Week 1- Tristan Monteblanco

As the end of my first week at the Rice Digital Health Scholars Program nears, I would like to reflect on my experience thus far. Before starting the program, I was excited to participate in a program that was closely related to my major, computer science, and hopefully create something meaningful that helps members of my community. So far, the program has exceeded my expectations.  

After driving through an hour of Houston traffic, I walked in to the circuit lab for my first day of my internship. I was greeted with two amazing instructors, peers, and a Sparkfun kit. Although I had past experience with coding, I had never worked with Arduino hardware components, so it was a new discovery for me. I began to experiment with and test the Sparkfun kit, creating as many projects as I could. From building my first flashing LED bulb project, to using a potentiometer to move a servo motor, the hands-on work has helped me to learn and understand the different components of a circuit, and how to tailor the project using my previous knowledge of programming. 

Then, we were also introduced to the TinyScreen watches, where I found similarities to my work with the Arduino kits. I built a pedometer, pulse oximeter, and Bluetooth watch. After trial and error, I was also able to combine the pedometer and pulse oximeter. 

Lastly, I received interesting lectures ranging from topics such as C++ code, PCB making, and neuroscience. These lectures have helped me gain the tools and background knowledge to start my final project. Below are some pictures I had throughout the week!







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