Alan Noun receives first LLF full-year scholarship

Alan Noun, a computer science student at Cal State University East Bay, is the recipient of the Livermore Lab Foundation’s first full-year scholarship/internship. In partnership with Cal State University East Bay (CSUEB), the Livermore Lab Foundation (LLF) is awarding Noun a one-year stipend to allow him to devote more time to academics by reducing work he needs to do to support himself. The scholarship also provides Noun the opportunity to work as a scientist-intern under the tutelage of nationally recognized scientists and engineers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). A team of CSUEB, LLF and LLNL leaders selected Noun for this first-time scholarship/internship. Noun will begin his summer internship in the Data Science Summer Institute on June 17. He will work with one of the imagery teams developing neural network models using synthetic imagery for Geospatial Analysis under the mentorship of Lab employees George Weinert and Michael Ward. When his summer internship ends on Sept. 6, Alan will resume CSUEB classes while engaging in weekly interactions with his LLNL mentors until his graduation in May 2020. The goal is to provide a research experience ensuring that college students like Alan will be better prepared to start a career appointment or graduate school.

“Most of my academic work consists of keeping my head down and studying by myself with the occasional group project, so the knowledge I attain is limited to what my peers and I can consume,” Noun said. “Having the opportunity to work with engineers and scientists on real-world projects will not only give me a whole new insight into the realm of computer science, but a breadth of knowledge I’d be unable to achieve alone.”

Noun’s prior experience includes work for the CSUEB Institute for STEM Education After-School scholarship/internship program. He is an Assistant Teacher with Scientific Adventures for Girls (SAfG), an Oakland-based nonprofit working to increase the number of women in STEM by offering after-school science enrichment to girls. Through SAfG, he co-taught 3rd-5th graders in hands-on STEM areas, e.g., Carnival Science and Slime Science.

“I’ve had a fascination with science and technology since I was young,” said Alan. “Now, I love seeing the smiles on the faces of the students as they witness science in action.”

Alan Noun with LLF Community Outreach and Development Coordinator, Elizabeth Beeler-McWhorter

Noun grew up in Modesto CA, which is well within the San Francisco Bay Area tech industry’s sphere of influence. His dream job is to be a software engineer and work on cutting-edge technology, notably Artificial Intelligence.

“My uncle was always building computers, so I had exposure to how fascinating technology can be from an early age,” Alan said. “But it wasn’t until recently that I decided to take the full dive into becoming a software engineer.”

Enticed by the idea that creativity and activities that positively influence other people’s lives are of paramount importance, Noun explored a variety of career options based on his interests and extracurricular activities, including acting and writing.

Then he “stumbled across” programming, the combination of creativity and social impact for which he’d been searching, Noun recalled. “Conceptualizing an idea, coming up with creative solutions to solve complex algorithms, and my current work at Scientific Adventures for Girls encapsulates everything I’ve wanted to do since I was young.”