Andrew Li was born and raised in Oahu, Hawaii, and is a graduate
of Kalani High School. He is currently a sophomore and majoring
in Electrical Engineering at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa.
Andrew is interested in power systems and renewable energy,
and is eager to learn more about hardware and how to optimize
system performance in practical applications. This interest drives
his goal of pursuing a career in high voltage systems and
advancing sustainable energy infrastructure. In his free time, he
likes playing basketball, going to the gym, and collecting
Pokémon cards.
Home Island: Oahu
High School: Kalani High School
Institution when accepted: UH Manoa
Site: Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA). Hilo, Hawaii Island
Mentors: Derek Kubo
Project title: Assembly and Optimization of a Test Bench for Non-linear Signal Processing for SETI Applications
Project Abstract:
The Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA) currently uses an array of ten
(10) 6-meter-diameter dishes and antennas to observe and capture data on fast radio burst sources
(FRB). Once captured, the Hawaii FRB array digital backend uses signal boards to process and
record data. The processing board has a spare input that provides an opportunity to develop
another project. With this, the project aims to develop a custom non-linear signal processing
channel that uses the spare input for a Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) experiment.
The system will use a sample radio-frequency signal between 400-800 MHz band, which is acquired
from the telescopes’ operational frequency. This signal is then processed through the non-linear
channel and finally presented on the processing board. The hardware design includes different
components that serve various purposes in preparing the radio signal before it reaches the
processing board. Some components are the frequency doubler, power splitters, mixers, amplifiers,
and bandpass filter that increase, divide, strengthen, and isolate the desired radio-frequency signal.
This process will involve assembling, implementing, testing, and optimizing the design using a test
bench before deploying on the telescope site. By leveraging the extra input on the ICE signal
processing board and deploying this channel, it will strengthen the FRB data analysis and further
improve the capability of SETI signal detection.