Scanning Electron Microscope. X-Ray Spectrometer. Field Emission Microscope. - Miraculous man-made machines of science that I have only encountered briefly in textbook readings. That is, before I started my internship at the Xerox Research Centre of Canada. Though today was only the fourth day in this unpredictable learning experience, I have seen a plethora of complex devices and met a handful of passionate scientists working to investigate inks and toners from every angle possible – chemists, engineers, nanotechnologists, electricians, and computer scientists. Who knew there was so much to that old dusty printer sitting in my house?

After gulping down morning coffee, my supervisor and I got cracking on wiring the thermal sensor of a strobe stand that I will be using for the rest of my internship to microscopically examine the jetting of an innovative ink and its response to changes in environmental parameters. It only took about five re-openings of the box and many frustrated attempts at fixing the faulty meter readings for us to realize that two wires were positioned backwards. But that’s the great thing about internships – you really get a sense of the work, the fruitful bits and the bits that, well, take some time. Lunch was eaten in the beautifully sun-lit cafeteria with a rowdy bunch of university co-op students bursting with energy and humour. I spent the afternoon connecting the now-functioning temperature sensor to the rest of the impressive-looking equipment and starting the writing of a user manual that I am to compose since I will be the first one to work on the machine.

I believe what Xerox has taught me so far can be poetically summarized in the aerial shape of the research building, an unfinished question mark – to always seek out the unanswered questions in the world around me.

Lauren Long
Hometown: Toronto, ON