ACEP Intern Creates Secure Utility Data Pipeline
Ramiro Garcia is a junior at the University of Alaska Anchorage studying for a Bachelor of Science in computer science. Born in Juneau, Alaska, he spent his childhood in Mexicali, Baja California Norte, Mexico. He stayed in Mexico until 2013, when his family moved back to Juneau. After struggling with the English language and adapting to a new culture, Garcia adjusted, graduated from high school and enrolled at UAA. He plans to work in the field of cybersecurity after graduating “to make the internet a better and safer place.”
Garcia’s summer internship project with ACEP is the creation of secure data pipelines and data visualizations. He is working to create automated remote data transfer processes for data collected by Cordova Electric Cooperative. The data is being securely transferred from Cordova to ACEP servers for storage and visualizations. Garcia is learning new tools and software that help him design and execute the necessary functions on his project. Examples of those tools are Rclone to manage files on cloud storage servers, Github Secrets and Actions (encrypted environment variables) and Google Service Accounts to manage Google Cloud services. This important work can automate processes that would normally be prone to human error. Creating data pipelines allows for the storage of important data for safekeeping.
Garcia’s project is part of the ACEP Utility Student Internship program and is funded through the Arctic Program by the Office of Naval Research. For more information on the internship program, please contact Heike Merkel at hmerkel@alaska.edu.