Week 3 Evan Adams-Henderson

 the process of creating a research presentation was incredibly actually quite easy. it simply consisted of what I found and what I can infer from my findings. I never really struggled with the creation of the presentation since it was a simple process to make it. Some new things I had learned about are how UART works and how simple yet highly editable it is. I also learned about what can happen when things are out of date or incompatible with current versions of apps. 

I plan to go back to school and tell the teachers about the environment here at rice university because it's been one of the best parts of my experience here. I love being around everyone, the mentors are patient and help us understand everything. This place embodies what school should feel like for students.  The work with the Arduino board and the Tinyscreen+ is another thing I enjoyed while I was here. It was fun to watch my watch evolve and become more over time through my work. 

My future plan for working with the concepts I learned this summer is to try and experiment more with these boards at home. I wanna push what they can do to the max and make things with this knowledge. I wanna see how far I can push the UART Protocol. 

Week 3 Sofia Lowery

 Sofia Lowery, PATHS-UP: Week 3

I did my research presentation with Chloe Diehl because we ended up collaborating on most of this week's projects. We did two major things: we combined a pulse oximeter and a pedometer into our smartwatches, and we played a duet on our Arduino Uno boards. 

We both had our fair share of struggles. For combining the smartwatch features, we learned that combining code was more complicated than it seemed. We had to implement the usage of buttons on the watch that, upon pressing, would display the respective feature. Coding that in with the help of Ms. Kim allowed us to have more functionality in our watches. In the future, we could use that to have up to four features. 

For the duet, we did a lot of researching to turn music notes into code. By taking the sample version of Happy Birthday, we converted notes to concert pitch, found their respective frequencies, and transcribed the rhythms ourselves. Chloe and I had separate boards, so our processes differed a little bit. At the end, we had to find a way to sync up the boards so that they'd play at the same time. By adjusting the note delay and implementing a start button, we were able to play our songs together in full sync. 

Young Scholars’s Paths-Up Solange Wilson

 Week 3👋

Today is the final week of this program and I had a lot of fun. From tours to machine learning and putting my song as a buzzer. We have just finished our research projects from our TinyScreen. My own was combining a pedometer and a accelerometer together. I did this because of how similar they are which means less work for me. The research process was hard the hardest part was trying to find a way to combine both codes. I had to get rid of excess code, get rid of the added code I used to try and make the two codes mush together and check if I had everything included so that my screen didn’t flop. I learned that coding is not as hard as I thought it would be. If you take your time and check everything it makes life easier. I learned about different frequencies that have different sound for different notes, machine learning, and much more.

Now when I get back to school, I’ll have an more open mind about machinery and medicine. I want to join a class that will incorporate this two things.(most likely it will happen) As for talking about the experience, I think there should be classes or lessons like this that will teach us about how to use medical equipment and the importance f them. Teenagers should have and early start. My future plans is to work in the medical field when I’m done with high school. I’m not sure if this will help me later in life(probably will), but I want expand my knowledge so I can help others and if it’s start with this so be it.

By: Solange wilson

👍🏽

Week 3: Young Scholars PATHS-UP, Isabelle C

     I am very familiar with the process of making a research presentation due to my extensive experience with presenting various research projects for school. However, in this presentation I struggled with balancing each slide. Specifically, any slides where I wanted to include snips of my code to support my points. I also struggled with video implementation, but I managed to find a solution by creating replaying GIFs of my work to play on slides instead of having a video I had to play. While I'm not sure if I'm fully satisfied with how I formatted any slides that include code, I am very happy with the presentation overall. Through the process of making this presentation I learned how easy it it to turn a video into a GIF and how effective simple bullet points are on slides. 

    When returning to school, I plan to bring back all of the information regarding health and its overlaps with computer science to possibly further explore that niche. I also plan to further utilize my new knowledge of Arduinos, wearables, C++ and GIF creation. While participating in this program I have told friends about my experience and I plan to continue to talk about my time here. My school is very interested in research and project-based learning, so informing some teachers about opportunities like this so they can recommend it to other students is highly encouraged. 

    For the foreseeable future plan to only passively expand on the concepts I've learned over the summer, but using the information I have learned during the school year or applying it in other ways is something I look forward to. The skills learned through this experience have multiple different possible applications and I plan to experiment with a handful of those applications. I'm still unsure about what career path suits me, but what I've learned here defiantly has me more interested in health and computer science.

Blog Post PATHS-UPS Week 3 Samia Wilson

 1: The process of researching something that I had never done before a bit challenging. Like I didn't understand what I was doing when I first began. But I had someone help me, With that help, the project became much easier to understand the context of what I was doing. I learned how to understand python coding and many things about apps that can help the new health care system.

2:That a newbie coder like can something wonderful. The people I met and the food I ate I will remember forever. This was a positive experience that I how to do again.

3: After playing around with this system and this software I plan on making more stuff like this. I like what I'm doing here. And hopefully I do it again.

Young Scholars PATHS UP Program 2022 - Lucas Byars

Week 3 Update: 

As per the past 2 weeks of my blog this is my final week that I will be updating this vlog as the PATHS UP program will be ending this week and so will the projects that I have gotten the joy to work on and experience. I've gotten the chance to be able to create a final presentation to represent my time spent at Rice University as a young scholar and as far as creating it went I thought it was pretty easy however I did complete it some what last minute. I struggled in some parts such as figuring out how to word what I wanted to say properly and finding good pictures I could put into it. However I also learned some very cool settings I was able to mess with in google slides during this process. I plan to talk to some of my friends that go to the same school as me about why this experience helped to develop my knowledge in programming. The main reason I first signed up for this program was because I wanted to go into Cyber Security however I didn't have much experience in coding so I thought this would be a good way to get a jumpstart on my journey.  

Week 2 and 3 Young Scholars PATHS-UP

 Week 2

I just completed week two of the Rice University Young Scholars Program. Though this week wasn’t as immersive as my first week, I felt like I became more proficient with the softwares we used and was able to complete some neat projects. 

This week, we were mainly focused on Bluetooth, GPS, and the wonders of wireless connection. Monday, we made a GPS tracker that tracked the way points from Ryon Building to the soccer field. Tuesday, we made a step tracker that was similar to the commonly used “fit bit” which tracked our steps from the Ryon building to the Rice Coffee shop and back. In addition, we started a Bluetooth wireless project where we made wireless and portable “rock paper scissors” games on a board known as the “microbot”. This activity was particularly fun because I was able to use this bot and play the game against some of my peers. Wednesday, we worked more closely with Bluetooth and paired our phones to our device so that we could see our text notifications on our Tiny watch. Also, I was able to brainstorm a neat code with my peer, Sofia Lowery, about making two arduino boards play harmonizing music together. Unfortunately, I couldn’t attend the program Thursday because I was on a trip to San Francisco. However, I am excited to catch up with my peers and work on projects as soon as I get back.

All these activities were very fun and I can’t wait for the new week where I can finally assemble all my parts for my watch together and work on my code with Sofia.

 Week 3

I just completed week three of the Rice University Young Scholars Program. This week, we worked on our final projects. For our final projects for one last presentation, I worked with Sofia and focused on two different projects: playing music on the Arduino and making a pulse oximeter/ pedometer combo.

For the musical project, we chose to code a duet for the popular song “Industry Baby” by Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow. This duet was going to be played on two different Sparkfun’s Arduino Boards. The process was very tedious. We had to convert the notes on the sheet music to concert "C", double time the notes, sync up the two melodies together. Despite these challenges, Sofia and I were still successful in creating a nice melody together.

For the pulse oximeter/ pedometer combo, we chose to combine the Pulse Oximeter to the Pedometer so we can have a functioning device that could not only allow easy access to the steps they take but see their BPM. This project wasn't as difficult as making the code for the song. However, we did experience challenges with coding the different buttons. In order to switch between the two function, we couldn’t neglect the buttons on the watch. Thus, we had to figure out some way of accounting the buttons in our code. This process was quite difficult as it required us to understand the “false true” statements as well was necessary voids to use. However, with the aid of Ms. Kim and a little muster of courage, we got a working code for the buttons.

When I leave this camp, I am definitely eager to continue to play around with the musical code I made on C++ and show it off to my friends and peers not only out of pure enjoyment but to also teach them how to do it as well. Also. this club has brought up an interest in coding so going into the new year, I am definitely going to seek out coding clubs and outlets at my school to continue to cultivate this new interest.

Video of one of the projects

Week 2 Blog Evan Adams-Henderson

This week was actually one of the most fun weeks for me. I have been learning how to include Bluetooth in the devices we create to make wireless selfie sticks and a watch that can read the notifications I get on my phone and display them. We also learned about the applicability of machine learning and how it could solve some of our most challenging problems today with the help of the guest speaker.

The research on my project is going quite well, as I have made significant progress with the video player and Bluetooth is making slow yet steady progress. I should be able to play TV shows on the watch with enough optimization to use Bluetooth at the same time.

This week we went to the clean room where we got to see a room was so clean, that it didn't even have more than 2000 particles in the air while we were there. The machines within the clean room allow for extensive research of items on the microscopic level, things that can flatten objects down to a film and so many more exciting things. 

Week 3 Annabelle Li-Kroeger

 This week we worked on our final projects, and I decided to complete my smartwatch by combining the Bluetooth device with the pulse oximeter and the pedometer/accelerometer so that the screen switches when a button is pushed. I chose this as my final product because I wanted to make a smartwatch that is close in function to a normal smartwatch so that it can be more useful in monitoring health related variables. In terms of presentations, we heard from a speaker about the use of wearables to monitor diabetes in Hispanic communities. This taught us a lot about applying wearables to real life situations where price is a limiting factor. Overall, I learned more about applying hardware to digital health monitoring, and I learned how to build and code those hardware devices using arduino IDE software.

In terms of creating the research presentation, I already knew a bit on how to create one because I have taken a research class before at school. I just used the prompts that were given to create a slideshow, and tried to put mostly images instead of texts. However, I still struggled a bit with finding a balance between the two, and I learned that, especially with presenting code, it's easier to let the code speak for itself and just explain the confusing parts to the class. I plan to bring back a new knowledge of applying software to hardware, which will help me when I take computer science next year. In the future, I plan to possibly go into electrical engineering, in which case the knowledge of circuits and software will be very useful in creating more devices.

Week 2 Blog Annabelle Li-Kroeger

 This week was my first week at the camp. The first day was mostly catch-up work, where I created a pedometer and pulse and oxygen level measuring device. I learned how to connect circuit boards and export codes onto them. I also learned how to use arduino software to make basic edits.

The second day, we moved to adding the next device - the GPS and SD card - to our smartwatch, and we went to the field to get signal and track our path.

We also worked with a micro:bit, and I learned to use python on makecode to play rock paper scissors with the makecode on shake.

After that. I started working on the StartKit, and made an LED light turn on and blink out a morse code message using arduino.

.

On Wednesday, we worked with making Bluetooth devices, and we connected our micro:bits and our watches to our phones.

The same day, I managed to get 2 LEDs to blink at alternating rhythms using the delay function on arduino.

We also met Dr. Sano and she told us about the use of wearables and technology to monitor physical and mental wellbeing.

Today, we went to Rice University's clean room and heard about how they build nanometer sized devices and patterns.

All in all, I learned how to connect hardware to software using arduino, and I learned more about the use and design of hardware in real life applications.

Young Scholars PATHS UP Program Week 2 - Lucas Byars

 Update

Welcome back to my blog! Like last week I said that I would be updating this weekly. A lot has happened since my last post and it is currently the end of my second week at the Young Scholars PATHS UPS program. Lots of exciting events have happened such as learning how to use a GPS on my TinyWatch, as well as trying to configure it so that it can use blue tooth and connect to my phone. For the most part my TinyWatch was going well with configuring everything into it that I needed to however I have run into a small hiccup with trying to connect the blue tooth from the TinyWatch to my phone, however everything else is going very well. I have received some help from my classmates as well as mentor here and there and they have been very helpful in the progress of my education here. Finally since next week will be the final week of the program I am looking forward to being able to fully setup the TinyWatch and work together with my classmates and learn everything else that I can about this program. 

First Week - Ahmed Mroue

 

First Week

    This week was my first week in the program of Young Scholars: PATHS-UP at Rice University. I knew that I would be getting into a lot of Computer Science and STEM related activities so I was excited to start learning at this program. I didn't really do anything to prepare for this program, but I already have a lot of experience with Computer Science and Arduinos so I felt comfortable going without much practice.

    My first day was relatively boring since I was going over stuff I had already been taught in school in some of my classes, but when I started to actually work with the Arduinos that is when I had a lot of fun. All of the projects that we have done so far, whether it is the Simon Says game we made, or the Pulse Oximeter on the TinyScreen, all of them have been really fun and interesting to do! My favorite part would probably be when I got to work on the Arduino and create a Simon Says game and a Display Screen and have it display whatever I want.

Simon Says

Display

I'm looking forward to completing the TinyScreen within the next few weeks and whatever projects that we will be doing in the next week because I find all of those enjoyable.

 

Young Scholars PATHS-UP Week 2 Samia Wilson

 

1: There we’re many things that I’ve learned while I’ve stayed here. We did an AI dungeon, I finally got happy birthday to play in my inventor’s kit, and coded stuff onto a micro bit. 

2: I don’t really know how to put it to words. I’m trying to the project is the end goal with with our mint watches but my watch doesn’t wanna work with me. Yes I have had success on the watch but there are still more failures.

3: We talked to a professor named Dr. Sano who is working with an project that will all people to know their mood and other bodily autonomy by using printable ink.

Week 1 Young Scholars PATHS UP Program - Lucas Byars

 Welcome to my first blog! My name is Lucas Byars and I am currently in the Young Scholars PATHS-UP program that is currently being administered by Rice University. I will be updating my blog every Thursday starting today for the next two weeks and giving my input on some of the questions that I found to be important throughout this experience. 

 I came in a little later than most of the other students in this program so I didn't find out I was going to be able to come to this program until Tuesday night. I had no idea what to expect however I knew to keep an open mind about everything since I will be going to college soon and needed as much experience in Computer Science as I could get before graduating. 

 Coming into this I thought there was a chance I might get a mentor like my old Computer Science teacher in high school who didn't know how to teach very well and made it feel like a self taught class, however as soon as I came into this program the professor was very nice and also patient with the students taking this program. I believe that the research project we were given isn't that hard considering the time frame we were given to this complete it because we also may receive help from others on it if need be. 

 I'm most looking forward to further developing my skills in Computer Science as well as learn more about the program since I haven't gotten to spend that much time in the lab programming and working on the smart watch.   

Young Scholars PATHS-UP, Week 1, Sofia Lowery

  PATHS-UP Blog, Week 1.

I joined the Young Scholars Program last minute, and had no idea what to expect from the program. I had just finished a DST program on the other side of Rice University, where I learned the basics of R, the coding language used for analytical statistics and data. Aside from that, I was already very interested in STEM. 

Week Two: Young Scholars PATHS-UP, Isabelle C

    Over the past two weeks through this program I have learned s variety of exciting things about how computer science fits into the health field. I've learned more about the coding language C++ and have also learned more about things such as: Bluetooth, GPS, pulse oximeters, accelerometers, pedometers, Arduinos, and general circuitry and coding. Each of these subjects have been very interesting, especially in the added context of helping others address medical needs.

    I've been able to explore each of these topics in depth through the projects we've done. Using the Arduino One I've been able to create a multitude of different circuits using buttons, motion sensors, LEDs, motors, and other materials I don't normally use. The micro:bits have allowed me to practice coding and further my understanding of how to code. However, the smart watch we are coding and building with the TinyScreen+ is what I have found to be the most interesting. Through the watch I was able to utilize what I was taught and actually make the most of the things we've learned about. We've made an accelerometer, pedometer, pulse oximeter, and GPS using the watch and I've been able to look at the code used to make each of those tools function. As well as seeing they type of boards that allow for the watch to intake all of the data needed to preform its desired task.

    Working with my team and a mentor has been very fun as we have been able to problem solve as a group well. Frequently when we each have a problem others help to attempt to fix whatever has gone wrong, it only takes one person to find a solution for the whole class to begin to debug or otherwise fix any issue with code or building.

    During the final week I'm looking forward to our final project and using the TinyScreen+ even more. I am also excited to use the other tools provided, like the Arduino, more while I have the opportunity to experiment with them. 

Week 1- Sophia D.

First Week

 by Sophia Dai

    This week I joined a program called Young Scholars: PATHS UP at Rice University. I had no idea what we were going to do other than that it would be related to Pulse Oximeters, Computer Science and its applications in health. To prepare, I just brought my brain and my (very) limited knowledge of Java, which I had picked up from AP Computer Science. 

    The first started off making a Simon Says game with an Arduino. Afterward, I created a remote control car that would go in a certain direction and distance depending on what I typed in the Serial Monitor. I had some fun playing around with it, but I did encounter some issues. In the beginning, I had trouble figuring out where to find the serial monitor was and was a little confused on where I was supposed to type the commands. I eventually found the serial monitor in the program and was able to test out the code. Then I found out one of the wheels didn't work so I had to swap it out for a new one.

Arduino Car

Serial Monitor

    Our next projects involved the tiny screen. For me, this was the most exciting part because I had already worked with Arduinos in the past and it was nice to be exposed to new technology. My favorite project was the pulse oximeters, which are a device that measures your blood oxygen level based on the amount of red light and infrared light being reflected or absorbed. We compared the ones we made with the tiny screens to commercial ones and they showed similar things.

Pulse Oximeter

    We also made a pedometer/accelerometer which showed me my steps and collected data to generate a graph. This project also utilized the tiny screen but we had to attach different components to it. 

accelerometer

graph generated by pedometer

    Next week, I am excited to continue doing more projects with the tiny screens and finding out what other surprises they have in store for us!

Young Scholars PATHS-UP Nico R.

1. Before this program I have had very few experiences with computer science or coding that could’ve prepared my for the activities this program provides. However, I joined in hopes of expanding my knowledge of these subjects and experiencing new things throughout the program.

2.  The projects so far have been interesting and I like how hands-on everything is. All the mentors have given very comprehensive instructions about the projects and have made the experience very entertaining and enlightening.

3. I’m looking forward to experimenting more with the Tinywatch+ and the other Arduino projects.

Young Scholars PATHS-UPS Evan A-H

  Initially, I attempted to prepare by brushing up on my skills with python. This turned out to be pointless mainly because most of the coding languages we were using to adjust the functions of our Tinyscreens and Arduino were in C++. I also brought a water bottle and a backpack in case we were given homework-type assignments, though the backpack never got any use the first week. 

 

    My first thoughts on the research projects that I have been working on are "Wow, that was easy. But what else can I do?" They began to spark my imagination, causing me to think in new ways and want to see what these electronics can do. And our mentor is amazing, encouraging trial and error to learn. When I was trying to add an extra note to the Arduino trumpet, I looked at the arrangement of the board and began shifting just about everything around after being encouraged to try again until I eventually got it to work

    

    What I'm looking forward to next week is returning to push what these circuit boards can do more and more with the other attendees. It's been a lot of fun so far so I'm hoping the more complex topics they present will be just as intriguing.

Young Scholars PATHS-UP Layla C : Week I

Week I PATHS-UP 

What were some of the things you did to prepare for the Young Scholars Program?

At the Engineering LAB

To prepare for the Young Scholars Program, I spent some time researching the program along with other STEM programs that Rice University has previously held. Additionally, I attempted to readjust my sleeping schedule a few days before starting the program

 

What are you most looking forward to for week two?

Coding and Building on a Arduino

I’m most looking forward to playing with my SparkFun Kit. The SparkFun kit has acted as an illustration and trial and error device for all the concepts my mentors have explained. I cannot wait to learn more about what they can do and how the Arduino does it. 

What are your first thoughts on the research projects that you have been assigned and your mentors?

Making a PCB Board

My initial thoughts on the research projects I was assigned was an overflow of curiosity. I was amazed to hear the new terms like Arduino and Breadboard. When I first met my mentors, I was blown away by their extensive knowledge of circuit boards and computer science and their commitment to taking complex topics like how computer science is applied to neuro-engineering and simplifying it.  

 

Chloe Diehl's First Week Update: Young Scholar PATHS-UP

  My First Week

    Recently, I have joined Rice University's Young Scholar PATHS-UP Program. Though I was excited to be apart of the program, I was not prepared for what I was about to learn and experience. I was mainly introduced to the more natural world of science. Thus, I had no prior knowledge of computer science. Despite that, I still had fun and learned a lot considering it was only my first week

    Though the first week was mainly an orientation into the course as well as an introduction into circuit boards, we have been working on different projects like the following: making pulse oximeters and accelerometers for a smart watch, making virtual PCB boards, and building many different functions on Spark Fun's Arduino boards (photos of the different projects are shown below).

    The process while working on the projects were definitely a struggle for me especially since I had no prior exposure to any computer science course. I experienced my Arduino boards not performing the commands I wanted them to do even though I followed the guides step by step. I had trouble transferring my schematic to a PCB layout because I had trouble with the wire connections. I also endured lags on my computer that caused me to restart my process while making my accelerometer. The struggles were definitely frustrating, however, with my growth mindset, I was able to pull through and successfully most of the projects. For instance, I was able to make a fully functioning pulse oximeter and accelerometer, display an organized schematic, create functions on the Arduino board as well as replicate it onto Tinker CAD.

    Overall, I enjoyed my experience and learned a lot despite my unfortunate struggles. Thanks to the mentors I had, I was able to push through the set backs and create something I wouldn't expect myself to make. 

    Hopefully next week, I will learn more new things and expand on the new abilities I just acquired. 

    

     

WEEK 1: Young Scholars PATHS-UP Isabelle C

    Before the Young Scholars Program, I took an AP computer science principles class through my high school. I also have other experience in computer science and coding through other camps, including things like Lego robotics. These experiences all prepared me and led me to this opportunity.

    I think that the research projects we've done so far have been very fun and a great learning opportunity for me. The Arduino and breadboard were interesting and what we've done regarding designing an Arduino shield has been very cool. The smartwatch and its pulse oximeter and the pedometer have both also been interesting since they give us data in real-time.

    I'm looking forward to working with the TinyScreen+ more.

PATHS-UP Young Scholars - Final Week Reflections

How was the process of creating a research presentation? Which parts did you struggle with? What new things did you learn?

    Creating my research presentation went fairly well. I was able to reflect upon almost all of the course whilst also talking about my research project, the digital watch. Additionally, the course itself helped me understand much about circuitry in addition to the different ways to implement code into PCBs through Arduino. However, I did face some minor problems whilst forming the device itself. The pulse oximeter that I had incorporated into my device was not able to function properly with the watch's GPS, which forced me to remove all of the code relating to the GPS in addition to the integration itself. After that, though, the watch worked properly, and I was able to present it with ease.

The working watch

What do you plan to bring back to your school and talk to other students/teachers about regarding your experience?

    When I come back to school, I plan to hopefully utilize and enhance my circuitry knowledge for projects relating to my future courses. I will hopefully also talk to my teachers about the different ways in which projects such as the one I did can be implemented into courses to encourage students to engage in both coding and circuitry.

What are your future plans for working with concepts you learned this summer? 

    I plan to expand upon my knowledge of the Linux kernel over the rest of the summer, as it is something that I have wanted to do for a long time. Additionally, I also plan to work on circuitry-based projects, making the circuit knowledge I gained through this course very useful.