Ethan Nowery NIST 2024 Journal

Author: Ethan Nowery, Email: nowery@unlv.nevada.edu
Date Last Modified: 06/13/2024

I met many different people out here so far. We just got done eating dinner and one of the interns just randomly said “hey take a picture” and this was the result. I thought it was a candid and good picture. The weather has been really nice while out here and I have been lucky enough to get away from the excessive heat warnings in Vegas.

A new intern that I met this week is Preston (pictured on the very right). He came out to dinner with us and we all had a great time. He is a part of the IT lab.

Coming to the East Coast, I have always heard that there would be a 'culture shock' or an adjustment period from the West Coast. I am pleasantly shocked to realize that there was no such change in culture that I have witnessed. The weather has been extremely nice, everyone has been really friendly, and most of the same stores are here as well. There is a huge diversity of people.

I learned that I am an adaptable person. Since being here, I have easily adapted and adjusted my schedule to incorporate my temporary lifestyle, including a set regiment with waking up, meal prepping, and working out. Not only that, but I have been able to make friends very easily and adapted to a new work environment seemlessly.

This week has been spent adapting prior drone testing apparatuses to accommodate thermal and pyrotechnical aspects for the upcoming Wildfire XPRIZE Competition in Australia in 2026. This included changing some of the apparatus parts from plastic to metal. As well as incorporating heat lamps and small dishes to light on fire that will count as the visual and alignment acuity tests for the drones.