Week 1: Learning all over again and gathering data

It has been a year since I was last working as an intern with Rachel Golda at OHSU. During the first week I spent my time becoming reoriented to the lab and my project. Not much had changed since I was last here, so it was fairly easy to go right into working on the project. On the first day my job included making multiple types of media for the algae that I would be using later that week. I made many liters of each so that it would last for a while. Once the media was finished I began the project that week.

On the second day I became reoriented with the pHstat machine that I was to be working with this summer. Over the time I was not here, Rachel had made some modifications to the system and they needed to be tested. It was not too complicated to become familiar with the machine once again. For the rest of the week I began testing different concentrations of reagents that would complement the pHstat reagent manifold system.

Last year I had already discovered the optimum concentration of HCl for the system to manipulate the pH in an acidic direction, however, the base needed to be changed due to the effects upon the carbonate chemistry of the media. I tested two different bases to discover which one was better suited for the pHstat. From there I needed to find what concentration worked the best. This process took the rest of the week, due to all the media and different concentrations of alkaline reagent needed. I also started to take over the algal culture transfers for the lab.