Adrian was born in Portland, Oregon and moved to the island of O‘ahu in 2014. After graduating from Kalaheo High School in 2020, he went on to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. Adrian has worked as a tutor and is an active member of the Pi Tau Sigma honor society. Upon graduation, he plans to continue his education in pursuit of a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. In his free time, Adrian enjoys surfing, cooking, and playing chess.
Home Island: O‘ahu
High School: Kalaheo High School
Institution when accepted: UH Manoa
Project Site: Canada-France-Hawai‘i Telescope, Waimea, Hawai‘i Island
Mentors: Marc Baril & Billy Mahoney
Project title: Designing a Remote Focusing System for the Panoramic Cloud Monitor at Maunakea Observatories
Project Abstract:
Nana ao is a panoramic cloud monitor located at the summit of Maunakea. It provides all-sky images in the optical and thermal infrared wavelengths, including the ability to generate important differential infrared images, allowing observers to detect clouds moving through the sky, thereby assisting in the observation of targets efficiently in real time. Nana ao has an optical monochromatic camera (0.4 – 1 µm) and a long-wave infrared (8 – 14 µm) camera with fish-eye lenses, allowing them 180° views of the night sky. Due to temperature fluctuations, these cameras frequently require refocusing. Currently, focusing is done manually, requiring staff to be on-site at the summit. The primary goal of this project is to design, fabricate, test, and integrate an electronic focusing system that enables remote camera focusing. This mechanism, identical for both cameras, should be capable of a minimum 1 millimeter motion from the best focus position. The system should incorporate switches that restrict movement in both directions and complete a 50-micron excursion in no more than 5 seconds. Communication with the mechanism’s motion controller will be via an industry-standard serial connection to the instrument’s existing Raspberry Pi. A Python script will be written to handle sending commands to the motor controller, allowing the user to take images, evaluate the focus quality, and record the data to a CSV file. A secondary goal of this project is to design and implement autofocus capabilities. The implementation of this focus mechanism will improve image data quality and time spent on instrument maintenance.