Jonathan Kamehanaokala Merchant was born in Seattle and raised in Maui, Hawai’i. He attended both Kamehameha Schools Maui and Seabury Hall before moving to Olympia, Washington halfway through his sophomore year of highschool and graduated from Olympia High School. He is currently pursuing a major in Computer Science with a minor in History at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. In his free time, Jonathan enjoys playing soccer, reading, listening to music, and spending time with friends and family.
Home Island: Maui
High School: Olympia High School
Institution when accepted: Carleton College
Project Site: KBR, Kihei, Maui
Mentor: Randy Goebbert
Project Title: Developing a Control System for the Mai Tai Telescope’s Shortwave Infrared Camera
Project Abstract: KBR is currently in the process of building two telescopes, termed the Mai Tai Telescopes, that will be placed in Maui and Australia. A new addition to the Maui-based telescope is a shortwave infrared (SWIR) machine vision camera (MVCAM) from Princeton Infrared Technologies. This camera can provide high resolution imaging at up to 90 frames per second in the visible through SWIR wavebands (0.4-1.7um). The camera will allow daytime observations of geosynchronous space resident objects, aligned with KBR Maui’s goals of improvement in space domain awareness. For the camera to be usable, however, a method to control it was needed. The aim of this project was to develop a Python-based control system to allow operators to communicate with and control said camera. This system is based on the Linux operating system and developed using BitFlow’s Software Development Kit (SDK) for the CameraLink frame grabber to display the camera’s full functionality. It was then wrapped behind an ASCOM (Astronomy Common Object Model) Alpaca driver, which provides a universal framework for astronomical devices and promotes modular architecture. The driver allows users to interface with and manipulate the camera along its full functionality. Upon completion, the control system will provide a professional user-interface that efficiently manipulates the camera, can be tested by peers and potential users, and allow for future improvements if necessary.