Thomas Qian, 2026 USGS Research Intern

Biography

SPS Chapter: University of Rochester
Thomas Qian is an undergraduate student at the University of Rochester majoring in Physics and Applied Mathematics. His research interests are in astrophysics and spectroscopy, and more broadly in finding order from disorder. Beyond physics, his favourite subject is History, especially ancient Chinese history. Outside of academics, Thomas enjoys stargazing, cycling, badminton, reading science fiction, and Pokémon. His favorite soccer club is Manchester United.

Internship

Host: United State Geological Survey

Internship Blog

Week 1

The first week of my SPS internship was more like an adjustment week. I was not doing a lot of project work yet, but I was learning many basic things that I will need for the rest of the summer. I needed to get used to DC, the commute, the program schedule, and also the way people work in a professional environment.

One thing I learned very quickly is that transportation is a big part of living in DC. The Metro will probably be my main way to travel this summer. At first, it was a little confusing for me. The trains have different colors, but the direction also depends on the final stop, so I cannot only look at the color. I need to check where the train is going. Then seems everything solved.

I also got in touch with my mentor. We have already set up the time and place to meet. That made me feel more prepared, because now I have a clearer idea of how I will start. I also began reading some background papers for my project. I am still at the beginning, so I do not understand everything yet, but the readings help me know the general direction of the work. I think it will also help me ask better questions when I meet with my mentor.

For the next few weeks, I hope to move from getting used to everything to actually starting the work. I want to build a more stable routine, become more comfortable with commuting, and keep reading papers carefully. My goal is to not only finish the tasks I am given but also enjoy life in DC.

Week 2 Start Working!

This week was my second week in the SPS internship, and I feel like this was the week when I really started working. The first week was mostly about getting used to the program and the city. This week, I began to spend more time in the lab and learned some hands-on things.

One thing I was very happy to learn was how to use PMMA to make small pucks for rock samples. They look a little like small tablets, and the process is more careful than I first thought. Before doing it, I only had a general idea of “sample preparation.” But after trying it myself, I realized that this step is already part of the measurement. If the sample is not prepared well, the data later may not be good either. I also learned how to polish the samples. Polishing sounds simple, but it actually needs patience. Luckly, I got help from Jay, the lab manager.

This week I also learned how to use diamond-ATR and Ge-ATR to measure the spectra of samples. I learned about cleaning the instrument parts, taking background measurements, placing the sample, and saving the data. I am still not very fast, and I still need more practice, but I feel I understand the basic workflow much better than before. It was also nice to see the spectrum appear on the screen, because it made the connection between the sample and the data feel more direct.

I also learned more about QMS, the Quality Management System. Before this week, I thought quality control was mostly paperwork. But now I feel it is actually a very important part of lab work. It helps make sure that the result is not just something we got once, but something that is traceable and reliable. For example, we need to record what sample we measured, when we measured it, where the data is saved, and whether the instrument was working correctly.

This is a little different from some school lab experiences I had before. In school, I usually focused more on finishing the experiment and writing the report. Here, I learned that the process itself is just as important as the result. Good data depends on many small steps: preparing the sample, polishing it, following the SOP, checking the instrument, and keeping records.

For next week, I hope I can become more comfortable with the whole process. I want to practice sample preparation and polishing more, and I also want to get more familiar with diamond-ATR and Ge-ATR measurements. I still have a lot to learn, but I am glad that I have started doing real work in the lab. I am looking forward to becoming more independent step by step.

Week 3: Collecting Data and Learning Igor

This week, I started learning how to use Igor. This is the software I will use for the data analysis later. Right now, I am still learning some basic functions and trying to understand how the data should be organized. I have not started the main analysis yet, but I think I will begin very soon.

Before starting the analysis, I still need to collect enough data. Because of this, I spent a lot of time this week using the diamond-ATR and Ge-ATR to measure different samples. The work was a little repetitive, but it also helped me become more familiar with the instruments. Compared with last week, I now feel more comfortable with the whole process, including cleaning the instrument, collecting the background, measuring the sample, and saving the data.

I still need to be very careful when using the Ge-ATR because the objective is quite delicate. I also need to make sure the sample is in a good position and has good contact before starting the measurement. After doing many measurements, I started to understand more about which places on the sample can give a better spectrum.

This week, I also attended the monthly USGS meeting. It was my first time joining a larger meeting with people from different groups. During the meeting, people shared their recent work and talked about some new plans and ideas. I could not understand every detail, but it was still interesting to listen to their discussions and learn more about the work happening in USGS.

I really like the working atmosphere here. It is relaxed and friendly, but people are also serious about their work. There are many discussions, and people are happy to answer questions or explain something when I do not understand. I feel that everyone is open to learning from each other. This makes me feel more comfortable, especially because I am still new and have many things to learn.

For next week, I hope I can finish collecting the data I need and start the data analysis in Igor. I want to learn how to compare different spectra and understand what information I can get from them. I am looking forward to seeing what the data shows.

Week 4: Finish Data Collection

This week, I still spent most of my time collecting data. After working with the diamond-ATR and Ge-ATR for the past few weeks, I finally finished all the data collection for my project. I am happy to finish this part, because it took a lot of time and many repeated measurements.

Compared with the beginning of the internship, I am now much more familiar with the instruments. At first, I needed to check almost every step carefully. Now I can do most of the process more smoothly, including cleaning the equipment, taking the background, measuring the sample, and saving the data. Of course, I still need to be careful, especially when using the Ge-ATR.

Starting next week, I will move to the next part of the project. I need to begin analyzing the data and writing the report. I have already learned some basic functions in Igor, so the next step is to use it with all the spectra I collected. I am curious about what patterns I can find from the data and whether the results will match what we expected.

Besides the lab work, the two most exciting activities this week were the dinner cruise and the NIST visit.

During the dinner cruise, I had the chance to meet and talk with many experienced people. I was very happy to do some networking with them and hear about their work and career experiences. The atmosphere was quite relaxed, so it was easier to start conversations and ask questions. I think this was a very good opportunity for me, because normally I would not have the chance to meet so many professionals in one place.

The NIST visit was also very meaningful to me. Before this visit, I usually thought that physics students would mainly go into academia, research, or industry. During the visit, I learned that physics students can also try positions on the policy side. A physics background can be useful when people need to understand technical topics and make decisions related to science and technology. This gave me another direction to think about for my future.

I also saw Newton’s apple tree during the NIST visit. I have heard the story of Newton and the apple since I was very young, so it was interesting to see the tree in person. It was a small part of the visit, but I really liked it.

Overall, this week was the end of the data collection part of my project. Next week, I will begin the data analysis and report writing. I am looking forward to seeing what I can learn from the results.

Week 5: Rest and Social
This week was more about taking a break and meeting people. I still worked on some data analysis, but compared with the past few weeks, I had more time to join activities outside the lab.

One of the best parts of this week was the dinner with AIP leadership. I was very happy to have the chance to talk with many people who have worked in physics and science for a long time. For me, they are people who have already walked very far on this path, so it was special to sit with them and listen to their stories.

They talked about their work, their lives, and some choices they made during their careers. I learned a lot from these conversations. Some of their career paths were not as direct as I expected. They also had times when they were not sure what to do next, or when their plans changed. This made me feel that it is normal to not have everything decided at the beginning.

The dinner also made me understand networking in a different way. Before, I thought networking was more like introducing yourself, talking about your experience, and adding people on LinkedIn. But this time, it felt more natural. It was just talking with people, listening to their stories, and asking questions that I was really interested in. I found that a good conversation can help me learn much more about a person and their work.

I also went to a concert this week. It reminded me of my time in Rochester. Music was an important part of my life there, so sitting in a concert hall again brought back many memories.

The concert included music by Shostakovich. His music is sometimes heavy and serious, but I feel it also gives people strength. There is a lot of pressure and emotion in the music, but it does not make me feel weak. Instead, it feels like the music is pushing people to continue.

I think this week was a good break for me. After spending several weeks collecting and looking at data, it was nice to step away from the lab for a while. Talking with people and listening to music also gave me some new energy. Next week, I will continue the data analysis and work more on my report.

Week 6: Data analysis
This week, I mainly worked on the data analysis for the diamond-ATR and Ge-ATR results. After spending the past few weeks collecting spectra, I finally started to look at the data more carefully. It feels like the project has moved from “getting data” to “understanding data.”

A big part of this week was trying to do peak fitting. Before I actually started doing it, I thought it would be a more direct process. I thought I just needed to find the peaks and fit them. But after working with the spectra for a while, I realized that there are many choices to make, and these choices can affect the final result.

One problem I met was choosing the baseline. Sometimes the baseline is not very clear, and different choices can change the shape and size of the peaks. At first, I thought this was only a small technical detail, but now I feel it is actually very important. If the baseline is not chosen carefully, the fitting result may look good but not really make sense.

Another problem is how to deal with small peaks. Some peaks are weak and not very obvious. It is hard to decide whether they are real signals or just noise. If I ignore them, I may miss something useful. But if I include too many of them, the fitting can also become messy. This made me realize that data analysis is not just clicking buttons in the software. It also needs judgment.

I also noticed that the diamond-ATR and Ge-ATR spectra do not always behave in the same way. Some parts are clearer in one method, while other parts may be easier to compare in the other. So I need to look at them carefully and not treat all spectra in exactly the same way.

This week was not as hands-on as sample preparation or instrument work, but it still felt challenging. The difficult part is that there is not always one obvious answer. I need to make choices, check if they are reasonable, and then explain why I made them.

Next, I will continue working on the peak fitting and try to make the analysis more consistent. I also need to start organizing the results for the final report.

Finally, I hope everyone has a happy holiday!

Week 7:
This week, I continued working on the data analysis of the spectra. After spending more time with the data, I started to realize that analyzing spectra is not always easy. Sometimes the hardest part is not collecting the data, but understanding the small details inside the data.

One challenge I met this week was dealing with very weak signals. Sometimes the peaks are very small, and the difference between a real signal and noise is not obvious. In these situations, it is difficult to decide whether a small peak should be included in the analysis or not. Even small changes in the baseline or fitting parameters can affect the final result.

I also found that the baseline selection can be a difficult part of peak fitting. There is not always one clear choice for the baseline, especially when the signal is weak. Different baselines can change the fitting results, so I need to compare different approaches and think carefully about which one makes more physical sense.

Another thing I learned this week is that the measurement environment can also affect the spectra. For example, water molecules in the environment can sometimes create extra signals and add noise to the spectrum. When the sample signal is already weak, these small effects can make the analysis even more challenging.

Although these problems made the data analysis slower, they also helped me understand the process better. Before this project, I thought data analysis was mainly about using software to get results. Now I realize that a big part of analysis is making reasonable decisions and understanding where the data comes from.

Next week, I will continue working on the peak fitting and try to improve the consistency of the analysis. I hope I can better separate useful information from noise and prepare more reliable results for my final report.

Week 8: Crazy Samples
This week, I spent most of my time working on data analysis. After finishing the data collection, I started going through all the spectra and trying to understand the differences between different samples.

During the analysis, I found some very interesting samples. I called them “crazy samples” because their spectra looked very different from what I expected. Normally, the data should show a wave-like pattern, but for some of these samples, part of the spectrum became almost a straight line.

When I first saw these results, I was a little confused. I checked the data several times because I was not sure whether this was a real feature of the sample or if something happened during the measurement process. It also made me think more about the possible reasons behind the data instead of just looking at the final result.

Before this internship, most of the data I worked with was relatively clean. Usually, there was a clear trend, and the main task was to analyze the result. But working with real experimental data is different. Sometimes the data does not look perfect, and the difficult part is figuring out why it happens.

This week also reminded me that data analysis is not only about using software or applying fitting methods. Before trusting the result, I need to understand whether the data makes physical sense. Sometimes an unexpected result can also provide useful information and help us learn more about the sample or the measurement process.

Although these unusual samples made my work more challenging, they also made the analysis more interesting. I think learning how to deal with unexpected situations is an important part of doing research.

Next week, I will continue analyzing the data and spend more time looking into these special cases. I hope I can find possible explanations for these unusual patterns and make the final results more reliable.

Week 9: Visit Air Space Museum

This week was a little different from my previous weeks. Besides working on my project, I visited the Air and Space Museum. It was a very interesting experience, and it gave me a chance to step away from the lab and think about science from a different perspective.

The part that impressed me the most was the Apollo Moon Program. Seeing the spacecraft and related equipment in person was very exciting. The Apollo program was not only a scientific achievement, but also a huge engineering challenge. It represented a very ambitious goal: sending humans to the Moon and bringing them back safely.

While walking through the museum, I kept thinking about how people achieved these things at that time. They did not have the advanced computers, materials, or technologies that we have today. However, they were still able to solve extremely difficult problems and create something that seemed almost impossible. It was hard to imagine how much effort, creativity, and teamwork were behind these projects.

This visit also reminded me why I became interested in physics. Physics is not only about learning theories or solving equations. It can become something real when people combine knowledge with engineering and creativity. Many of the things in the museum started as ideas, but through the work of many scientists and engineers, they became real.

Overall, the visit was a very meaningful experience for me. It made me feel more connected to the history of science and gave me more motivation to continue learning physics. Although my current project is much smaller compared with these huge achievements, I hope I can keep improving my skills and contribute something meaningful in my own way.

With one nice X-wing. May 4^th be with you.

Week 10: The Final Week
This week was the last week of my SPS internship. Most of my time was spent finishing the final report, organizing all the data, and preparing for the final presentation.
When I started putting everything together, I realized how much work I had done during the summer. At the beginning, I was still learning how to prepare samples and use the diamond-ATR and Ge-ATR. Later, I spent many weeks collecting spectra, doing peak fitting, and trying to understand some strange results. Organizing the data again helped me see the whole project more clearly.
Writing the final report was not very easy because I needed to explain the methods, results, and problems in a clear way. I also needed to decide which results were the most important. Preparing the presentation was similar. There was a lot of information, but I only had limited time, so I could not include every detail. I tried to focus more on the main trends and what I learned from the project.
The final presentation was a little stressful, but I was also happy to finally share my work with other people. After working on the same project for the whole summer, it felt good to explain what I had done and show the final results.
One very unexpected part of this week was that I had the chance to meet a Nobel Prize winner. I really did not expect this before coming to the program. It was exciting to meet someone who had made such an important contribution to physics. This was definitely one of the most memorable moments of the summer.
I am very thankful to AIP and USGS, especially Paul, for giving me this opportunity. During these ten weeks, I learned many lab and data analysis skills, but I also met many interesting people and learned more about different careers in physics. This internship gave me experiences that I could not get only from classes.
Although the internship is now finished, I think what I learned this summer will continue to help me in my future study and research. I am very grateful to everyone who supported me during this experience.

Come back soon!