My research for over the summer consisted primarily of greenhouse work and oil analysis using a number of interesting pieces of equipment. I enjoyed the work that I did in the greenhouse. It mainly consisted of planting, watering, and harvesting plants. I got plenty of hands-on experience with the actual process of growing, and I gained a new respect for the amount of time that needs to be invested in agricultural work, given that each line needs to be grown for many weeks before results can be obtained. The oil analysis was probably the most interesting part of my research. I got to use an NMR machine, a GC/MS, and a GC/FID. I learned about how to prepare samples for them, how to use the software to run the machine and examine the data, and how to export and analyze the data. It was a very rewarding experience and I am thankful for the CAFE Summer Scholars program for the opportunity that I received.
