Recent Happenings
Starting a PhD Program
I was admitted into the Ph.D. program in Built Ecologies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and will start in August as a Ph.D. student at the Center for Lighting Enabled Systems and Applications.
I graduated (again)!
Another year, another pandemic graduation… I graduated with a Master of Science in Lighting from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute this month!
The 21st Century Greenhouse
Use the web tool below to see the different components of a 21st-century greenhouse, including advanced sensors, a data analytics dashboard, LED grow lights, and how the greenhouse fits into the community. Read the full whitepaper at the button at the bottom of the web tool.
Master’s Project 2021 – Estimate Pupil Size
Using predefined models of human response to light, this web tool aims to allow users to easily calculate pupil size and estimate the amount and quality of light reaching the retina of a subject based on illuminance at the eye, spectral power distribution at the eye, and the age of the subject.
Circle, circle, dot, dot, I got my second Covid shot!
Very excited that COVID-19 vaccines are out! Here’s to a return to some form of normalcy…
Forest Photography with Andrew Jones in Maryland
Springtime forest photography with Andrew Jones in Maryland to celebrate Earth Day 2021.
I made an LED Ice Cream Cone Display
What do compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) and soft serve have in common? Their iconic swirls! This project combines these iconic swirls together to create a light-up, color-changing ice cream cone.
Vegan Easter Treats
Grass bunny Oreo truffles, Blueberry muffin tops, Chocolate covered strawberries, and Mud pudding with strawberry carrots!
Miss Tennessee USA 2021
Lily represented Shelby County at the Miss Tennessee USA 2021 pageant in April.
Vegan Banana Cream Pie for Pi Day
Make this vegan Banana Cream Pie with a graham cracker pi design for Pi Day!
Miss Shelby County USA 2021
Lily represented Shelby County at the Miss Tennessee USA 2021 pageant in March.
I made an LED Light-Up Gown for the Holidays
I made a gown that lights up for the Holidays using LED fairy string lights!
First Semester of my M.S. in Lighting Program at RPI
I’m one semester into my Master of Science in Lighting program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Dynamic Bridge Design for Troy, NY
Bridge lighting design for the Hoosick street bridge in Troy, New York. This web tool allows you to turn on and off layers of light in the design and calculate the estimated cost using chosen layers.
I Spy – Bourne Identity Photoshoot with Andy Jones
Some spy-esque and Jason Bourne inspired photos by Andrew Jones in Washington, DC.
World Space Week 2020 with Andy Jones
Happy World Space Week from Andy Jones and me at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and more!
Indiana Jones Inspired Photoshoot with Andy Jones
Some adventurous Indiana Jones inspired photography by Andrew Jones in Washington, DC.
An Alcohol-Free 21st (pandemic) Birthday
As you may know, I am straight-edge/sober, so I celebrated my 21st birthday alcohol-free! (Except for some obligatory wine poached pears with the alcohol cooked out 🙂
Feds Feed Families 2020
I collected 130 pounds of food donations for American University’s food pantry “The Market” which provides food to students in need!
I graduated!
I (technically?) graduated this month. No ceremony because of the pandemic, but I did get my B.S. diploma in the mail…
American University Cheerleading 2019-2020
American University cheerleading season 2019-2020 (cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
Spectrasearch – Department of Energy’s Lighting Program
SpectraSearch is a full-stack web application that seeks to develop a database of spectral data and a searchable interface for spectral data/lights to help lighting professionals evaluate lighting products against current and future requirements.
ThinSat – NASA DC Space Grant Consortium
Lily was under grant from the NASA DC Space Grant Consortium to develop a generic particle detector Arduino library for the ThinSat program. ThinSats are small satellites capable of transmitting data from low earth orbit.
Children’s Miracle Network Week 2020
Did you know that 1 in 10 children in North America receives treatment at a CMN hospital every year? Support the CMN COVID-19 Impact fund!
NASA Space Grant 30th Anniversary Celebration
Celebrating NASA Space Grant’s 30th Anniversary with Space Grant Consortiums from all 50 states gathered in Washington, DC.
Department of Energy Lighting R&D Conference 2020
Lily was invited to present a poster on the SpectraSearch project at the 2020 DOE Lighting R&D Workshop in San Diego January 28–30, 2020.
Miss District of Columbia USA 2020
Lily competed at the Miss District of Columbia USA 2020 competition as Miss Embassy Row and placed Top 12.
Miss Embassy Row 2020
Lily represented the Embassy Row community of Washington, DC at the Miss District of Columbia USA 2020 pageant.
NASA Cereal Box Spectrometers
Visiting Bon Lin Elementary for a NASA educational workshop making Cereal Box Spectrometers and talking about the NASA Space Grant Consortium.
Progressive International Motorcycle Show with Andy Jones
Progressive International Motorcycle Show in Washington, DC with DC photographer Andrew Jones (@ageowns).
Holidays 2019
Thanksgiving and Christmas with friends and family.
Digital Stagelighting Game
This C# Unity game is an opportunity to play with stage lighting design. You can turn available lights on and off and change lights’ color filters and spot angles through the simplified CAD (Computer-Aided Design) lighting plot. Then, you can see what your edits look like on a 3D stage.
P5.js Modules
P5.js is a JavaScript client-side library for creating graphic and interactive experiences. Lily was the Teaching Assistant to Professor Arthur Shapiro for the pilot of a lower-level Computer Science course using it (CSC 121 “Creative Coding”) at American University in Fall 2018. The course has since been integrated into the Computer Science department’s regular course offerings and approved to satisfy a General Education requirement for the university (Quantitative Literacy I).
NVIDIA GTC Technology Conference 2019
GTC DC brings together more than 3000 attendees from the public and private sectors to discuss the latest developments in AI.
Prevent Cancer 5K Fundraising with AU Cheerleading 2019
Help us reach our goal of $450 to participate in the Prevent Cancer 5k with American University cheer!
Lead, Innovate, and Create – IB Alumni Event
My International Baccalaureate learner profile trait was ‘communicator.’ Can you tell?
Spooky Mad Science Expo
Halloween comes early for Art Technically! Had fun with the kids of the WAL Spooky Mad Science Expo coding Halloween cards yesterday using Art Technically’s Love Letters lesson plan.
DC Spring and Summer 2019
National Park Service week, cherry blossom season, Kennedy Center, and the Apollo anniversary at the national mall.
Miss District of Columbia 2019
Miss District of Columbia 2019, an official preliminary to the Miss America competition.
Over $4,800 raised for Children’s Miracle Network 2018-19
Keep up with my fundraising for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals this year!
Complex Problems Program Leader
Lily was the program leader of an American University first-year “Complex Problems” seminar called “Reality: Distorted, Augmented, or Otherwise.”
American University Cheerleading Tryouts 2019
2019 fall tryouts for the American University cheerleading team.
NCA College Cheerleading Nationals 2019
American University Cheerleading Team at NCA College Cheerleading Nationals 2019 in Daytona, Florida.
AU Cheerleading 2018-2019 Season
American University Cheerleading Season 2018-2019 ending with NCA College Cheerleading Nationals in Daytona April 2019.
Assembly Language Final Project for OoCS
This is a game written entirely in Assembly language. The game features a sprite inspired by Tamagotchi. The hardware includes a microcontroller, LED screen, potentiometer, and a piezo.
Predictive Policing Module
An example of Average Kerneling and Heat Mapping for use with Predictive Policing. Coded in p5.js.
Women’s Basketball Home Opener
Photos from American University’s Women’s Basketball team’s home opener against Tulsa.
Geometric and Arithmetic Sequences and Series
These are arithmetic and geometric sequence and series modules written for CSC 350: Intro to Discrete Structures. They are written in P5.js.
Support CMN and Win a Yeti Cooler!
Donate to Children’s Miracle Network to earn a raffle ticket towards winning a limited edition Yeti Tundra High Country cooler!
Anatomy Fashion Show in Benefit of CMN
I had so much fun with Phi Delta Epsilon at their Anatomy Fashion Show for Children’s Miracle Network yesterday!
Interview with AWOL Magazine’s Not Your Average Podcast
Listen to Episode 1 of Not Your Average Podcast to hear about my AU Meme Stickers campaign, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, the Miss America program, STEAM and CS at AU, and more!
Cheerleading Big-Little Week 2018
Big Little week ended last night with the big reveal! We are so excited to induct Rachel into our Venti family.
P5.js Project: License Plate Generator
This is a module that outputs some random examples of Virginia style license plates (3 numbers and 3 letters). It is written for CSC 350: Intro to Discrete Structures. It is written in P5.js.
P5.js Project: Permutations
This is a module that takes a set of data and outputs how many numbers (with a certain number of given digits) can be made from the set. It is written for CSC 350: Intro to Discrete Structures. It is written in P5.js.
AU Stickers Fundraising Goal Met!
I’m super excited to announce that the AU Sticker Project has surpassed it’s $200 goal! As of writing, the Sticker Project has raised a total of $277.86 for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
P5.js Project: Calculate the Union and Intersection of Two Sets
This is a module to calculate the union or intersection of two sets of data written for CSC 350: Intro to Discrete Structures. It is written in P5.js.
Prevent Cancer 5K Fundraising with AU Cheerleading
Help us reach our goal of $100 to participate in the Prevent Cancer 5k with American University cheer!
AU Stickers for Children’s Miracle Network
I’m selling American University inspired stickers in benefit of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals! Put them on your laptop, phone, water bottles, notebooks, folders, and anything else your heart desires. All stickers are between $1.50 and $3.50 depending on the size.
Summer 2018
A recap of Summer 2018 as the fall semester approaches…
Miss DC 2018
I am so grateful to have been able to participate in 2018’s Miss District of Columbia competition. This Miss DC was the last one before the premiere of Miss America 2.0.. It was truly an end of an era, and I can’t wait to see what the new Miss America Organization has in store for us next season!
Let’s Talk #GirlsinSTEM
I had so much fun with these girls yesterday! One of the things that struck me most from our talks was how many said their favorite subject was science or math.
Man of the District 2018
Celebrating Man of the District at Penn Social with my Miss DC sisters and my MOTD nominee Roel Ayala.
Mother’s Day 2018: Give the Gift of Life
Does your mom, grandmother, aunt, friend, or other important woman in your life have enough perfume bottles and flowers? Celebrate this Mother’s Day by giving her the priceless gift of helping a sick child!
Physics 200 18th Annual Conference
Students in PHYS 200 presented their research from all semester on a light, sound, or electronics physics subject of their choice. I presented research from my paper, “Surprise! It’s not Pink.” on lighting design and color mixing with gel filters.
AU Cheer Tryouts
Starting off another fantastic season in Bender, most of last year’s team (and some newcomers) assembled in the infamous Bender Arena™ at 3 PM today. It’s been an incredibly long time since we’ve been here, 3 weeks to be exact, and we are excited to start off another year of cheer!
Visiting the White House
Visiting the White House 28 APRIL, 2018 Miss DC Washington The Miss DC finalists had an amazing opportunity to take a tour of the White House today. Our self-guided tour started at the East Wing and ended at the very front of the White House where we snapped some fun...
The Unhealthy Truth: An AU Honors Presentation
The Unhealthy Truth: An AU Honors Presentation 26 APRIL, 2018 Academics Honors Program The AU Honors 2021 cohort ended their honors inquiry this semester, "Food for Thought", with science poster and film presentations of their research on American University Dining. I...
AU Cheer Tryouts are Coming Up!
AU Cheer Tryouts are Coming Up! 16 APRIL, 2018 Cheerleading Interested in AU Spirit? Tryouts for Cheerleading will be April 29th 4-7 PM in Bender Arena! It's tons of fun, as you can tell from my constant posting about it... Feel free to message me or another...
Cherry Blossom Festival
Pictures from our venture to the Cherry Blossom Festival and March for Science in downtown Washington, DC.
Cheer Banquet
It’s been an amazing season and I’m extremely proud of all we’ve overcome and accomplished. Thanks so much to my coach and my teammates for Rookie of the Year and the hilarious superlatives. I’ll miss you seniors, and I’ll see the rest of you at tryouts in two weeks!
Nationals Score Results and Beach Pics
The scores are out and we placed 7th. We’ve had an amazing time, learned so much, and accomplished our goal of hitting a clean routine. Next year though, we’re coming back with a vengeance, so watch out Daytona! Until then, we can finally say the words “beach” and “ocean” without our coach giving us ‘the look.’
Miss America Serves Day
Miss America Serves Day Happy Miss America Serves Day! Unfortunately, I can’t be with my Miss DC sisters because I’m at NCA College Cheerleading Nationals, but good luck to them as they perform at Children's National, Fisher House, and the Washington DC VA Medical...