Andrew Phipps, 2019 APS Education & Diversity Intern

Biography

SPS Chapter: Brigham Young University-Idaho

I am currently a junior at Brigham Young University-Idaho majoring in Physics with an emphasis in mathematics. Throughout my life I have had the opportunity to live in many places including Colorado, New Mexico, Washington, Iceland, Norway, and finally Idaho. Each of these places taught me how important family is. Moving around every 3-4 years brought me closer to my father in particular whose love of math and science was passed on to me through his teaching of and enthusiasm for physics. My passion grew and upon attending college I realized that the thrill of being challenged and discovering new things was a necessity in my life.

As I continued my education I found another passion in helping and teaching those around me, which had stemmed from the amazing teachers and examples I have had in my life. Because of this I applied to be a Teaching Assistant and joined SPS in order to make a bigger difference not only in my life, but in the lives of those around me. Not long after, I had the opportunity to attend a American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) conference in Texas with my supportive wife where my decision to teach became concrete.

In the future I plan to attend graduate School and become a professor. My hobbies include reading, going on walks or runs, traveling to new and exciting places, and socializing with others.

Internship

Host: American Physical Society

Project

Abstract

This summer the process of acquiring data from the federal database (IPEDS) was streamlined to make it easier for future interns and employees at APS to analyze and discuss where the Physics community stands in terms of diversity in academia. Updating the APS Education and Diversity statistics follows a strict set of instructions that presents data from a consistent source and filters out any inconsistencies. These instructions are based off of APS’ definition of Physics and the IPEDS database and take a considerable amount of time to sort through before APS proceeds to analyze it. This presentation will dive into the definition of Physics used by APS and the importance of what that data represents, as well as the effect it has on the physics/science community as a whole.

Final Presentation

Internship Blog

Down in Foggy Bottom

Week One -

Upon arriving in Washington D.C. I was struck by the heat. I am not used to walking outside and immediately having a wet shirt from the humidity. I can truly be thankful for technology and a thriving economy that provides air conditioning in the metro and in the apartment, I am stationed at. That being said, the heat could not strip me of my awe and wonder as I looked around the city and the thriving vegetation that is intermingled between man-made structures. All I could think was, “What a privilege it is to be an intern here”. I didn’t realize how true that statement was until every experience after solidified this passing thought into a personal truth.

To be honest, I was nervous. Nervous that I wouldn’t live up to the expectations of my mentor and other superiors/coworkers, and maybe those feelings still linger but to a much smaller degree than before. I found my mentor to be understanding, and quick to correct any misconceptions I had about the work given to me. I also found all the other interns to be supportive and willing to share in the experience we all signed up for. I am surrounded by friends with strong work ethics and by leaders who want to see me learn and develop.

My first task was understanding the work of previous interns and also in the task I would work on for the next week or two. This may seem like a small thing, but when in the situation I felt daunted. There were a few times when I read over the past intern’s instructions where I wanted to just shut my eyes and take a nap to rest my mind. Learning the process needed to acquire data from the national database that can then be analyzed and used in public graphs and statistical information was no walk in the park. I rose to my first challenge and succeeded in verifying the method I was using by taking old data and comparing it to published data from previous years. As I continued to learn, my excitement grew until I would get on metro with a broad grin on my face while sharing my excitement with those that traveled with me. The thrill of learning something new and the satisfaction of accomplishing a task has always motivated me to work harder.

Aside from the work that I am doing, I also am enjoying Washington D.C. and all of the wonders that it offers. I am excited to explore and better appreciate the history of the country I live in. My wife Sariah and I had the opportunity to visit the Lincoln Memorial and also a Memorial Day parade in town. Being from a small town/city, I was blown away by how many people there were. It brings high expectations and anticipation for the upcoming 4th of July. I plan on visiting more museums and institutions where I will no doubt be swept away in the vast stores of knowledge and the grandeur of the city.

To sum everything up, I don’t think I could be happier here. Time will tell, and I will surely experience many new things together with my beautiful wife and my good friends. I would like to thank APS for hosting me and providing an environment where I can thrive.

A Happy Commute

Week Two -

D.C. continues to amaze me, and not just the location. This whole experience has gotten better day by day. My coworkers and fellow interns have become friends and my work has become a constant source of excitement. This doesn’t mean that I only have fun at work though. I am constantly challenged, which can make it difficult to find the motivation to solve the problem I am currently facing. But the feeling of overcoming that challenge/problem makes it all worth it and helps me eagerly accept the next one. It is at the point where, once I solve a problem I have been struggling with, I can’t wait to tell my friends about how I solved the problem! For example, I was looking at the code I had written and wondering why it wasn’t giving me the right answers. After a lot of thought, and with a lot of help from google, I found that a list I had been trying to copy needed to be “deep copied”. This was something new for me to share and even though it may have been just a simple error, finding and fixing it felt more than satisfying.

I am grateful to have such supporting people surrounding me day by day. As of right now I am in the process of creating a python code that takes in multiple data files (the ones I struggled learning how to download last week) and exports one giant organized file containing all the data from the inserted files (and more). It is at the point where I have to force myself to leave my laptop at work otherwise, I may spend too much time working on this fun project and not enough time relaxing and spending time with my wife! Thankfully, Sariah is very supportive and always asks me how my day was and helps me through any frustrations I may have had.

Speaking of frustrations, the commute to work every day is an hour. To me, this is the longest daily commute I have had to make, and it sucks up time I could have spent elsewhere. Interestingly enough, I look forward to the morning and afternoon commutes as it serves as a not only a physical barrier, but also a mental barrier that separates work from relaxation. This never dampens my spirits and I look forward to the time I get to spend talking to my fellow commuters/interns about how their days have been and about what problems they are in the midst of solving. Upon arriving home, I spend as much time with Sariah as possible, but also enjoy attending game/food nights that the others graciously host for everyone. Time with Sariah includes our fun date nights! Every Friday night we decide to do something fun together, and it is one of my favorite nights of the week! So far, we have had dinner date nights and movie date nights as well as quite a few walks together. I love the chance we get to explore our relationship and form closer bonds as well as have fun with the entertainment opportunities around us.

We also had the chance to go back and visit the air and space museum for the second time since we have been here, visit the Smithsonian with Sariah’s aunt, and also see the pride parade in town! There is always something going on in the city so if you are reading this and have any recommendations, please share them! Of all the experiences I had this last week, I would say that my favorite would have to be the Intern game night that we had. It was an opportunity to get to know each other and make plans for the next few weeks as we excitedly move from one day to the next on our internships.

Checkpoints and Data-points

Week Three -

Over the past week, I have reached a major milestone in my work. A large part of what I am doing has to do with combining all the data from 1996 to 2018 about education and diversity. When this is done, others will be able to easily create new graphs and better understand where their university/Institution is compared to the rest of the Institutions in the USA. With that as a major goal to accomplish, this week I have succeeded in combining all the data from 2013-2017 from all bachelors, masters, and PhDs in physics. This is around 4 million data points combined into one easy to read file. From this starting point, I can now do some of my own analysis and continue to build this file up with more useful data. With that as the main accomplishment of the week, I am excited to continue my work and fulfill my other responsibilities as well such as documentation and analysis of the data collected. Now that my mentor has returned, I expect to accomplish more in the time given to me.

With that being said, I also had a wonderful week with Sariah and all the other Interns here. To name a few of the activities we participated in, we attended an orchestral concert which was a relaxing and amazing performance. We joined a one-night cruise on ‘The Odyssey’ which had amazing food, fun music to dance to, and company to enjoy the scenic views and night with. We also had a karaoke night which ended up bringing those of us that went closer together and provided an interesting take on the music we all enjoy. And to top it off, Sariah and I finished a tv show we had been watching, as well as a watermelon we had boughten a week prior.

It is surprising to realize that we are almost halfway done with our internships, and yet it feels like we just started. I am grateful for such strong-willed co-workers and friends as we enjoy the time here in DC together.

Sariah and I are making plans to visit New York this weekend to explore one of Americas tourist traps, as well as to spend some time with her family there. If you have any recommendations, tips/advice, or fun stories to share about New York let us know! We want to make the most of the time that we have to spend there. We will be leaving this Friday by bus (if everything works out) and will return that Sunday. Sadly, this means we can’t do everything there is to do there, but it is enough to enjoy the major things, and hit up a few places for some delicious food (for example some New York Pizza?)

In closing for the week, I am grateful for the challenges that this internship has put in front of me, as well as for the other interns and friends that are helping me learn and grow. I recommend this internship also for the supportive faculty and members of SPS that want to see us develop into being the best we can be.

New York, NEW YORK!!

Week - Four

This last week has been sooooo busy. I finished another draft of the spreadsheet I am working on and am now in the middle of going through all the data looking for discrepancies that may taint the results we want. For the next week I plan on finishing these data checks and then do more analysis on the raw data so that we can learn more about each institution based off of the degrees they have given in the last decade and a half.

With work being a blast, I couldn’t let my day to day live get less exciting, so Sariah and I decided to go to New York over the weekend. Since this would mean leaving early on Friday, we decided to have date night on Wednesday. We went to a recommended place called ‘Medium Rare’ that turned out to be pretty good. Mostly, I think Sariah was a fan of the GIANT piece of chocolate cake that came with our meal.

And before we realized it, the week had come to an end. We left Friday around noon and arrived in New York city, ‘The Big Apple’. It was an incredible experience standing in a city with so much history and with so much energy. We made our way to the trains and then stayed with Sariah’s family for a few days enjoying their company while visiting the sights of New York where we could. We plan on returning before this internship is over.

The only downside of all the fun we’ve been having would be the travel. We arrived back in DC around 4:30am exhausted after not getting any sleep. Thankfully this is a small price to pay when given the opportunities that we are.

Overall, life is great! Now the next challenge is finding a place to obtain more quarters for laundry since the machines are greedy pigs. But I can now say I’ve been to New York, NEW YORK!! (box checked).

- Andrew Phipps

Finishing a SpreadSheet

Week - Five

This last week has flown by!! (kind of like all the others...) It makes me think back and wonder what actually happened?!?! Well, workwise I completed the spreadsheet I have been working on for the last 5 weeks, which allows me to move on to more projects! This means that I will finally start updating the graphs online and creating more code to streamline the process for future interns and/or employees. This will thankfully be easy thanks to the spreadsheet that has already been completed.

Aside from working every day, Sariah and I also had a ton of fun this week! During the work week we relax and try to rest before the next work day. That means that Friday and Saturday are our big days to do things! So, our Friday night tradition of date night brought us to a fun Japanese restaurant where you grilled the meat that they brought out to you! It was super fun and afterwards we talked by a fountain while taking in the city at night. (next time we are going to walk the national mall at night). Then Saturday came and we decided to visit the spy museum! Even though it wasn’t free, it was absolutely worth it. We walked through the two floors that were absolutely COVERED in amazing activities and facts/videos about spies and the intelligence network. We spent about 4-5 hours looking at all of the exhibits and participating in the fun games such as holding onto a wide pipe for as long as you could without letting go, climbing though air ducts without being caught, trust games where if you are betrayed they shock you, and so many more! Afterwards we went to a burger and shake place (BTS) before calling it a day and returning home to watch/finish our current TV shows.

Altogether, this week didn’t feel as long as it should have. Time flies when you are having fun though and I am having fun at home and at work. Once again I am so grateful for the opportunity presented for Sariah and I to be here with all of these fantastic people.

First in my heart but the Fourth in July...

Week - Six

What an incredible week (that went by too fast). I didn’t get to do as much work as before, but that is because we had Thursday and Friday off! Celebrating the Fourth of July is one of my favorite holiday traditions especially because we get to see fireworks! But more about that later. This week’s work was downloading data from IPEDS and also updating information on computer science to the APS statistics webpage! Turns out that there are many things needed and also missing. So, the next weeks work includes filling in missing information so that that data can be published. I am also completing a code that will automate the addition of following years for future interns.

But work aside, the main part of the week was the 4^th!! Celebrating the Fourth of July in Washington DC, our nation’s capital, was a truly amazing experience. The city was alive with patriotism and energy! There were celebrations and protests and passion all around. Sariah and I started the day at an intern lunch which consisted of burgers and mac n’ cheese (two of Americas most popular meals). After this we played card games and then migrated to the capital building where we waited to watch the concert that was going on later that night, as well as the fireworks that would follow the show. While waiting we actually had to evacuate due to severe weather warnings, but we returned after an hour or two and enjoyed every minute of the performances. It is a moment I will never forget and hope to see more of. It reminded me of the moments in summers past where my family would have our own fireworks show and it made me smile. Sariah and I also made homemade burgers (yes again) for dinner and they were amazing! Sariah and I were most excited about seeing Lindsey Stirling and Keala Settle live! We then went home (on the crowded metro) and proceeded to watch ‘The Greatest Showman’ since we loved the live song so much.

The next few days were a blur where we spent our free time relaxing. But we did go on a ‘cupcake run’ where after getting our cupcakes the weather decided to turn more than sour on us. We ended up getting home drenched from head to toe with slightly soggy cupcakes and wet phones (Sariah’s is still recovering). But we were laughing the whole time and it added to our sweet memories here in DC together. On a side note, Sariah also introduced me to a show called ‘Stranger Things’ and I must admit that it is addicting. Apparently the 3^rd season came out on the 4^th! Needless to say, we have been watching that every night.

Overall, I am still loving DC and the work I am doing. It is amazing and interesting to work with data concerning minorities in Physics from 1995-2017. (Still waiting for IPEDS to come out with 2018 data “officially”)

Tours, tours, tours

Week – Seven

Tours, tours, tours!! This last week we visited the Capitol and NASA! This did cut into work, but we got to experience some amazing places and talk to interesting people about interesting things! Overall, I am working on the same project, but getting to see where our nation changes was truly an honor, especially since I didn’t have to pay!

Starting Monday, I started creating the code that will do everything I have been working on this summer in under a minute. This will save the next intern and my mentor a lot of time when trying to get the next years data from the IPEDS website organized. Then Tuesday was the Capitol, where Gia set the bar high for the tours, we would be attending this summer. We met with Bill Foster, a PhD holding congressman as well! I am always blown away by how passionate people can be in their fields of study. Then Wednesday was more coding and problem solving, until Thursday came! We checked in at the gate and then attended a “fair” of sorts where NASA employees came to speak on their projects! I was fascinated by the diversity and focus that each group had, as well as overwhelmed by how much NASA is doing to monitor world conditions as they change. Sariah and I also got to speak to some people working on projects that we see ourselves working on one day, especially in Sariah’s case since we met the people working on front line gravitational wave research.

After the NASA tour we walked in the pouring rain (with umbrellas this time) to the APS building where we had an indoor picnic and game night. It was a great time to wind down and just socialize with other interns and coworkers. Friday came around and before we knew it the week was just about up! I finished Stranger things season three and, I must say, it was amazing despite what I had heard from my colleagues.

On Saturday Sariah and I took a day to relax and recover from feeling unpleasant in the morning. And then on Sunday we attended church and then went on a trip to the National Arboretum where we appreciated the collection of nature and art that had been gathered there. It was very peaceful and worth an hour or two you have time to kill and want to relax.

And then it was back to Monday which I will report about next week! Time is coming to a close, but I am so excited to go home. Mixed with an appreciation of the city I can’t say how I am going to feel when the day comes to pack back up and go.