Caleb Powell ’22 — This Summer I worked with the Physics Department doing research modeling the growth of “underwater icicles” known as Brinicles. This research gave me the opportunity to not only grow my knowledge in Physics, but also develop important skills in computer science through the use of the Python programming language. I am very thankful to Wabash College for funding this experience and especially thankful to Dr. Nathan Tompkins for providing me guidance this summer.
Brinicles, which were first discovered in the 1960’s, are downward-growing hollow tubes of ice that form when extremely cold and salty water (Brine) descend beneath developing sea ice, freezing the water surrounding it. Although we have known about their existence since the 60’s, the formation of a brinicle was first filmed in 2011. Our goal in this internship was to be the first to model this growth using point models in python. Despite our internship only being 6 weeks long, we achieved great results that match experimental growth research done in recent years.
Although my internship was classified as remote, I had the opportunity to work on campus and practice my presentation skills with the Math Department research interns as well this summer. I am very thankful to have this opportunity to be productive and advance my knowledge this summer.
