My name is Will Barnett and I am a senior physics major with a concentration in astrophysics. I have spent this summer of 2019 performing research as a part of
the URSP program. The focus of my research has been the development of a program
that can automatically detect large ejections from the Sunusing images from a telescope that can see up to
a distance of 30 solar radii. The detections are marked on the processed images and are then
uploaded online.
This project was my first experience conducting research, and I have to say that it was much less intimidating than I expected. The other people in the Space
Weather Lab, where I did my research, are very friendly and relaxed. This calm and supportive
environment was perfect for my research, as I spent my time programming and would frequently ask for assistance
from those around me. My mentor, Dr. Jie Zhang, was certainly extremely helpful in
this way. Several times throughout the summer I would be stuck after working on the same issue for a week, but after just a few hours of Dr. Zhang’s assistance I would be able to move on to the next step in the process of
my research.
My experience conducting research this summer has been incredibly beneficial to me. The freedom and opportunities to thrive that were provided to me during this project has shown me what I want
out of a future career. I desire an occupation that allows
me to pursue solutions to problems with a large amount of freedom during the problem-solving process. I strongly commend George Mason University and OSCAR for this fantastic program that has helped introduce me to
the professional world. I very much hope that the rest of my career contains many more experiences like this.
