In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Akamai Workforce Initiative — an eight-week summer internship program that helps college students from Hawaii complete real-life science or technology projects in a professional setting — Subaru Telescope staff mentored four students this summer, putting them to work on important projects that will help the telescope prepare for the future.
Subaru Telescope has participated in AWI since 2005, mentoring nearly three dozen students, who have each worked on a project that has made a direct contribution to the organization.
Subaru Telescope’s four interns for 2023 are: Logan Waltjen from Hawaii Island, currently attending Grand Canyon University; Jase Ishimi from Oahu, currently attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa; Jonathan Merchant from Maui and Seattle, currently attending Carleton College; and Kamea Mcmillan-Zilberman from Oahu, currently attending Kapiolani Community College.
Their projects included redesigning cooling methods for high-altitude video streaming, development and deployment of a new software infrastructure, updating the sky monitoring software for telescope observers, and improving the cooling switch system for Subaru’s new observation instrument: the Prime Focus Spectrograph.
Waltjen, a graduate of Kamehameha Schools Hawaii, is studying electrical engineering.
“I did a lot of research to prepare,” said Waltjen of his project to improve the cooling switch system for the telescope’s Prime Focus Spectrograph near the summit of Maunakea. “My mentor laid out this project well so I could learn through hands-on work and also through computer work and designing. He encouraged me by giving me tasks that kept me busy and it encouraged me to learn so much.
“I think what I will take away from this experience is to work hard and always want to do more to produce the best product you can.”
The goals of the Akamai program are to address the technical workforce needs in Hawaii and advance students into science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers. Students spend their internship at an observatory or in an industry setting where they complete a project under the guidance of a mentor. Interns are matched with observatory staff based on their skill set.
For more details on the Akamai Workforce Initiative, visit akamaihawaii.org.