Solving a Robotics Puzzle During a Summer Internship at NIST

A high school student describes his "golden opportunity" to gain real-world engineering experience.

View as a Web Page Taking Measure Blog Solving a Robotics Puzzle During a Summer Internship at NIST By Steven Salisbury, a senior at Valley Christian High School in San Jose, California For nine years, I have been obsessed with the Rubik's Cube. It is a puzzle that has simultaneously stumped and interested the whole world since it was first invented, something few other puzzles can claim. However, while most people are satisfied after solving the cube once, I wasn't. I wanted to understand what I did, not just read it from a book. So I went to the internet and started down the rabbit hole. I learned new methods and algorithms. I learned not just how to solve it but why the methods worked, and I learned the logic associated with the manipulation of the cube. As I got older, that love to learn and understand mechanisms and puzzles expanded into other fields. It extended beyond the Rubik's Cube into realms of engineering. From making Lego robots to researching Formula One cars, the things I enjoyed were all connected by the ideas and techniques that engineering covered, and so as I entered my junior year of high school, I began looking for opportunities to get some experience. Read More IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Internships in the Time of COVID: A Q&A With Shelby Platner and NIST's Zach Trautt Feb. 4, 2021 Across NIST, internships are a very important experience for students and staff members alike. But for most of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic closed the campus to most NIST staff members and prevented traditional internships on campus from happening. This challenging situation inspired some innovative solutions and experiences. Read More

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