Gemini Support for the Akamai Workforce Initiative Continues

The International Gemini Observatory is continuing its decade-long support of the Akamai Internship Program. This year, Clark Lane Acohido, Emma Carrier, Wilson Lau, Kawika Naweli, and Frances Michelle Uy have been selected from a well-qualified and competitive applicant pool to work for eight weeks at the Hilo base facility. The interns will work with their mentors from the observatory on different STEM-related projects including: the development of Python packages for data analysis, the redesigning of the Gemini dome bogie lateral guide roller, the application of machine learning to cloud camera timelapses, and the commissioning of the backend of the Gemini Engineering Archiver. The Akamai interns will wrap up their projects and give a capstone public presentation in Hilo at the beginning of August.

Ultimately the Akamai interns will be directly supporting observatory activities and will be gaining hands-on experience to become the new generation of scientists, engineers, and software developers. Two of the interns are funded by the International Gemini Observatory and three by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. The Akamai Workforce Initiative is led by the Institute for Scientist and Engineer Educators at the University of California Santa Cruz in partnership with the University of Hawai’i at Hilo.