Name: Hallyma Gauthier
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Institution: University of Puerto Rico
Department: Computer Science
Biography:
I am pursuing a Master’s in Computer Science at the University of Puerto Rico. I am interested in high-performance computing, computer science, networks and security, AI/ML, data science, and quantum computing. My interest in high-performance computing started with my participation in the HPC boot camp at LBNL this past August. I am now taking an HPC course where I am learning about OpenMP, MPI, and even Julia as part of my project. My interest in networks and security comes from my work as a network analyst and system administrator, where I had to conduct vulnerability scans and secure servers. While at school, I have helped in cybersecurity summer camps, done tutoring for data structures, facilitated after-school workshops on teaching coding through music, and served as a TA. My education has led me to take courses on data analysis and visualization last semester, which I find extremely interesting as it allows us to explore massive data sets to solve questions. It also exposed me to Python tools for machine learning, such as scikit-learn, and visualization tools like Matplotlib and Seaborn.
Academic Status: Masters Student
Year in program: 2nd
Research Area/Department: Computer Science; Data Science; Machine Learning/AI
Other, specify:
Major/Specialty: Computer Science
Degrees Earned or in Progress: BA/Economics and Governement/90 MS/Computer Science/In progress
What courses or academic preparation have you completed to prepare for a summer internship experience?
Introduction to Computer Science, Introduction to Programming, Data Structures, Computer Architecture, Databases, CyberSecurity, Operating Systems, Algorithms, Discrete Math, Calculus 1&2, Statistics with R, High Level Languages, Tools for Data Science. Currently taking High Performance Computing, Data Visualization, Development of Social Impact Applications.
Have you published any research or worked on research/technical projects? No
Where has your research been published or where have you conducted research/technical projects?
Please describe your research/academic interests:
I am interested in High Performance Computing, algorithms, computer science, cybersecurity, CS education, networks and security, artificial intelligence, mmachine learning, data science and quantum computing Next semester, I will help with research detecting PII, and I hope to use the knowledge gained in HPC thus far.
Computational and Data Science Areas:
Computational Science Applications, i.e., Bioscience, Cosmology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Nanotechnology, Climate, etc.; Computer Science; National Security; Data Analytics and Visualization; High-Performance Computing; Machine Learning and AI; Quantum Computing and Information Science
Research Synergy:
I have been exposed to these areas through courses taken while studying computer science. My interest in cybersecurity started while working with vulnerability scans to secure servers before they were put in production environments. Later, I took a cybersecurity course and participated in a cybersecurity hackathon. I know cybersecurity is an important research area for the DOE, especially to secure distributed energy resources (DER) systems that are part of President Biden’s clean energy initiatives. My interest in High-Performance Computing started when I attended the Intro to HPC boot camp hosted at LBNL this past August. I am currently taking an HPC class and learning about OpenMP and MPI. As part of the course, I will research Julia and give a presentation to teach the basics to the class. My interest in Data Analytics and Visualization comes from past data analysis and visualization courses. I worked on a project where we gathered datasets about unemployment and crime to explore the possible correlations through visualization. I am also interested in possible research in AI/ML. In a data analysis course, we used the scikit-learn library to do k-means clustering on data. During the HPC boot camp, I saw how other groups used it to generate a chat box trained on energy justice documents and found this fascinating.
Motivation:
I want to do research in my area. I learned about this program during the August DOE’s Intro to HPC boot camp. I received an email through my department that mentioned energy justice and high-performance computing. I live in Puerto Rico. After Hurricane Maria, I became keenly aware of the importance of energy and realized how the lack of it can bring a nation to its knees and the need to invest in renewable and clean energy. During my time at the HPC boot camp, I learned how different DOE National Labs are central to critical research that scientists conduct in many areas and how they make outstanding contributions to science. I want to use and develop my knowledge as a computer scientist while helping others achieve great things at a National Laboratory.
Lightning Talk Title: Expanding My Horizons and Making a Difference Through Research at National Laboratories