First Day

Today was the first day of the program, and a very tiring one at that.

We all met at the entrance of Roskie Hall and headed over to the EPS (Engineering and Physical Sciences Building).  That is where the orientation took place.  I met the other student working under Brendan Mumey with me; her name is Kate.  In addition to meeting three of the mentors, we were given a schedule of events that will take place in the next 10 weeks.  Some of these include a library tour, hiking trips, rafting, and camping at Yellow Stone.  Clem and Brendan, the two faculty in charge of the program, are both very active and know all about the hiking and biking trails around Bozeman.  We were given a Google-Maps view of Bozeman, mostly pointing out near and far trails.  It seems like we will have plenty of hiking trips, so I am very excited.  Additionally, they gave some information regarding local events like free concerts from the music department, Shakespeare in the park, outdoor movies, and a dog park.  

New Gymnasium

After this, we were given a short tour of the gymnasium.  The facilities are great here.  They have very modern equipment, many courts, rock climbing, swimming ... you name it, they have it.  All we need to enter is out Cat Card - which we get later in the day.  They even offer group classes like cycling and Zumba.  This really made me want to try these out. We also saw the numerous indoor and outdoor tennis courts.  One of our own CS REU members plays Tennis, so she was able to assess the courts and see what was available to her for practice during the summer. 

After this, we went back to the EPS building to take a pre-program questionnaire.  Things like how confident we are in giving presentations, or how much research experience we have had.  I think that they do this for most of the REU programs that are here.  We are not the only REU program here - there are several others here as well.  Some of them are all MSU students, others have students from abroad.  Then there is our group that is a diverse mix of students from across the US. 

The next order of business on the agenda was getting our Car Cards.  Loaded with around $950, we can use this card to purchase almost anything on campus - the main intent being that we use it to buy food.  Not surprisingly, we then bought lunch with our Cat Cards at the Union food court. 

My Cat Card

 Once again, we returned to EPS to find our offices.  That's right, we have offices.  My office is EPS 351, and I share it with my partner and another person.  We did not move in today because the offices were messy. But when I looked in, I saw the work station that I really wanted.  Crossing my fingers for it.


After this, most groups had a meeting with their mentor. Some could not meet their mentor because they are out of state or out of country. Two people will even need to skype with their mentor for a few weeks before they meet with him in person.  Kate and I, however, were able to meet with our advisor, Dr. Brendan Mumey.  Our topic is green networking, but neither of us has any knowledge on networking. Luckily for me, our project will be focusing on algorithms.  I say that I'm lucky because I just took Algorithms and had a blast in it.  In this first meeting, we were given an overview of the problem, and shown some basic networking terms like "flow network" and "conservation of flow".  We have two assigned readings, along with one section from each of the two algorithms books he lent us.

For some time after, I walked around campus looking at the buildings and doing some exploring.  

One part of campus

Mountains as seen from campus

Banner

Artwork On Campus

Wildlife On Campus

Meanwhile, I was trying to work out the WiFi issues I have been having.  Long story short, to get onto the good WiFi in Roske, we need a pin number, but we don't have pin numbers since we don't register for classes here.  I walked from help desk to ResNet services, but no one was of much help.  The short-term solution they gave me was to plug in directly.  I decided that it was better than waiting, so I bought a 10 foot cable for $5. Better than being kicked off the internet every 30min because we are on the guest network.
Before we all split up, we had planned to meet up at 4pm to go for a hike. There is a trial called the M-trail, simply because it goes by a large M that is on the mountain side.  This M is made of rocks, and it represents the University.  They said that it was something that universities in Montana did - place their letter on a mountain side.

The hike itself was fantastic.  The views were scenic, the difficulty was low, and there was a giant M to be seen at the top.  I guess I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

The M seen at a distance

A view along the way

Several paths lead up to the M

Another Scenic View

The group walking

the M close-up

The view from the M

Yes, I was there too

Local Flowers

This ridge was gogeous

The whole group standing by the M

After the hike, we went to a place called Montana Ale Works for Dinner. They had a variety of food there.  I ate a pasta for dinner, choosing Tofu as my protein.  I don't know anyone who disliked their food - it was delicious and filling.  The program paid for the meal, with the exception of alcohol.  As I found out, we have several people that are under 21.

It was here that we had as short discussion with the mentors regarding their method for choosing candidates.  First and foremost, they look at our essays, narrowing the applicants down to a group that was specifically interested in the topics offered.  They wanted there to be a good match between students and their projects.  I found this to be surprising, because I was under the impression that the half-page of our interests they required would be the last thing the look at.  They then narrow the candidates by qualifications, not considering students with low scores.  After all, a student needs to prove that he/she can do work before given so much freedom and responsibility.

The logo

The place

Once I returned to the dorms, I had a few phone calls to make.  But what I was really excited for was getting my hands on a bike.  I have been in touch with a graduate computer science student through the Baha'i community.  He was selling his bike, and throughout the day - via text - I arranged to purchase his bike from him.  He picked me up and took me to the grad dorms where the bike was.  I rode this bad-boy back to Roske.

My Bike

By the time all of this was done, my legs were sore.  After all, I had wandered, hiked, and biked.  But something interesting came along that I could not pass up.  as I was entering my room, I ran into two of the girls about to start a workout called insanity.  This is a daily workout that is very intense.  After the 20 minute evaluation, I was extremely tired.

Insane people cooling down after Insanity.

Unfortunately, despite my extremely tired state, I decided to get some things done before going to bed.  I sweat like crazy during Insanity, so shower first.  Now that I had my Cat Card, I could do laundry - and that is just what I did.  Finally, I sat up and wrote this blog late into the night, munching on grapes, leftover honeydew, and sweet snow peas to keep me awake.

It has been a very long day ... for all of us.  Time to get some good rest.  We meet early again tomorrow.  I hope my alarms wake me.