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By Linda Copman
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| Photo: Ben taking a break on the roof of
the Keck Observatory, to watch the sunset before a night
of interferometer engineering work, courtesy of Ben Berkey. |
“To many people growing up in Hawai‘i, myself
included, the summit observatories represented the idea
that there was a bright economic future for Hawai‘i; and
there was a reason to pay attention in school.” — Ben
Berkey
The Akamai
Internship Program offers participating college students
an intensive “short course” science and communication curriculum
and then places them with observatory mentors to apply their
academic experience in the workplace. Ongoing support continues
with weekly meetings via video-conferencing between the interns
and support staff in Hawai‘i and Center for Adaptive Optics
(CfAO) personnel in Santa Cruz. In return, the students enable
the observatory staff, whether they are scientists, engineers,
or technicians, to complete important projects which need more
attention or time than staff has available. The students bring
their enthusiasm, energy, and excitement to the workplace.
The end products of their work, when completed, are integrated
into the complex real-life systems at the various partner observatories.
Ben Berkey
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| Photo: Ben in the middle of the Keck interferometer,
aligning the Nuller Breadboard. Photo by Andrew Cooper,
electronics engineer at Keck Observatory. |
Editor’s Note:
Ben Berkey was a student in the Akamai Internship pilot program
in 2004. After graduation, Ben landed an internship at Keck
Observatory on the interferometer, and he is still working
on the interferometer as a Keck employee. In his spare time,
Ben is a frequent volunteer at the Ellison Onizuka Visitor
Information Station at Hale Pohaku on Mauna Kea.
In the summer of 2004 I was an Akamai intern at the Smithsonian
Submillimeter Array (SMA), where I worked under Billie Chitwood.
The SMA is a submillimeter observatory which uses eight 6-meter
antennas to provide the world’s sharpest images of vibrating
molecules. To produce these images, each antenna has to accurately
point to the exact same point in the sky. The problem is that
the antennae deform under their own weight. I looked at how
the tilts and sags of the antenna structure affected precise
pointing on the sky. Although I wasn’t able to find a better
mathematical pointing model, I was able to show how certain
features of the internal antenna structure contributed to some
of the pointing errors.
Personally I felt the SMA internship was a great experience.
It was a good job, a great way to meet people in the realm
of astronomy, and it helped me to cement the idea in my mind
that I wanted to work with telescopes and do astronomy in my
future. I think the most valuable thing I got out of the internship
was the part I was least excited about: the final presentation
that I gave at the Center for Adaptive Optics (CfAO) in Santa
Cruz. This was the biggest and most difficult presentation
I had done up until that point in my life. I know this experience
made me more confident about public speaking and preparing
presentations.
In the summer of 2005 I started my second Mauna Kea internship;
this one was sponsored by both the Michelson Science Center
and the UH-Hilo Physics and Astronomy Department. In this internship
I worked at Keck Observatory to build a software tool to analyze
the performance of various sub-systems of the interferometer.
This internship was successful enough that when I graduated
in December of 2005, I was offered a job at Keck Observatory
as an optics assistant.
The challenges facing young people growing up in Hawai‘i are
the same challenges faced by people growing up anywhere else,
except for one thing. When I was growing up, it was accepted
knowledge that if you wanted to do something with your life,
you had to leave the state. So for most young people, there
is no obvious reason to study hard or pay attention in school,
since they don’t want to leave home. I sincerely hope that
more people get a chance to go through the Akamai Program and
have some of the experiences I had.
David Luis
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| Photo: David at the Waiakoa Laboratory
working on a level shifter circuit to be used for a solar
telescope in Antarctica. Photo by Bill Giebink. |
Editor’s Note:
David Luis was a member of the 2005 cohort and was at that
time a junior in electrical engineering at UH Manoa. David
interned at Keck Observatory with Craig Nance, assembling and
installing a Web weather camera on the outside of the dome.
My Akamai Project stemmed from a problem that Keck Observatory
was having with snow which was accumulating on the observatory
dome, where it could fall into the dome and damage the primary
mirror. Snow was also blocking the primary observatory access
road. The snow problem was interfering with the tight schedules
of the observatory staff, who are constantly working to accommodate
the many astronomers who vie for viewing time on the Keck Telescopes.
My project was to design, build, install, and test a camera
system that would withstand extreme weather conditions and
allow the observatory staff to remotely view the summit day
and night, via the internet, so that they could respond more
quickly before snow accumulated on the dome and access road.
The main person I worked with was Craig Nance, facilities engineer
at Keck Observatory. Mr. Nance was a great resource for the
concepts and information I would need to successfully build
the camera system. He also provided me with invaluable knowledge
of how to work and interact in a technical work environment.
He was my guide.
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| Photo: David on a ladder at Keck Observatory,
considering the practical parameters for the weather
camera system. Photo by Craig Nance. |
Because I was used to learning theories in school, it was tough
getting used to thinking practically about how I would actually
build something. It was challenging for me to design an enclosure
that both cameras would fit into and still have a view of both
the Observatory dome and the access road. I couldn’t place
the cameras too far away from the window, or their angle of
view would be reduced so that they would not view both the
dome and the road. There was hardware in the back of the enclosure,
so there were limits on how far from or how close to the window
the cameras could be placed.
This was the most valuable thing about the internship. It taught
me the hands-on reality of working as an engineer, versus the
theory that you learn in school. I had learned a lot of math
and science, but I had hardly touched the reality of building
something.
I brought all my engineering books from school, thinking that
I would use the information they contained, but I never touched
them throughout the entire internship. Instead I learned real
strategies, like how and where to search online for needed
information and electrical devices that met the system parameters,
how to attach various connectors to connect circuits together,
and how to interact with the people you work with in a technical
environment.
“I think many young residents of Hawai‘i do
not realize how many resources and opportunities are available
to them to help them reach their dreams. Many students
never have an experience or meet someone that instills
the positive inspiration and the interest to discover and
explore. The Akamai Internship Program allows students
to obtain real, practical experience and skills they need
to pursue technical or scientific careers.” - David
Luis
Footnote:
When a position as lead electronics technician for the Haleakala
observatories opened up in 2006, Akamai staff encouraged David
to apply. Craig Nance was contacted as a reference. David got
the job, and began working at Haleakala in January 2007. David
works for the Institute for Astronomy in Kula, Maui, where
he provides mechanical and electronics support for the observatories
and for the astronomers who work there.
James Ah Heong
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| Photo: James looking for a way to mount
the Iris AO deformable mirror in the Adaptive Optics
work bench. In the picture, I'm thinking, "If I put this
mirror here and I -- ahhh yes!" Photo by Sarah Anderson,
caption by James Ah Heong. |
Editor’s Note:
James Ah Heong was a member of the 2006 cohort. James, who
is now a 23- year old student at UH Hilo, is now working at
the Center for Adaptive Optics (CfAO) on the campus of the
University of California at Santa Cruz, building and commissioning
an adaptive optics work bench. Adaptive optics systems, which
correct for distortions in images caused by the earth’s atmosphere,
are advanced features on contemporary large telescopes like
those at Keck Observatory, but education and training for this
technology are still in development. The work bench is destined
for the electronics technology department at Hawai‘i Community
College (HCC), where it will be used as a teaching tool.
I worked in Hilo, Hawai‘i at the UHH Institute for Astronomy
(IFA) for my Akamai internship. My project was to replicate
the control electronics for the NSFCam2 Array. The NSFCam2
was taking “noisy” pictures, which means that there were too
many misinterpreted pixels. My project was to build a copy
of the electronics. The idea was that somewhere in analyzing
the electronics we could get rid of the noise. The copy I built
was matched to the original and then tested until we found
the problem. All the while, the original could remain operable.
Darryl Watanabe was my direct supervisor during the project
and mentored me through the design. Darryl is an electronics
technician at the Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF). Darryl
has taught me a lot of what I know about working for the telescopes
and about working on projects. Mark Chun, an astronomer at
the IFA was my other mentor, and was always available to clarify
those subjects I had difficulty wrapping my mind around. My
mentors were located just across the hall. Darryl was literally
next door, and Mark was a 30-second walk away. They came to
check on me or I went to check with them regularly.
It would take too long to list everyone who helped me. I bugged
them all to show me what they know, and they were all very
willing. The day crew at IRTF was always popping in and giving
me new insight on how and why things need to work a certain
way.
The biggest challenge was how vast the project could be. I
was working with hardware, but I had to use software to design
the components, and then machine the parts. I was constantly
washing parts and getting dirty again. I spent a lot of time
inspecting the work afterwards and having to fix mistakes I’d
made. Working linearly was the biggest challenge for me, because
there were so many steps in the project that I got sidetracked
from the main pursuit of keeping to the schedule.
The internship showed me that “applying” myself, while slightly
painful, pays off ten-fold or more. I think the project has
given me insight that other students won’t have until they
experience this kind of work for themselves. It has taken me
across the country and strengthened all my skills. I see now
the skills I lack, as well as the avenues to remedy this situation.
This internship opens your eyes to the world of professions…they
are not majors, but much more.
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| Photo: James in summer 2006, during his
Akamai internship. Photo by Sarah Anderson. |
“On Hawai‘i Island there are a lot of kids
who are interested in technology and science, yet it is
easy to lose motivation. It’s not a matter of getting kids
motivated, but more about keeping them motivated. When
a kid asks in math class, ‘When are we ever gonna use this?’ the
answer should be ‘all day every day.’ Instead they get
something like ‘in engineering’ or in the ‘real world.’ That
is not the time for a short answer, it’s an invitation
to astound those who are listening and inspire the smart
aleck who is tired of trudging with ill result. The kids
should know why they are learning something. I hear stories
about Archimedes in college; I should have learned them
in kindergarten.” — James Ah Heong
I assume there are those of you reading this who enjoy seeing
constructive results. The control electronics I worked on is
being refitted to serve as the array control on NSFCam2. My
project is going on the telescope. IRTF will be able to test
and maintain a spare controller for the instrument, with little
or no loss in viewing time. This means the project has reached
its goals.
Having a summer intern around to get the ball rolling helps
the entire industry. We interns come well armed, as the support
we receive from the Akamai Program staff is excellent! Many
of the projects that the interns tackle are ones that their
mentors simply need help getting started. These projects are
not busy work; they directly support astronomy and are a great
investment for everyone involved.
Click here to see a video
clip  of James walking the viewer through the adaptive optics
work bench that he is currently working on at CfAO in Santa
Cruz (requires Flash 8 player). 
Click here to return to the main page. |
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