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Story by Linda Copman
Photos courtesy of Sarah Anderson
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| Photo: Four members of the Akamai Program at the summit. |
Keck Observatory's mission is to "advance the frontiers of astronomy
and share our discoveries with the world." Education is certainly
a big part of this mission. The Akamai Internship Program acknowledges
the fundamental importance of inspiring the imaginations of
young people to pursue careers in science and technology. Sarah
Anderson, Akamai Internship Coordinator, estimates that about
one-third of the 28 interns who have participated in the program
in its first three years will pursue careers in astronomy.
Akamai interns get paid to work in a variety of science and
engineering fields, representative of the range of disciplines
necessary to run a complex observatory, like Keck. They bring
a combination of science and engineering talents to their internships,
and they work with professional mentors who are experts in their
fields -- to accomplish specific projects at participating observatories.
Students spend eight weeks on Hawai`i Island engaged in two
parallel paths: executing an astronomical research or engineering
project along with developing the skills to communicate what
they have accomplished. Internships culminate in a final symposium
for family, friends, and the general community where students
demonstrate their communication skills through oral presentations
about their projects. Read on to see the breadth and depth of
this summer's gleanings.
Kaniela Dement
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| Photo: Kaniela Dement. |
Kaniela is a senior at the University of Hawai`i at Hilo,
majoring in Physics and Astronomy. Kaniela interned at
Gemini Observatory last summer, and he returned this summer
for a second stint as an Akamai intern at Keck Observatory,
under the mentorship of support astronomers Randy Campbell
and David Le Mignant.
Kaniela's project was to test the validity of mathematical
formulas which attempt to calculate the atmospheric differential
refraction (ADR), which is caused when light from a star
is refracted by the Earth's atmosphere. Adaptive Optics
technologies at Keck Observatory can correct for atmospheric
turbulence, but not for ADR. The spectra of stars are
incomplete due to the effects of ADR on the incoming data.
Accurate mathematical formulas to calculate ADR would
be a valuable tool for astronomers to correct gaps in
their data and obtain more complete spectra.
Clearly this is not a project for a neophyte. Kaniela
plans to pursue a graduate degree in astronomy and he
says "there is a high probability that he will be working
with his Keck Observatory mentors again in the future."
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Ben Honey
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| Photo: Ben Honey. |
Ben attends Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Arizona,
where he is majoring in Aeronautical Engineering. Ben's
mentor was Drew Medeiros, Keck Observatory mechanical
engineer.
Ben's project was in response to a long-standing engineering
request to improve the efficiency of access to the Keck
Interferometer M7 Optics Bench. The interferometer essentially
combines the light from the two Keck telescopes to improve
the angular resolution of observations. The equipment
is housed in what is affectionately and aptly called the
"crypt": a 6-foot by 7-foot by 8-foot concrete room located
beneath the telescopes at the 14,000-foot summit of Mauna
Kea. The existing "temporary" access is by pulling oneself
through a tunnel with a pulley, then removing a clear
vinyl diaphragm and window mount - a time and energy consuming
process. Ben's job was to design a new entryway which
would be easier to open, would adequately insulate the
optics equipment from temperature variations in the tunnel,
would not outgas emissions which might impact the sensitive
equipment, and would fit within the limited space constraints
of the crypt.
Though this was not an aeronautical engineering task,
the project had its own unique challenges. In the end
Ben was able to design and help fabricate a new entryway,
which requires several fewer steps than the existing system
to operate. His biggest challenge was scheduling the installation
of the new system, which must be carefully done so as
not to interfere with the observing schedule of the telescopes.
The new system is ready to go, and should be installed
within the next few months. "Scheduling is not something
you learn at aeronautical engineering school," says Ben,
"but it is very important when you are onsite working
with a team." A very valuable lesson, indeed.
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Vladimir Ivanov
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Photo: Vladimir Ivanov
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Vladimir (Vlady) and his family moved to Hawai`i Island
from Sofia, Bulgaria just one year ago, when his mother
chose the University of Hawai`i at Hilo over offers from
several other prestigious universities, and joined the math
department as a professor. His mother thought that "the
U.S. has the best universities," says Vlady, and she wanted
her kids to have access to these educational institutions.
Vlady is currently a sophomore majoring in Computer Science
at the University of Hawai`i at Hilo. Vlady's mentors
at Keck Observatory were Dr. Shui Kwok and librarian,
Peggi Kamisato.
Vlady's project was to create an image database catalog
for use by Keck Observatory Intranet users. The project
premise was that if visual information on Keck's electronic
and mechanical systems could be catalogued in a central
database, then it would be more easily accessible to engineers
and technicians. "A picture can be worth a 1,000 words,"
says Vlady, "when you are trying to fix equipment at the
summit." Vlady's first task was to read as much as possible
about the various components of the software program selected
to do the job. After developing an understanding of the
requirements, Vlady designed the forms necessary to create
the database: a report form, a display form, and an edit/submit
form. The final task was to populate the database with
over 500 images submitted by Keck Observatory staff. During
the testing phase, Vlady troubleshot slow-loading images
by creating smaller thumbnails of each image. Vlady's
image database is now online and accessible to Keck employees
round-the-clock from their computer terminals. |
Bronson Libed
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| Photo: Bronson Libed. |
Bronson is a junior at the University of Hawai`i at Manoa,
where he is majoring in Civil Engineering. Bronson admits
that he "didn't know that engineering was such a big part
of astronomy. There's lots of work at Keck Observatory
for an engineer, and I would consider coming back again,"
says Bronson.
Bronson worked with mentor Craig Nance and summit advisor
Allen Agliam on a tribological analysis and maintenance
system for the Keck telescopes. Tribology looks at surfaces
that rub against each other, and the friction, wear, and
lubrication of these surfaces. Engineers utilize a variety
of oils and fluids to keep the equipment, including the
azimuth bearing of the telescopes themselves, at the Observatory
running smoothly. These fluids are periodically sent out
to a company which analyzes them to detect abnormalities,
such as sudden elevations in the level of metal or silicon.
This analysis serves as a "blood test" for the health
of the machinery. Looking at the data, Bronson discovered
that there was a high level of a contaminant labeled as
"dirt" by the company. Digging deeper he found that "dirt"
is typically composed of a 3:1 mixture of silicon to aluminum.
The presence of silicon in the oils in the Keck telescopes
was previously thought to be the result of exposure to
external dirt, of which there is plenty at the summit
of Mauna Kea.
However, when Bronson analyzed the oil test results a
bit more thoroughly, he realized that high silicon readings
only occurred in Keck 2 and were not accompanied by elevated
levels of aluminum - which one would expect if contamination
were caused by exposure to external dirt. Bronson concluded
that anomalies in the silicon levels in the Keck 2 telescope
were due to an industrial, rather than an environmental,
cause and the hunt for the source of the rogue silicon
is on. Bronson explained that predictive maintenance -
or analyzing oil samples for fluctuations in order to
preempt problems and fix abnormalities - is standard practice
at Keck Observatory. So the telescopes should operate
smoothly for years to come. |
Lisa Rightmire
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| Photo: Lisa Rightmire. |
Lisa is studying Electrical Engineering at the University
of Memphis, but she spent the past academic year at the
University of Hawai`i at Hilo, where she completed coursework
toward a second degree in Physics. This summer Lisa worked
with mentor Marcos Van Dam on a project called Marcos's
Adaptive Optics Rectangular Interface, or MAORI for short.
The observing assistants at Keck Observatory have quite
a few subsystems to control and monitor simultaneously,
in order to operate the telescope's Adaptive Optics (AO)
system. Pre-MAORI operators had to monitor several graphical
user interfaces (GUI's) on their computer screens in order
to maintain the AO system. Lisa's task was to design and
program a single GUI which would allow the observing assistant
to accomplish the same end - monitoring and controlling
the various subsystems which comprise the AO system. Lisa
says, "I spent my entire summer behind a computer writing
code."
But the MAORI project was an indisputable success. Observing
assistants report that MAORI is much easier to use than
the old system and much easier to maintain. Lisa expects
that MAORI will be used by Keck personnel at the summit
for the next five to ten years. 
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