Logan Skurdal’s DRAM Product Engineering Internship with Micron Technology

Over the past two summers I have had the privilege of interning at Micron Technology, a world leader in innovative memory solutions, in my home town Boise, Idaho. Let’s just say there is a reason I went back a second time – working there is awesome!

During my internship I was a DRAM Product Engineer working on designing test programs and gathering component-level data to detect errors and debug DRAM modules. The techniques and application of many design tactics and programming practices that I have learned over my first three years at Embry-Riddle helped me immensely during this time. For example, my knowledge of circuit theory from my Linear Circuits course and lab directly translated to a quick understanding of a DRAM module and what to look for when one of the modules wasn’t passing tests. In addition, my classes in coding (such as C and MATLAB) helped me quickly pick up Python, the language I used over the summer to develop and contribute to programs already being used throughout the department.

Picture of myself (middle), my supervisor (left), and mentor (right) down in our lab.

Work at Micron was also made much easier by the great group of people I was surrounded by each day. Over a simple 3 month period (6 months including last internship) I met multiple people who I still keep in contact with today and genuinely treasure as some of my good friends. A couple of times a month we would all get together and play board games and simply have a great time. Along with getting to work on some great and emerging technology, these connections with my coworkers are a reason why I highly recommend Micron as a place for anybody to work at and/or get an internship for a fantastic summer!

Jumping in to an internship can be a scary experience. However, I can honestly say I was well prepared through the help of my coursework from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. I am look forwarding to learning as much as I can my last year here at ERAU so I can be the best engineer possible!

Picture of all the interns at Micron for summer 2018

#ERAUColton Dives Into the Spring Semester!

https://vimeo.com/252351093

Want to know what life is like on campus and in Prescott from a student’s perspective? Join Aeronautical Engineering (AE) student Colton Campbell every Tuesday as he takes us through his spring semester! You can also follow his adventures at #ERAUColton

Forensic Biology Student Internship at Prescott Animal Hospital

As an undergraduate student, finding internships in the medical field can be tough; most medical facilities are unable to grant undergraduate students an internship because they already have contracts with medical schools. Knowing this, I approached my biology professor, Dr. Eaton, to see if she had any creative ideas for an internship. I was pleased to hear that she had several and the one that popped out to me most was an internship at an animal hospital. Before I knew it, I was sitting in the office of the office manager at Prescott Animal Hospital discussing internship timelines and objectives.

My Embry-Riddle Forensic Biology internship at the Prescott Animal Hospital

The way we decided to design my internship experience was to start with simpler tasks and work my way up. This gave me ample opportunity to get to know the hospital and to really get the most out of my experience. I spent time in patient rooms, lab, radiology, dental, and finally worked my way up to the surgical suite.

Each area was exciting for me and I learned something new every day– whether it was something medical or about the equipment or myself or individual patients. Although I enjoyed each aspect of my internship, my favorite part was the surgical suite. Dr. Skinner was the surgeon I followed almost exclusively and he made the surgical experience exciting and loaded with information to learn. Dr. Skinner took the time to explain each task he performed whether it was which suture he used or the direction in which he cut the surgical site. I couldn’t be more thankful for the time I spent in surgery with Dr. Skinner; he was a wealth of information and experience. One of my favorite parts of surgery was that even when everything was planned and carefully thought out, if the body (after being opened up) showed that it required a different plan of action Dr. Skinner and his colleagues were able to assess the situation and revise any techniques. This took constant vigilance and it was amazing to see the gears in the doctors’ head turning in order to figure out a solution.

After the summer of working at the animal hospital and confirming my love for surgical medicine, I was thankful for all the experiences ERAU gave me to prepare me for my time at the hospital. Because of the classes I took at Riddle, I was able to be a part of the conversation and understand the terminology being used. I am so grateful for all I learned and hope other students are able to experience something so wonderful as my time spent at Prescott Animal Hospital!

My Internship at the Endophyte Service Lab at Oregon State University

My summer at the Endophyte Service Lab at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon has been an enlightening and very knowledgeable experience. This opportunity has provided me with the experience to greatly increase my knowledge and understanding of skills in the areas of chemistry, toxicology, and teamwork, as well as closely relate to my future aspirations of becoming a forensic biologist.

Working with these professionals as well as other students who have common interests with me in achieving their goals has been extremely knowledgeable and eye-opening as to what my future career entails. I have learned many helpful lab skills and techniques that would relate to an actual forensic analyst’s career as well as how to use machines such as Mass Spectrometry and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography and Fluorescence, as well as extraction techniques and finally how to analyze the data they generate.

My job was to perform extractions of lolitrem B, ergovaline, and ergotamine mycotoxins from various grasses used for feeding livestock. The process for one extraction typically took about 3 hours and involved a lot of micropipetting, centrifugation, and drying of solvents on an N-Vap instrument. Measurements had to be extremely precise to obtain accurate results since it was on a microliter level. One tiny little air bubble could ruin the rest of the process and generate inaccurate results!

If it weren’t for the practice and knowledge I obtained from my courses at Embry-Riddle, such as Foundations of Biology 1 and 2, General Chemistry 1 and 2, Organic Chemistry 1 and 2, Microbiology, and Genetics, I would have never been prepared for the massive amounts of micropipetting I had to perform as well as any of the terminology or basic skills needed to achieve good results at my job. My courses gave me the confidence to be successful at the Endophyte Service Lab, and my experience in the lab gave me the confidence and knowledge to further pursue a forensic biology degree.

Advice for our Newcomers in 2016!!!

 

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Hey there everyone it’s that time of year again where we welcome our new freshman!! Being a freshman in college can be an uncertain time for those moving far from home so a few upperclassman have contributed to provide our newcomers with some great advice.

From Shelly (Senior) –The major question that freshman always ask me is what they should bring to college. Here is a list of the stuff that I found pretty useful:

  1. Printer
  2. Computer
  3. Earplugs or noise canceling headphones (trust me these are a necessity!!)
  4. A car 🙂
  5. 3 Flash drives (you will probably loose or break one so having back ups is key)
  6. Sturdy Back pack
  7. A few plates, cups, one pot, one pan, and one set of silverware
  8. Pictures of the family
  9. A rain coat and an all weather coat for when it snows
  10. A good pair of boots that can handle rain or snow
  11. Lots of sweaters!!!! (the weather can be crazy cold during the winter)

From Bryan (Junior) — People always ask me what they should get involved in as a freshman so they can make a lot of friends. What I did was join a fraternity, so far its been pretty sweet and I really enjoy it. The fraternity gives me chances to help in the community and connect to other fraternity members in the US. The connections have really helped especially as I am starting to look for jobs and internships. Oh and, getting a job on campus helps a lot too.

It’s me again! I hope that this advice from some of our other upperclassman has helped, please feel free to ask any questions I’m sure I can find someone to answer them for you!!! Thanks for reading 🙂

Confessions of a Sophomore & Getting Married

This is the tale of my Sophomore year; surviving the gauntlet, working off-campus, and… getting married! In this vlog, I (Colton Campbell) take you through the lessons I learned my sophomore year and share some of the footage I captured during Fall of 2015 and Spring of 2016. Enjoy, and as always feel free to leave comments and suggestions!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjztHKmPWuw&feature=youtu.be

 

And here is a few pics of my beautiful bride, Madeline (: We don’t have the photographer’s photos yet but Maddie’s sister snapped these during the wedding.

Photo May 21, 11 59 10 PM Photo May 22, 12 09 30 AM

Stay tuned this summer for more video blogs! If you’d also like to see more photo blogs, let me know in the comments below!

Explore Sedona – The Weekend Getaway

Sedona, one of the most iconic cities in Arizona, lies just 1.5 hours north of Prescott. With it’s towering red rock formations, hundreds of miles of hiking trails, and bustling village Sedona is the perfect weekend getaway or day trip for Embry Riddle students. Check out the video below as Colton show’s off some of Sedona’s beauty!

https://youtu.be/NXgFORv2w7U

Top 4 Reasons Why I Love Being a Student and You Will Too!

We are back, campus is bustling, and classes are in session. Over break, I was able to enjoy time with my friends and family while enjoying the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. But there was always a little part of me that wanted to come back to Northern Arizona and school. For at least the next four years, my job is to be a student and I rather enjoy it. Don’t get me wrong school is hard and stressful, but it is filled with opportunities and lessons that apply to my future.

Seattle Waterfront

Because of this, I am listing my top four reasons I love being a college student:
1. This is the only time in your life you are able to be selfish with your time. You get to decide what you want to do and when you want to do it. I do not have to focus on paying bills, working full time, or many other things. My one priority is school, and I put the distractions in my life there not somebody else.
2. Everything you learn will help you in your future. High school seemed like it was filled with busy work and lessons that would not apply in the future. But now I get to study what I like. My US legal systems teacher is formatting the class to the student’s interests and careers that they would like when they graduate. He is doing this to ensure success and that we are prepared for our future careers and the real world. That’s cool!
3. There are so many opportunities. Whether it is on campus or off campus there are many things to do. Between clubs, organizations, and jobs your days can be as busy as you would like them to be. I have had many opportunities at Embry-Riddle that I never expected, like making great friends, going shooting for the first time, cliff jumping, and experiencing what a life will be like with a career in the Global Security and Intelligence realm.
4. You get used to getting out of your comfort zone. By this, I mean you will have to do things that you do not want to do. For me it is public speaking and putting myself in positions where there is possibility for failure, for others it could be not being accepted in a club they are joining, or any other numerous thing. Everything that takes you outside of your comfort zone is a time where you are learning about not only yourself now but also who you wanted to be in the future. Learning to feel comfortable outside of your comfort zone is a large part of what college teaches you that will help prepare you do the future.

TND 
Although school is a lot of work, stressful, and overwhelming, I love being a student. The challenges I face and the people I meet are helping me become a better person and are helping prepare me for the world outside of academia. I am learning to enjoy every step of my college journey, from late nights to early mornings, frustrating teachers to the best teachers, and all the little things in between. Being a college student is a time to challenge yourself, a time to focus on yourself and your future, and a time to help you leave your comfort zone. I have decided to embrace the challenges and try to enjoy every minute of being a college student I can.

Watch Student UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) Club

In today’s video blog, Colton gives you a glimpse into one of the most popular on-campus attractions for Riddle students… The UAS club!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEU0xwbdHu0&feature=youtu.be

 

For more information, comment below to get in contact with someone!

Stay tuned for more exciting videos about life at Embry Riddle and its surroundings.

Embry Outreach at White River Apache Reservation

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Something Embry-Riddle is very good at (one of the many things) is community outreach. This year I had the honor to take part in one the ERAU’s outreach programs, in conjunction with Chi Alpha (a program which I am also highly involved in), Innovation Club (also highly involved in), Rocketry Club, and ERAU Admissions. The event was created for outreach and promotion for Embry-Riddle and the pursuit for higher education in general.

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Me and about 14 other people from Chi Alpha, a club on campus that revolves around making life long memories through crazy adventures and pursuing our Creator (check it out here >> http://riddlexa.org/ ), trekked off in two vans to White River Apache reservation. Our adventure would take part over two days. The first night we went to their last high school football game and put on a halftime show. It started with Freshman Lee Morris launching off a high-altitude weather balloon, soaring high into the night sky with flashing LED’s before disappearing forever. Secondly, we launched a scratch-built 5-foot tall rocket that we had built using the Student Innovation Center (Innovation club) and some expertise from the Rocketry Club. It featured a cardboard fuselage, 3d-printed fins and nose cone, and a custom motor to send it to 700 feet. It was quite spectacular, and the crowd loved it.

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The next morning, we headed off to the local High school, Middle school, and Elementary school. All day, we taught classes on aviation, college, and pursuing a higher education. We were able to inspire kids to high school, to strive for their dreams and work hard to achieve them.

Watch the story unfold hereColton Chi Alpha 1

 

This event was definitely one of the most memorable parts of my freshman year so far. It definitely makes me thankful for what I have been blessed with, and gives me a hunger to help those around me pursue their dreams as I am pursuing mine.