I hope everyone is having as good of a summer as I am. This is the end of my third week at the University of Houston studying physical chemistry. This week I continued to work on creating the thin metal films using the thermal evaporator. The QCM (which stands for quartz crystal microbalance and is the sensor that tells me the thickness and rate of evaporation) continues to have problems. Fortunately, I was able to create a 200nm thick film, my new personal best. I also deposited a film onto a thin piece of glass to create a mirror. This mirror will be used to set a baseline for the simple laser that I am setting up. This laser will be used to measure the roughness of the copper films. Additionally, I have been studying more ways to calculate resistivity using the four-point probe I set up previously. I have tested a gold film and aluminum foil and have gotten decently reasonable resistivities. Soon I will use it to record the resistance of the films I have made so that we have a deeper look at their properties. Outside of the lab, I have continued to go to the rec center. However, I have begun to use the climbing wall. I have had so much fun climbing and I will climb as much as I can before I leave. I will get a picture of it and post it for next week’s blog. 
This week was also my birthday. the welch students and my wonderful RA threw a surprise party for me, which was really nice. Additionally, my stepdad and sister drove down and took me to dinner. We went to a delicious Indian food restaurant named Kiran’s. If you are ever in Houston I recommend you go here. It was honestly the best birthday present I could ask for. The next day they took me to the Museum of Illusions too. I am so grateful that they did this for me, THANK YOU SOL AND STELLA! 
(I also got this delicious ice cream and chocolate samosas) I am more than halfway through my time here in Houston, it’s crazy to think it’s gone by this fast.
Also, the image set as the featured image is a picture of me placing the silicon substrate into a beaker of ethanol that I then will place into an ultrasonic cleaner. This is one of the steps that I take to prepare the substrate for the evaporation process.
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