Every time I tell someone, "I am working as a full time research assistant this summer" I get blank stares or awkward grins. I thought I should explain what I do for research. Molecules have energy. I am studying some exotic molecules using computers to calculate energies. I want to find what makes a molecules energy a minimum and what makes a maximum.

A majority of the work I do is preparing input files for the computer to perform calculations on. Once the computer completes the calculations(sometimes this takes over two hours) I exam the output to make sure that everything looks reasonable. Repeat this process several hundred times and I will hopefully have enough data for my professor to finish his paper.

While I am waiting for the computer to finish its calculations I am writing a python script to automate my job. The script will eventually save me 2 to 5 minutes for each file I make. It will also automatically submit files to the computer around the clock.

This job has been incredibly enjoyable. It is the perfect blend of Chemistry and Computer Science. It is just the right fit for me. So instead of giving me a blank stare or awkward grin you can now say with a broad smile, "I am glad you enjoy being a nerd and doing cool nerdy things!"