First I just want to say one thing. . . WOW! It feels weird to know that on Monday I won't walk into the office and say Hi to Allen or make sure I set up what I need for the day. That instead I will be walking up three flights of stairs into a classroom full of poeple I haven't seen in three weeks. Wow lots of threes. Anywase its a mixed bit of feelings. I am excited because I learned so much at my internship and hope to use some of what I learned back at school. One of the major highlights had to be talking to my mentor about the second or third to last days and having him tell me that he loved what I had done with my project.

My last day was different, not in a bad sense. Most of my department knew it was my last day but some didn't. Which meant that randomly I would have someone go 'Hey Beth on Monday are you doing this?' and then my response of 'No, today's my last day.' So it was very interesting to see how quickly everyone including myself became accustomed to having me there. Hopefully my project will leave them with something they can use to be more proficient and professional.

DaY fIfTeEn

This set of pictures are part Option Two part Option Three.

This building is under the flight path for the airport. It sits directly by the marina and has continuous amounts of planes flying over. And because of where it sits, the city of San Diego would not allow SeaBotix to demolish the building, only remodel. There are only two post that are part of this building from the 1920's.

Here is the building I work in with a plane flying over, just part of the norm for here. Over the last three weeks I have become so use to planes flying over head that I don't hear them anymore.

dAy FoRteEn

Full Name: Bruce Sutphen

Job Title: Engineering Manager

Company: SeaBotix

Location: 2877 Historic Decatur Road, Suite 100, San Diego, California, 92106, USA
It is located at the end of Liberty Station, it overlooks the marina.

I n t e r v i e w Q a n d A

What lead to you to this career?

I’ve been in the marine industry for 20 years, associated with boat design. And this is a new up and coming developing market place. I had some friend’s who were associated with SeaBotix who told me about, and it is a developing company and in these economic times I chose to work for an industry that had development associated with it.

Did what you studied in college attribute to where you ended up?

Yes. One of the things I found that with college and school is learning how to learn. But one of the things you’ll see is if you have an enthusiasm or excitement about a topic or study, especially for me that I excelled at it (Bruce is referring to physics) when I didn’t have much of an enthusiasm toward that field I didn’t do as well at it. It was interesting, I studied physics and art and I have used the physics ever since. I ah even used a development of what my thesis was on for an America’s Cup campaign so I got them to fund the whole thing. It has been a continuation of college and an evolution.

Was there anytime where you looked back and wished you hadn’t gone one way and wished you had done something differently?

I think there are times when you are young and you know, I graduated in 88 so I am 22 years out in the market place. I think there are times where you wish that at the time when you look at it from a micro stand point of view and your like, well am I really happy doing this? And I think what ultimately happens is you look at the picture and how you evolved through all the phases and would I change anything; no. I wouldn’t change anything, was I happy with each little detailed step …no but for the most part of it I was extremely happy with the path. And have been lucky enough to travel in different places of the world and see beautiful places of the world.

DaY tHiRtEen

P R O C E S S

The simplest way to show a process is through steps. So below are individual steps to a piece I am working on for SeaBotix. This is also a representation of similar work I did on my project, the only difference is that instead of a vector art piece it was a template for Quick Start Guides.

This picture is showing the beginning steps. The first is to change the original image to that of one that has fewer colors. After that I then was able to start layering the colors.

This set of pictures was a lot trickier then the previous. Shown are all the minute colors that add to the total effect. The little flecks of blue or yellow are what end up produces something that looks really cool. This little bit very much tied into my project because there were many times when I had little changes I needed to make that were tedious but in the end made the template or Guide look a lot better.

This last picture is the end result. It is what all the hard work accumulates to. This picture like my project is something that I am very proud of because I put lot of time and effort into it and the end result in my opinion was great.

DaY TwElvE

CoLlAbOrAtIoN

During a typical workday I work directly with maybe one or two people. Indirectly I am working with about ten, whatever I am working on gets reviewed by my mentor (he is the Engineering Manager) and from him it goes to either Marketing or the head of the Engineering Department.
What I am working on is a collaboration between the Marketing and Engineering departments. It influences this company pretty directly. The Quick Start Guides are one of the first things a client sees when they get there completed ROV. I was given drafts of guides that had been done previously and was able to redesign them to be easier to understand and pleasing to the eye.

For me I think knowing that this is what a client uses to get started impacts what I do greatly. If the guide is really technical and confusing then a client will have a very hard time understanding it and might end up doing something that will damage the ROV.

I am not sure how this department would work if they had someone other than my mentor as Manager. Bruce seems to somehow know about everything that is going on and finds a way to juggle all of and still get things done. I think that if someone new was to come in the department would fall apart for a while, and any hope of collaboration or getting a new product out would be at great risk.

DaY eLeVeN

dAy ElEvEn

This week was a bit of everything. A lot of my time basically revolved around working on my project. On Monday I brought in Lemon Cake that I had made over the weekend and everyone loved it. Yay! One of the big challenges this week was due to my computer and the fact that it has decided to hate me. During the coarse of three days Adobe Illustrator crashed 5 or 6 times. Dealing with a program that you need to work and just wont is extremely frustrating and tiring. By the end of the week I was able to get the program working.

A highlight was being able to turn in the first drafts of my project. My mentor had me print one out and looked it over. Having him say he really like the design was a good feeling. It just helped make all the problems seem worth it. . . . well almost. It was memorable because of the little moment, having lunch with different people and just the little things that happened in the office.

DaY tEn

DaY tEn

This is a screen shot of what I have been working on. Doesn't look to exciting I know but actually its probably one of the first things a client see's when they go to use their ROV for the first time. Its tedious and hard at times but it allows myself to incorporate different aspects of what I enjoy into one. Working on this leaves myself asking if this is what I really want to do as a future career?


Below are listed some questions I might ask my mentor:
Were your college course's specifically geared toward ROVs?

Have there been times when you have looked back and wondered why you chose this job?

What led you to this career?

Have you been able to incorporate a hobby into your job?

How do you deal with challenges that come your way?

These last few days have been slightly tedious but low key. I am trying to finish up my project and get it ready for my mentor to review and make any changes if needed. It has been a little trying at times because of the rain and being inside all day but at the same time I am able to get a lot of work done. Hopefully I will be done with the general template tomorrow though.

DaY nInE

Background Information

P e r s o n : Bruce Sutphen

(Unfortunately my mentor was in and out of the office continually, so below is what I already know about him and more information I was able to obtain through the Internet, we do have an appointment for Friday to conduct an interview)

Bruce has traveled all over the world. Living in New Zealand, the United States, and Germany to name a few. My mentor is a physicist with more than 15 years of research experience. He has worked mostly in composite construction and marine research but is now working on ROVs (remote operated vehicles). He has been part of two world championships involving Bill Koch's Matador 2, Steve Fossett's Maxi-Cat Play Station, and Prada Challenge.

Bellow is more information on my mentor, this was taken straight from SeaBotix.com it is his professional biography.

With over 20 years experience in developing and managing all aspects of Rapid Empiric Investigation & Internal Testing Programs, Bruce brings both domestic and international experience in the areas of rapid prototyping fabrication, model finishing and direct data acquisition and analysis. He began his career with MIT working on a collaborative project determining the performance analysis of Grand Prix Yacht designs. During his tenure with the America’s Cup Teams in the US, New Zealand and Italy he lead the technology development for scaled modeling programs, and optimized measurement instrumentation for wind tunnel, tank testing and real world testing procedures. His work in New Zealand and Italy focused on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) validation for both Aero and Hydrodynamic models for optimizing the performance of America’s Cup Yachts. Most recently, he was the Production and Program Director for the award winning Stiletto, an Office of the Secretary of Defense air-entrapment, 80’ all-carbon fiber hull design.

Bruce’s hands on experience in strategic planning, product development, and technology solutions has enabled him to work closely and effectively with customers, ensuring the fulfillment of customized solutions.

On Friday, I will conduct an interview with my mentor in which I hope to go over topics spanning from what inspired my mentor to get into the field he is in, to asking him if there were any experiences in college or even the college itself that attributed to traveling so much. After the interview is conducted I will add more first hand background information to this blog post.

dAy SeVeN

Internship site: SeaBotix

Department: Engineering

Project Title: Quick Start Guides

General Description: To review and remake as many as possible of the Quick Start Guides for the ROVs

Learning Objectives: Learn how to use a totally new program, Adobe Illistrator. And to gain a better understanding of how ROVs work.

Organization/Company Objectives & Benefits: A template in which they will be able to just input the directions and pictures and be done.

Schedule: No set schedule do to task's having to be done inbetween, but to be done with all by the 22 or the 25 at the latest.

Academic Skills: Knowledge of page layouts and general knowledge in engineering and ROVs.

Technical Skills: How to use a computer and SeaBotix servers.

Collaboration—Skills and Opportunities: To create something SeaBotix will be able to continue to use, while at the same time allowing myself to learn more about ROV functions.

Exhibition Plans: Display the new format both populated and unpopulated.

Schedule & Timelines: Refer to Schedule

For my first week overall it was very interesting. There were many highlights and challenges. Some of the highlights were that I was able to actually drive a ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle) on my first day. Another highlight was figuring out a project that would benifit the company but at the same time not leave myself doing mundain tasks all day. During this first week I struggled with trying to find out what my role was. At the beginning I was extremely lost mostly due to the fact a lot of the terminology was unfamiliar to myself. There were several tasks that we given to myself that took longer then they should have due to this problem. But by the end of this week I feel much better. I can now find files and input data and actually understand it.

By Thursday I was able to figure out two projects and am starting to feel comfortable. I hope that next week will be as smooth and as much of a learning experience as the first week was.

DaY sIx

The biggest thing that I would like to know about my mentor, Bruce, is how he ended up int he job he is currently in. I know he has lived all over the world, I just would like to know what has led him to this particular job. Also if he enjoys it as much as any of the other jobs he has done. Another thing I would like to know is how he even became interested in ROV's. And why he decided to stay in the United States. Maybe ask him if he's scene a difference between work ethics or just how things are done in all the different places he has lived.

This interview will probably take place during lunch because my mentor has a very unpredictable schedule. Although I will send my mentor an email to ask him what time is best for him.

PrOjEcT

PrOjEcT tImE
Project One

Project Title: Maintaining an Assembly Tree

Project Description: I am not sure exactly what this entails. Although I do know that apparently it is a lot of work, and will be constantly used so it will be constantly be needed to be updated.

Project Schedule: Their is not a set schedule for this project because it will be used even after I am gone.

Materials & Equipment: Paperwork, and a computer

Project Documentation:

• How will you keep track of your work:

My work will be constantly updating in relation to the project. So there isn't a set way to show how.

• How will others know about it:

The whole Engineering Department will know because it is a document they all rely on.

• What will you have to show when internship is over?

Hopefully the Assembly Tree will be almost completed and the product will be just about done.

Project Two

Project Title: Quick Start Guides

Project description: Reworking quick start guides for ROV's so that there are no grammar mistakes, and are user friendly.

Project Schedule: As of right now it depends on how many they want me to do, if they want different forms. I am still waiting to find these things out. But hopefully this will only take up till the 22 or the 25.

Materials & Equipment: Computer, Photoshop, Quick Start Guides

Project Documentation:

• How will you keep track of your work:

I'll have a separate folder file system on my personnel computer (it is the only one available that has Photoshop on it) and each time I save it will have a new name. Just so I can make sure how much more i need to do or of anything else that I have to do.

• How will others know about it?

Hopefully it will be or give ideas for the final Quick Start Guide that will be in the product manual.

• What will you have to show when internship is over?

A visual either digital or hard copy version of the quick start guide(s).

DaY ThReE

Day Three

1. What skills would you like to develop at your site?
I would love to have a better understanding of how this type of company works, as well as have a better grasp of machanical terms.

2. What interests do you have regarding the work done at your site?
I am interested in Engineering, but the more I am here the more I'm realizing that maybe Engineering is not the best area for me. But I do want to learn as much as possible about this form of engineering while I am here.

3. What needs can you address (needs your mentor has, your company has, etc.) based on your skills and interests?
I can try to make things more user friendly. Also I am learning as fast as I can so that I can become an asset to the company and start doing bigger things.

DaY FoUr

Day Four

1. What academic skills could you use on the job?
So far the academic skills that have presented them are those that I gained through Karl's Engineering class. A lot of the terminology is different and the only way i understand part of it is because we went through it in his class.

2. What forms of collaboration could you use in a project?
I'm trying to find a way that I can incorporate doing to digital media with this internship. A lot of what I have been doing is tedious and mechanical but it has to be done. So I am still trying to find some way to incorporate media into it.

3. What technical skills can you use at your internship?
A lot of cataloging observations and computer work. Even though I am interning in the Engineering Department there is a lot of paper work that has to be approved or looked over or edited. So a lot of both computer and editing skills are being used.

4. What new things can you learn while working at your site?
I am already learning new things. I have learned how to use a new program and am learning a lot about the terminology behind the ROV's.

5. How can you exhibit, showcase or otherwise share your work?
That's the hard one, a lot of what I am doing is contributing to anything that needs to be done. I do not necessarily have my own project but i get attached to a bunch of projects. So I guess the best way to showcase my work would be to say what I am doing.

6. How can your work or your skills & abilities help your company or organization?
This is where I'm trying to find a happy medium. Right now i am coming up with ideas that could incorporate ways that would make their customers happier if they encounter a problem. One way I came up with was to make their manuals more user friendly.

DaY TwO

Day Two

What have you actively done to start off on the right note?

I think the biggest thing I have done is to have a positive attitude. I wasn't sure what I would be in for, so I tried to keep an open mind in anything my mentor sets in front of me. That and anytime when I run out of things to do I tried to ask if their was anything that I could start on.

What have you actively done to create interesting opportunities for yourself?

The best thing I have done is to ask if I can do something. On my first day I saw one of my coworkers heading to the dock. I wasn't sure if I was aloud to go and my mentor was conducting a interview at the time; I asked one of the people I was getting help from and ended up on the dock. It turned out to be one of the best questions because I ended up learning how to drive a ROV, totally cool.

What have you actively done to advance the interests of your mentor and/or site?

If you mean in respects to gaining more customers, I really haven't been able to do anything. SeaBotix is a pretty well set up business, they are already known globally and have a very well set up website. Within their website they post live updates on new events that are upcoming . If their is an opportunity that does come in which i can help in some way I certainly will.

What can you do in the immediate future to improve yourself and your experience in the above areas?

I can try to still have an open mind. Within the first two days I have made the realization that I would find it difficult to deal with working in a manufacturing and production company. If I keep an open mind I hope that I will find a niche that allows me to help them in some way.

The First Day

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Captions

1. This is what greats me when I step out of the car. The sun shinning on the marina at the end of Liberty Station. This is located right outside SeaBotix. One word came to mind. . . Wow!

2. This is Adam, he is one of the employees I am working with. He is displaying the norm for our 'dress code'. Jeans and collared shirt or as my mentor puts it 'smart casual dress'.

3. This is where I do most of my work. The computer is not set up yet but it turns on, yay! I was super surprised when I found out I got my own work area.

4. This was the fun part, driving the ROV. This is what I will be getting to do hopefully a lot because this vehicle is scheduled to be released soon. Right then I was driving it so it would not tangle up in the tether (the line that holds the wires to make the ROV work).

5. This is just a picture of the ROV in the water.

6. This is all the electronic components we were running at the time. It struck me because didn't think that so many components were needed to run an ROV. (then I was told that we were running extra settings and test)

Sarah's Questions

1. How is the recession impacting your business or institution?

A: It has slowed our overall growth. However our core product has grown 20% in the previous year, 2009.

2. What is the role of your business or institution in the economy?

A: We have a product line which has a diverse sales demographic. Therefore there is consistent and level growth.

3. If the economy begins to drastically drop again, how will your company fair?

A: By having a diverse market we are less susceptible.

4. Do you see the effect of the recession in the amount and the type of consumer demand?

A: Yes. The private sales are down because money is not nearly as available as it was eighteen to twenty months ago.

My Day

The photo listed as #1 is what greeted me this morning at 8:21AM. The only reason I knew the time was because I had been staring at the clock for half of the ride to school and then to my internship site. Unfortunately there had been no traffic to detain us and my brother left with no complaint. So as i step out and say good by to my mom, I turn to the main building and walk in. I say to the receptionist and get my name tag. My mentor has not come yet so we talk about how our holidays were and so as we talk I start to feel calmer, more excited instead of nervous. My mentor walks through the door (I don't have a cool slide key yet), and reintroduces me to the people I will be working with. Most I have met before but some I don't know at all.

After introductions are made I ended up standing awkwardly not know what exactly to do. My mentor is sitting at his desk looking very busy. I walk up to him and ask "Is there something I can start working on?", he looks at me and go "Oh yes of coarse" . He hands me two purple folders, and tells me to go through them and edit anything that does not sound right or has a mistake. As i go through the folders I find out they are manuals for the ROV we ended up testing later that day. For the next three hours I go through both manuals and right as many changes as i could find or correct. I did not dawn on me till I got home that the corrections I made would end up in the final product. Kinda cool.

By the time lunch is over I have nothing to do and my mentor is in interview's. I ask Adam if I can go down to the dock, I had just seen the garage unit for an ROV head that way. He says that it's fine with him as long as I get the OK from whoever is working there. Best decision ever to ask if I could go. When I get to the dock I end up helping set up the equipment for the test being conducted. This test was to see how the censors were working on the garage pulley for the tether that was connected to the ROV. At first they wanted me to launch the ROV from the garage and I proceeded to tell them it was not a good idea; I'd break it. Once it was out and a couple of test had been run I got to drive it and make sure the new HD camera was working. It was really cool to conduct. We also had the special treat of seeing a dolphin that SPAWARE was working with in their free floating pen.

I was suppose to leave at 3:30PM just like a normal school day, but I ended staying till 4:30 so I could help with the ROV test and caring the generator back up to SeaBotix. As I was signed out and waited for my mom I realized that my first day ended up being better than I thought it would.