Reflections on the ESAP Experience
Repost from BBJ’s blog
Three weeks wasn’t long, but it was enough to give me a whole new perspective on scientific research, teamwork, time, and even myself.
Three Weeks in the World of the Invisible
Time flies, and the three-week ESAP (Engineering Summer Academy at Penn) is over in the blink of an eye. As I was leaving, I had a strange feeling: I could see myself walking down the road from Hill College to Shake Shack with a few classmates on my first day at ESAP. I’ve participated in various camps and spent varying amounts of time in different places, but this ESAP experience was the first time I felt time slip by so quickly and without a second’s notice. Every day was spent bustling between the lab and the classroom, from my initial unfamiliarity with the course to my subsequent mastery of microfluidic chips, photolithography processes, and data analysis. Everything happened so quickly that I barely even realized the days were passing by. Looking back, I realize that those late nights spent together modeling, discussing projects in the study room, and reviewing experiments over meals in the cafeteria have quietly become some of the most unforgettable chapters in my memory.
The story begins with the application process. Why did I apply to ESAP? For some reason, I immediately remembered this summer program. Although UPenn’s School of Engineering and Applied Science isn’t highly ranked among US undergraduate engineering schools, many people recommended ESAP to me, saying it was a great opportunity for high school students. After completing all the application forms, including the essays and letters of recommendation, I confidently clicked submit and closed the application window. However, a tricky thing happened: the day after the application deadline, I casually opened the application portal to check my information and found that my “English Proficiency Requirement” for international students was missing information. The portal clearly stated something like “We will not consider your application at this time.” Due to my lack of preparation and planning this year, ESAP was basically the only academically rigorous summer program I applied to. This news was a huge blow to me, and even caused me to vomit in the restroom at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport that day due to a stomach ache.
Fortunately, nothing was actually affected. After I insisted on emailing the ESAP Admissions Office to confirm that I had submitted the “English Proficiency Requirement,” every item on my Application Portal was ticked green. The subsequent waiting process was over in the blink of an eye, and I was successfully accepted into ESAP’s Nano Technology program.
Soon, a semester of classes came to an end, and with some reluctance to leave Beijing, I embarked on my journey to ESAP. Our classes took place in the Singh Center, where nearly all of UPenn’s nanotech research is conducted. The Singh Center boasts numerous conference halls, a large clean room, and numerous smaller labs.
The ESAP curriculum is designed to combine lectures and labs to a high degree. During the first week, the lectures were incredibly intense, and much of the chemistry content was difficult for me to grasp, and even for several of my classmates who were participating in chemistry competitions. Every lecture covered content that would later be covered in the exam, so I spent countless hours in my dorm room every night reviewing and gaining a deeper understanding.
After two days of in-class labs, I went to the clean room on the afternoon of the third day to conduct my first major experiment. We had three major experiments: Quantum Dots Fabrication, Microlettering, and Microfluidics, two of which were conducted in the clean room.
I was so excited when he led me into the clean room. After all, I had seen the researchers doing experiments in the clean room from outside the glass since last year, and I always thought it was a very far-fetched place. I didn’t expect that this year I would actually have the opportunity to enter the clean room and do the same experiments as those researchers.
In the gowning area, we donned our protective suits and entered the clean room. For the first time, we experienced the true essence of cutting-edge scientific research. From the photolithography process to the subsequent etching steps, each step was enveloped by the hum of machines and the constant sound of airflow. We began with the most basic spin coating, evenly spreading the photoresist on the silicon wafer. Then, using a photomask, we transferred the designed pattern. After UV exposure and developer development, we “etched” the pattern bit by bit. Then came the RIE and other processes. Watching the bright blue-purple light emitted by the oxygen plasma in the machine was truly stunning!
In addition to these processes, microscopic analysis is also part of our experiments. OM is used for routine inspection and verification, but the SEM has truly astonished me beyond imagination. I once used an SEM to examine a tiny spring structure, and unexpectedly, I discovered numerous tiny organic particles clinging to it, like a ruin in the microscopic world. This visual impact of scale made me truly appreciate for the first time that “nano” is not just a concept from textbooks, but a universe full of details waiting to be explored.
The final project itself presented a new challenge. Our team decided to build on previous experimental results and incorporate microfluidics to model the relationship between temperature and flow rate. This process woven together nearly every skill we’d learned over the past three weeks: we needed to design and fabricate the microfluidic channels, then use photolithography and etching to create the chip substrate. Finally, we collected data through multiple experiments, and finally used Python to model and simulate the process. Everyone had a clear division of labor: someone was responsible for experimental operations, someone for data modeling, and still others for organizing the results and preparing the final presentation. Thinking back to those late nights discussing the project with my teammates brings back a warm feeling of exhaustion.
Exam preparation was another mentally “compressed” experience. The labs and lectures were dense and in-depth, requiring a lot of knowledge to be digested and understood in a short period of time. We practically memorized chemical reactions, equipment principles, and formula derivations during breaks between labs. During those days, I felt like a high-revving engine—tired but reluctant to stop.
Three weeks wasn’t long, but it was enough to give me a whole new perspective on scientific research, teamwork, time, and even myself. We went from being strangers to partners who could adjust SEM parameters, debug lithography programs, and even discuss the difficulty of exams together. I realized that scientific research isn’t a one-person journey, but a collaborative one. In this challenging and surprising summer, I not only gained knowledge and skills, but more importantly, discovered my true passion and direction for engineering. The day I left the Singh Center, I knew that while this journey was over, its impact would be rekindled in some future lab corner, when an idea was proposed.
Of course, all of this achievement would have been impossible without the selfless guidance and patient help of Dr. Kim and all the others. They are not only my technical mentors, but also my earliest colleagues on this scientific research journey. I am fortunate to be able to study in such a team.
