Hoa Bui '21 | OSIsoft
Major | Computer Science and Business
Minor | Entrepreneurship
Google, Facebook, Amazon. These are all well-known companies where almost every computer engineering undergraduate dreams to land their first jobs. Few of them ever heard of OSIsoft.
My externship at OSIsoft opened my eyes to a totally new world. The company’s products surround real-time data management across many industries, including energy, food & beverage, and medicine. The more I got to know about the company, the more I was surprised and impressed by the mission and technology that OSIsoft provides.
On the first day of the externship, my advisor, John Matranga, took me around different places in the HQ, located in San Leandro, CA. One of the coolest things in the office is the windows. I know right. What can be so interesting about windows? The company installed a system where they could track the intensity of sunlight directly by the window and adjust the window shade to prevent the UV. As the day passes by, the shade of these windows changes accordingly around the buildings. OSIsoft’s mission is also to optimize its internal energy system with the data management (PI system) they own. As we walked into a demo room, we could see the meter of all energy usage in the building, including air conditioning, heating, and lighting. I was very impressed by how the company implemented very high-quality technology in their own office.
What surprised me the most was when I watched the video of how Middle East countries manage their oil system. A large and high-quality system taking space of a building like PA101 uses OSIsoft products. The PI system allows real-time data tracking with visualization and analysis. It was truly impressive to see an incredibly engineered data system. Without the externship, I would have never known about this aspect of data management in the energy industry.
The three-day externship truly blew me away with knowledge about an industry that I never knew about. What I value the most from the experience was the well-spent time with my advisor and his team, who helped me learn intensively about the company, its culture, and its market. Each day at the externship made me feel like I grew up a little more and every minute was truly worthwhile. I cannot wait for LSV++ to keep growing, so young people like me can go out of their comfort zone and explore the world.
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