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A Land O'Lakes High teenager interns at NASA and joins a scientist in coauthoring an upcoming article on protein crystal growth.
By KENT FISCHER
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 23, 2001
LAND O'LAKES -- At a time when his classmates are writing term papers and college application essays, Nate Kenny's name will appear atop a document with considerably more credibility.
Nate, 17, will be listed as one of two coauthors on an article soon to be published by a NASA scientist studying protein crystal growth. Not too shabby for the 11th-grader from New Port Richey. His summer job was pretty impressive, too.
Nate worked this summer alongside researchers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center near the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He compiled about 1,200 pages of data on which the article, in part, will be based. Nate used a powerful microscope and computer to measure how fast protein crystals grow in tiny tubes, a far cry from the contribution he thought he would make to the research.
"I pretty much thought I'd be a dishwasher, but then I found out I'd be doing vapor diffusion," Nate said. "That's heavy stuff."
Scientists use "vapor diffusion" to study how protein crystals grow. Proteins are the catalysts for almost all of the human body's functions. When a protein doesn't do what it's supposed to or takes on a different shape, people get sick or suffer from birth defects. Scientists study the structure of protein crystals so they can figure out how to combat disease.
Nate first got interested in protein crystals last spring when his chemistry class at Land O'Lakes High signed on to a NASA program that lets school children grow crystals for space shuttle experiments.
Nate and four classmates from the district's International Baccalaureate program made three trips to the Kennedy Space Center and he was so intrigued by the work that after the project ended, he e-mailed Anna Holmes, one of the NASA researchers. In it, he did two things: He thanked her for the opportunity to contribute to a shuttle flight, and he asked for a job.
Nate and his parents said they had no expectations of actually getting a summer job from the e-mail, but figured it worth a shot.
Holmes forwarded Nate's message to eight influential NASA scientists. Within two days, two scientists had offered to sponsor an internship for Nate.
"His own letter was so genuine, that it spoke for itself," Holmes said in an e-mail to the Times. "It wasn't polished. It wasn't perfect, But (he) was genuinely proud to be an American."
Nate's parents, Bill and Anne Kenny, said they couldn't believe that NASA scientists would extend such an offer to a 16-year-old that they had never met. But they're glad that they did.
The Kennys aren't exactly sure what Nate did in Alabama. They only know that it involved protein crystals and high-powered measuring instruments.
"A lot of what he's doing is far and beyond me," said Nate's mom. "But it's exciting as a parent to see the potential that your child has. We're proud beyond words."
While in Alabama, Nate stayed at the university dorms and worked full time in a lab under the guidance of Dr. Robert Naumann, the acting director of the Center for Microgravity Materials Research at the university. Scientists like to grow crystals in space because their shape isn't warped or changed by Earth's gravity.
The scientists taught Nate how to use the lab equipment, which measured how fast protein crystals grew in tiny glass tubes. Then they set Nate loose, expecting him to perform as if he were a veteran NASA researcher.
"He was self-motivated and once he had been taught a task, he could work independently," Holmes wrote in an e-mail to the Times. "If he was not happy with his results, and he knew he could do better, he asked if he could do it over again. He will be coauthor on an upcoming peer review publication as a result of his efforts."
In July, the scientists sent Nate to Virginia Tech to present a workshop about crystal growth at a convention of biology teachers. Nate taught the teachers how they can get their students growing crystals.
"He's learned to carry himself and he's learned how to display and communicate information," said Nate's chemistry teacher, Maria Granger. "He now has a vision of where he's going. He's very focused, but he also has the enthusiasm of a kid."
When he's not studying protein crystals, Nate plays drums in the Land O'Lakes High band and works at Red Lobster. He wants to return to Huntsville for another internship next summer. After that, Nate plans on attending college and continue studying protein crystals.
"I don't want to work on something that's been done before, and right now only 6 percent of all protein structures have been mapped," Nate said. "This is what I want to do."