Research IT welcomes two UX/Visualization Interns, a Container Research and Development Intern, and a User-Centered Design Research Intern to our team for the Spring 2017 semester! Samba Njie Jr., one of our UX/Visualization Interns, will be generating visualizations and reports for Berkeley Research Computing metrics. Cassie Zhang, our other UX/Visualization Intern, will be prototyping a “dashboard” for the Savio High Performance Compute cluster, to show researchers how they are using their Faculty Compute Allowance. Henk Tillman, our Container Research and Development Intern, will be working closely with developers and computational scientists on campus to increase mobility of compute across various platforms using Singularity, a new container subsystem on the Savio cluster. Sanjana Surkund, our User-Centered Design Research Intern, will be interviewing Berkeley researchers and developing “personae” that represent our user community, to inform a redesign of Research IT’s website and other communications materials.
Samba Njie, Research IT - BRC metrics visualization internSamba (BRC metrics viz) is a graduating senior at UC Berkeley studying Mathematics and Statistics with an Associate’s degree in the Biological Sciences. He is especially interested in data science (particularly machine learning and optimization models), statistical computing, and medicine, and is excited to learn more about the inner workings of projects related to the Savio cluster. Samba is hoping to continue pursuing his passion for data after he graduates, either as a data analyst/scientist/engineer in business operations or engineering teams in a Silicon Valley tech company, or work for a biotech/pharma company or a hospital to contribute towards healthcare analytics and personalized medicine.
Outside of BRC, Samba is also a volunteer research assistant in Dr. Jill Hollenbach’s Multiple Sclerosis lab at UCSF, where he is working on improving the patient electronic medical records data using preprocessing algorithms and statistical analysis. In his spare time, Samba enjoys dabbling with fitness activities such as hiking and martial arts, going on nature walks, and building a healthier lifestyle. He is excited to join the team and learn from his fellow interns and staff with an open mind.
Cassie Zhang, Research IT - BRC Savio cluster dashboard internCassie (Savio cluster dashboard) is currently a second year student studying Applied Mathematics with a concentration in statistics and minor in Computer Science. She has a strong interest in data science applications in the fields of business and technology, and hopes to enter those industries after graduating.
Outside of Berkeley Research Computing, she is involved in Data Science Society at Berkeley, an undergraduate club that serves as a community for those interested in data science and computing. She was also a part of UC Berkeley’s Social Media Advisory Team (more commonly known as Social Slice) where she participated in marketing projects and campaigns that engaged 400,000+ people on UC Berkeley’s social media platforms.
Henk Tillman, Research IT - BRC container research and development internHenk (container research and development) is a rising sophomore at UC Berkeley, where he is currently studying electrical engineering and computer science (EECS). He previously attended the Branson School in Ross, California. In past years, he has worked as a software engineering intern at several Bay Area companies, such as Change.org, Ripple Labs, and Blockscore. At the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab he hopes to pursue his fascination with the interplay between individual systems in a complex network, working on such tasks as system administration and the development of Singularity.
Sanjana Surkund, Research IT User-Centered Design internSanjana (website redesign) is a senior in her last semester at UC Berkeley. A psychology honors student, she is interested in the intersection of psychology and technology. Fascinated by the concept of involving the user in the design process of apps and websites, she hopes to pursue a career in user experience research.
Before joining the Research IT team, Sanjana was a Program Evaluation Intern at Girls Incorporated of Alameda County, an education nonprofit in Oakland. This internship first stimulated her interest in human centered design. Besides working with the Research IT team, Sanjana is a proud member of the Cal’s marching band where she plays the cymbals. She is also currently working on her honors thesis with Haas School of Business professor Juliana Schroeder. She manages her own team of research assistants to help collect data on the effects of intragroup rituals on group liking.
Welcome, Samba, Cassie, Henk, and Sanjana!