Practicum Reflection Essay

For my practicum I interned at NIH’s Utilities Engineering Branch (UEB), over the summer, developing a data categorization tool. The internship program I was placed in was called the NIH Pathways internship. I found and applied to this internship through USAJobs. Internships opportunities under this program are posted year-round. For anyone interested in participating in this program, I would recommend visiting the job posting site regularly and to apply frequently to any positions of interest.

During my internship I mainly worked on developing a program to extract categorizable information from shift turnover logs, which are operators’ reports on equipment status within the Central Utility Plant (CUP). At the beginning of my internship I developed an initial version of the program which extracts categorizable data from shift turnover logs based on given patterns. In the process of developing this version of the program, I consulted my supervisors on what features to include. To track my progress I met with my supervisor weekly to discuss the project and issues I encountered. After the initial version of the program was completed, I developed a framework for implementing a version of the program which categorizes data using Natural Language Processing. Towards the end of the summer I presented my progress at the annual interns expo. In the future, my project will be used to develop a comprehensive search system for shift turnover logs.

This experience taught me the collaborative and experimental nature of science. Throughout the internship I relied on the information I gathered from experts and the feedback from my supervisors to develop my project. My progress was not completely linear. Oftentimes I made changes to the program which reduced its accuracy. From this experience I learned that in order to improve, you must test out multiple solutions before finding the right one. I also learned that collaborating with others can lead to the discovery of unique solutions which could never be realized working alone.

Interning at NIH provided me with the opportunity to apply theory to practice. I gained better insight into how data can be utilized to optimize real-world tasks such as increasing the efficiency of utility plant equipment. This experience has increased my interest in machine learning. As a result, I plan to pursue the machine learning track within UMD’s computer science major. This experience inspired me to focus on applications of computer science rather than computational theory. In the future, I plan to pursue opportunities where I can apply my knowledge of machine learning to solve real world problems.

Last modified: 18 April 2023