This summer, as part of a project at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Center (VTCRI), I designed a computer simulation of oxygen diffusion through the brain. The approach was to model each cell as a tiny leaky “bucket” and determine the movement of oxygen from bucket to bucket using the laws of physics.

Later that summer, I took a leave from VTCRI to work at NASA Langley Research Center. While I was there, I was ecstatic to learn that our approach already existed, and was extensively used in structural engineering simulations (though it had a name a bit more sophisticated than ours: finite element analysis.) It was an integral part of my department’s research, and I dedicated an afternoon to learning about finite element analysis. I excitedly wrote to my collaborators back home to share what I’d learned.

Simultaneously, one of my main responsibilities was developing a computer vision (essentially, highly specialized artificial intelligence designed for image processing) algorithm used to detect and count the distance between microscopic cracks in electron microscope scans.

When I returned home, I discovered a multi-lab collaboration at VTCRI whose objective was seemingly simple: digitally reconstruct neurons from electron microscope scans of mouse brains. There was only problem. Each individual neuron took a staggering amount of time to reconstruct, since they were all done manually by undergraduate students. I immediately pitched the idea of using computer vision to automate the task. Now, I’m working on a computer vision approach to digital reconstruction of neurons.

I’m absolutely astounded by the the interconnectedness of what I had thought to be wildly unrelated fields. These experiences also excite me about how far-reaching computer science has become, and makes me eager to use it to help shape research efforts (in biology in particular) and, as a result, our future.

It was also these experiences that helped guide my college search as I entered my final year of high school. I always knew that I wanted an undergraduate experience where I would be surrounded by research and motivated classmates. Of course, Caltech had that, but then again, so do many schools. Now, I know too that I want a school where it’s easy to piece together connections from across fields and disciplines.

As a Techer, I have no doubt that I’ll be receiving the most rigorous STEM education in the country, a strong appeal in its own right. However, in tandem with the small, personable size of the faculty and student body, at Caltech, research is necessarily interdisciplinary by default. Beyond that, Caltech’s size means to me a tight-knit community which so easily lends itself to a rich, collaborative learning environment where I’ve found that learning and discovery can come from anywhere, anytime.

College is a collision of different walks of life, modes of thought, and experiences. For Caltech, that means brilliantly diverse and interconnected learning community which I hope to immerse myself in.