Katie Park graduated from Maui High School in 2015 and is a rising junior majoring in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Washington, Seattle. She is involved with the Society of Women in Engineering and is a Resident Advisor for first year engineering students. After graduation, Katie hopes to pursue a field in Aerospace Engineering specializing in avionics. Katie became interested in the field of engineering because she loves hands-on work and the ability to combine her creativity with analyticity. Aside from school, she likes to travel and spend time with friends and family.
Home Island: Maui
High School: Maui High School
Institution when accepted: University of Washington, Seattle
Akamai Project: Designing and Building a Portable Power Distribution and Diagnostics Unit
Project Site: Subaru Telescope
Mentor: Lucio Ramos
Project Abstract:
Subaru Telescope is commissioning several new instruments that need to be tested and powered. Currently, Subaru Telescope only has distribution units made solely for supplying power to an instrument. This is inconvenient and time consuming for testing purposes at the telescope because all the configurations and setup for the various devices must be done separately each time the unit is in use. Because Subaru Telescope is currently nearing its electrical capacity, another source is required to provide the power needed for the instruments. However, this new source must also power the instrument, be portable, and have remote power control and communications capabilities. The purpose of this project is to build a portable power distribution and diagnostics unit that can easily be wheeled across to access different instruments and areas. Due to budget constraints, we used existing devices at Subaru Telescope and components were chosen to build a unit that met our requirements in an empty container with a built-in power rack. The unit consisted of the power distribution unit, remote power controller, serial server, network switch, emergency power off switch, and the data logger. The initial design of the unit did not meet the size requirements so I designed a holder using SolidWorks to be able to fit multiple devices into a smaller space that the devices and rack did not originally allow for. This design was sent to the machine shop to be manufactured. Post fabrication and assembly, the holder was inserted to hold both the network switch and serial server so that they could be mounted next to the data logger. This will make it possible for all devices to fit while being completely accessible within the unit. After the completion of this unit, the devices will be configured and brought up to the telescope to be tested.