog. Besides general exploration of the local area, going on walks, taking the metro more and learning the layout, I’ve worked or watched the Isle of Man TT race or ESL Cologne Counter Strike 2 Major.
Work this week was nerve-racking at first since I was getting introduced to my direct supervisors since I had no idea what to expect, but after meeting them I felt very comfortable and eager to work. I’ve made sure I go to the DC Office a few times a week since I typically work better when in a work-oriented environment (not my dorm). I feel much more comfortable on my commute to work since I avoid the extremely busy hours, and the metro is quite tame.
Beyond my work and exploration though, I’ve continued my reading of Isaac Asimovs The Foundation, watching the 2026 Isle of Man TT race, and watching the 2026 ESL Cologne Major. All of these activities have been very fun for me especially the Isle of Man TT race since the riders, I’ve supported the most heavily (Michael Dunlop, and Peter Hickman) have had very impressive runs this year. The Cologne Major just started a couple days ago so it’s still very early stages for that tournament, but so far, a lot of my predictions have held somewhat accurately. Thankfully so many live events are currently ongoing so I can’t have any excuse to be bored.
We also did go to the Smithsonian Zoo the weekend before publishing this, and that was very fun with our group. I was a little bit bummed we didn’t get to see the Amazonian exhibit, but it was also 90 degrees out and not getting any cooler, plus they closed at 6. There’s always next time though and I know we have many more plans, so something is bound to redeem that.
Week 3
This week I really don’t have much to add since I have been mainly working from home this week and didn’t do many outside activities. I have made significant progress in my work however and have almost finished reading The Foundation which has been an amazing book thus far. I’m primarily excited for the coming week since I know that will be far more interesting activities going on, and I’m planning to explore a bit more since I have less funding constraints.
Besides work or my lack of plans, I did have a cool thing occur this week. My stepmom and sister assembled a little care package of skincare products and my fancy shampoo and conditioner as well as including a little polaroid of my cat, Neko. Getting that was really heartwarming since I have been missing them all a lot and being able to see Neko and know they’re all still thinking about me brings me a lot of peace of mind.
In this approaching weeks though we have plans to go to the Air and Space Museum, maybe some Secret Door Museum, a dinner cruise, and honestly whatever I walk past that may look interesting. I’m extremely excited to write about that and show you all pictures.
Week 4
Now we have a pretty action-packed week here so buckle up for the ride along. This week we had our dinner cruise with AIP/SPS leadership while seeing a different side of DC. The cruise had amazing views, food, and conversations with people I’ve known from emails, but got the privilege to meet face-to-face. I particularly enjoyed talking with our CEO Michael Moloney and President Ronald Kumon about their work and past-times outside of work. Being able to discuss our passions and hobbies was extremely insightful and brought forth hours of great conversation.
Shown above (Left to Right): Michael Bo, me looking longingly in the distance, and Thomas Qian locked on getting a panorama image.
Shown above (Left to Right): Me, Thomas, Bo, Jack (Our primary sponsor), Ethan, Bailey
The day after the NIST tour was also one of our fellow interns’ birthdays! So, adding onto everything else from this week, we also celebrated Ethans 21st birthday. We explored the city a lot more that night and discovered some nice locations (as well as some extremely expensive ones). Then at the end of the evening, we got some of the most hog-ish slices of pizza I’ve seen in my entire life which was filling to say the least. 
The next day we went to the Smithsonian museum for National History, which was very interesting, and very crowded as well. We saw some very cool artifacts including the Hope Diamond, different skeletal structures, and I even got a picture with my little brother! 
Beyond these adventures, I have done a little bit of car-spotting, and I’ve seen some beautiful cars around here!
I hope you enjoyed reading about my week! This week may have been my favorite one thus far and I’m looking forward to what’s coming soon. Thank you for reading!
Week 5
Somehow every week here seems to be better than the last. This week has been full of adventures including, a comedy show, an AIP Board dinner in Baltimore, an orchestra trip with Jack, stopping by a pop-up shop for Washington Metro merch, as well as stopping by the African American History Museum.
Starting out with the comedy show, we unintentionally showed right when doors opened but the show was full of laughs and great comics. I needed a good bit of laughter and the show provided just that while not being too crude.
The day after the comedy club we attended the AIP Dinner for the Board of Directors which was absolutely phenomenal. We went to a restaurant called the Bygone in possibly the nicest hotel I’ve been to. While there, we ate dinner on the 29th floor while conversing with many AIP Board members and they all had very amazing stories and enlightening info and advice for future career planning. We discussed where we were from, specializations, travel, and the World Cup which were all amazing topics of conversation. The dinner was just yet another amazing thing as well as being able to have the opportunity to be there. They brought us a seafood tower, then I ordered a salad, filet mignon, and peanut butter bar and these foods were all like nothing I’ve ever tasted before.
On top of all of this, the downtown views of Baltimore and the surrounding area was truly a sight to see. (Pictures shown below)
Next up, some of us attended the Orchestra with Jack which was beautiful to attend. Listening to the music live is equivalent to listening to a whole story with all its highs and lows and it’s mesmerizing how much emotion sounds can convey.
Lastly, I went to a pop-up shop hosted by DC Metro and got some cool little merch including some magnets of train lines, and a blanket of the whole metro map. (They even gave us little trading cards for free too which was awesome). Then I went to the African American History museum after which was an eye-opening experience to say the least. We only were able to get through the first 3 levels in a few hours, but we plan to finish the museum late in week 6.
Beyond that, work has been going well, and I’ve been enjoying having lots of people to ask questions to and bounce ideas off of. I’m extremely excited for the next week because The 4th of July on the 250th birthday of the US in the capital will be an experience like no other. Stay tuned!
Week 6
Happy 250th Birthday to the United States of America! This week contained a couple of fun adventures (and the 4th of July of course) but let’s get right into it. First thing, we got a tour of the Neils Bohr Library and Archives (NBLA) from our fellow intern, Amelie, and her coworkers. I knew there was going to be history here, but I didn’t ever expect to be holding a book from the 1600’s in my hands.
We also saw many historically important documents including a letter from Einstein to Schrodinger, reports from the Manhattan Project, and an informative folder of photos from the Hiroshima disaster from the Japanese perspective. Honestly, this was some of the most intriguing historical content I’ve seen to date, and I’m very thankful I was invited to the Archives.
Next, we hosted another intern potluck, and this time I had to make sure I didn’t come empty handed because all I’ve brought for the last couple potlucks is sodas which is underwhelming of me. I knew what I planned to bring but the struggle came from sourcing ingredients. Considering the closest store is a Whole Foods and I’d rather not spend $100 on a $25 dish. Thankfully a few interns were more than willing to invest in my dish and had ingredients on standby and were willing to offer me some. (Thank you Faith, Maddie, and Sierra!) I also went out to source some Red Bull this day and stumbled upon a very clean soft-top 1983 Porsche 911 which was very exciting for me.
After returning back to the dorm, I started getting to baking my monkey bread. It’s been about half a year since I last made it but I’ve never had a bad batch (somehow). I was a bit disappointed that I accidentally didn’t get unsalted butter for the dish, but the dish was so sweet that it was a negligible difference. Now, for the monkey bread itself…
Moving to the 3rd of July, I didn’t do all too much besides watch a few flyovers from the B1 Lancer, B2 Spirit, F15’s, F22, and NASA F5s. These were great but the 100-degree heat was in fact not great at all. After maybe 25 minutes my phone was getting temperature warnings, and if my phone was getting warnings, so was my body. So, I decided to go back to the dorm and rest up in preparation for the 4th.
The 4th of July honestly started out very slow and anticlimactic, I slept in, watched YouTube, played some games with other interns. We basically just took it slow until the evening struck so we had energy for the 10:30 PM firework show. So, whenever the time approached, we walked to the Watergate Hotel Riverside for a good view, then the fireworks got delayed, then delayed again, and again. Eventually we went back to our dorms and were going to call it a night since it sounded like the severe weather would be taking over. Then a glimmer of hope struck, I sat down at my desk in my room and BOOM, I hear so much racket from airplanes, fireworks, and commotion outside, so I immediately had to go back out. Thankfully most people were still standing on the mall, and they closed off the road next to our dorms, so I was able to watch the whole 40-minute show from an empty road that overlooked the Lincoln Memorial. It was amazing and I don’t think that experience for the 4th could ever be topped.
Week 7
This week was probably the most anticlimactic week thus far. It was raining pretty often, and there weren’t really any extra activities planned so I didn’t do all too much besides work from my dorm, go to the gym and try to squeeze in occasional walks when weather permitted. I did make amazing progress on my work this week though and am now working in preparation for the final symposium. Besides that, I have worked on starting a new diet and being more consistent with the gym to ease into a healthier lifestyle. This next week I have a cousin coming in from Omaha which I’m excited for and many more activities planned before I leave DC so there will be much more to come. For now, here’s a picture I got on one of my walks around DC.
Week 8
As we now approach the end of the internship term, I’ve been working nonstop to ensure my project is left at a good stopping point and that my productivity doesn’t decline despite the intensity increasing. This week I had my cousin fly in, and we went to a couple museums, and we explored the city more in depth. The highlights for me are when we went to the Museum of American History and Arlington National Cemetery. The American History Museum had a very large variety of content within that was interesting to any age group or demographic, including a pop culture section that I found very fascinating. I was very surprised to see the hazmat suit worn by Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad there, but here I am with said suit.
After this, the other interns and I went to watch Macbeth live in the Shakespeare Theater here. It was a very artistic experience, and despite not fully grasping old English like I used to, it was still a moving play that really made you feel with the performers. The puppeteering, costume design, and the way they were able to tell so much with so little in props was extremely impressive to me.
Some of the interns after we left the play.
Next, my cousin and I went to Arlington National Cemetery since I have been told many times by one of my best friends I must see the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier. When we went, it was a cloudy and lightly raining day. We also arrived about an hour before closing so there were very little people roaming around. Walking past thousands of tombstones with no other people in sight and hearing nothing but the rain was very somber, but I still paid my respects to those who put their lives forth for the security and development of our country. Below are some of my favorite pictures I took while at the cemetery.
