Crystal was born and raised on the Big Island of Hawaiāi and graduated from Keaāau High School. She attends Grand Canyon University pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Crystal is the Vice President of the GCU Robotics Club and is a member of the Society of Women Engineers. She also finds a passion for teaching robotics and engineering, and pursues any opportunity to share her knowledge with others. After graduation, she plans to pursue a master’s degree or go straight into the industry. Through this opportunity, she is excited to apply what she has learned in a hands-on application. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, exploring coffee shops, hiking, or cooking.Ā
Home Island: Big Island Hawai’i
High School: Kea’au High School
InstitutionĀ when accepted: Grand Canyon University
Project Site: University of California Observatories: UCO, Santa Cruz CA
Mentor: Aaron Hunter
Project title:Ā Verifying and Characterizing the Capabilities of the Actuator Control Module for theĀ Keck Adaptive Secondary Mirror
Abstract
Atmospheric turbulence causes a loss of resolution in images taken by ground-based telescopes. Adaptive optics (AO) minimizes wavefront distortions so ground-based telescopes can capture images at or near the diffraction limit of the optics, improving image quality and advancing astronomical research. At the heart of AO are deformable, or adaptive, mirrors (DM). Electromechanical actuators push and pull on the mirror by up to 1m to correct distortions. Current AO systems use a successive system of relay mirrors, with the DM at the end of the sequence. The University of California Observatories is developing an adaptive secondary mirror (ASM) to be implemented at the Keck I Telescope on Maunakea, Hawaii. Having an adaptive secondary mirror rather than a static secondary mirror eliminates the need for the relay system of mirrors, allows for greater light throughput, less thermal background, and can be potentially utilized by all instruments on the telescope. The actuator control moduleāa custom printed circuit board (PCB) assembly for the Keck Adaptive Secondary Mirror (KASM) requires testing and characterization to ensure it has the necessary functionality. Between 75 to 100 control modules will be used in the final design to control the deformable mirror; and the aim of this project is to test three prototype PCBs so they can be applied to a prototype DM. Each PCB is being programmed in C and tested to verify that all channels are operational. The latency between each output is then measured. Additional steps include optimizing actuator dynamics using a digital filter and developing an external communication protocol. Once each of these steps are complete, the three PCBs can be tested on a prototype DM.