Name: Hira Khan

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Semester of Internship: Summer 2024

Major: Biology

Current Class Level: Junior

This semester I completed a(n)...: Internship

Internship, Co-op, or Research Site (Company/Organization Name): Kennedy Krieger MCH-LEARN Program

Location of the Organization (City, State): Baltimore, Maryland

Title of position: MCH-LEARN Scholar

Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities:
The day-to-day experiences at Kennedy Krieger's MCH-LEARN program involved weekly lectures and presentations from established professionals in the public health field, ranging from organizations such as the NIH to CDC. In a typical day, we had our Research Seminar and Undergraduate Research Accountability Group, where students collaborate with mentors to work on their summer research poster for presentation at the Johns Hopkins University CARES Symposium and abstract writing for ABCRMS. Additionally, collaborative Friday Professional Development and Advocacy seminars covered tips for building a network, maintaining professionalism, job searching, and discovering personal strengths and weaknesses. Fridays also included CDC Optimal Opportunities for Prevention to Promote Health, where students from different programs prepare interactive presentations on public health issues. MCH-LEARN also provided opportunities to attend conferences such as Room to Grow and Maryland Developmental Disabilities Day, as well as a visit to NIH's Career Fair.

Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?
I first heard of Kennedy Krieger through personal experience with my family using their services. However, I did not know they offered internship opportunities until I found the UMBC Public Health major's internship page. I began searching for internships during the fall semester and submitted my application a week after it opened.

What resources did you use to find your current experience?
I used UMBC's Career Center to tailor my resume for this position. Being proactive and aware of internship deadlines was crucial since they can easily slip by.

What have you enjoyed the most about your position and organization?
I have truly enjoyed the experience of conducting research and presenting at a high level. This was my first time engaging in such activities, and I grew to enjoy public speaking. I also loved the supportive environment at Kennedy Krieger, where people go above and beyond to guide and help you every step of the way.

How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?
My research poster focused on children facing ADHD and anxiety. While presenting my research at CARES, many students and educators expressed how these issues need more attention in our society. Students with ADHD or anxiety shared how they wished people were more knowledgeable about their experiences. It made me realize my research was addressing an overlooked aspect of people's lives.

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?
Stay proactive and determined. It can be challenging to search for internships during a busy semester with difficult courses and extracurricular activities, but it is worth the effort. Build long-lasting relationships at your internship and think about the experiences you want to explore. For instance, as a Biology major, I wanted to explore the public health field, and this internship gave me valuable insight. Don't feel discouraged if you don't have the "correct" major or experience—try anyway! You never know what opportunities it may lead to.

Please provide a short reflection or quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / working with the Career Center:
"I liked building connections and feeling the power of community here. I think UMBC's Career Center connects to you personally and provides personalized resources and support to help you find the internship that matches you."

Naghmeh Karimi, an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, was recently granted more than $300,000 in funding from the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) to study the security of promising hardware components that speed up the computing process. 

SRC brings together technology companies, academics, and government agencies to tackle large scientific and technical challenges, and Karimi’s research will be funded by three leading technology companies: IBM-Research, AMD, and Siemens. 

Karimi and her team, including graduate students and a collaborator from Arizona State University, will study computer chips whose design and structure allows computing-in-memory (CiM), where data processing happens directly within the computer’s memory. CiM architectures are promising for speeding up the use of machine learning algorithms because they consume less energy.

Different types of CiM devices (such as RRAM, MRAM, and SRAM) each have their own strengths and weaknesses in terms of performance, power use, and size, and to get the best results, engineers need to combine different CiM devices into one system. Building these systems in 3D layers can further improve their efficiency and performance. However, the security of these 3D architectures has received little attention to date. 

Karimi’s team will study the security of 3D CiM technologies used in AI applications. In particular, the research will focus on evaluating the security vulnerabilities of the technologies and developing mitigation strategies. 

“I’m excited about this project because the topic is very timely,” says Karimi. “The support from three leading companies in the AI field shows the importance of the problem and the promise of the solutions we are working on.”

The team aims to enhance the security of CiM-based AI accelerators against physical attacks that adversaries might launch to leak sensitive data or induce malfunctions. The researchers will work closely with the funding companies over the next three years in this area.

This post was written by Catherine Meyers and originally published online here.

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