Protein Crystal Growth Experiment

El Paso TexPREP had the opportunity to work with NASA scientists on an exiting experiment growing crystal proteins and sending them to space aboard the International Space Station.

This project gave them the opportunity to get a closer look to scientific research and access to hands-on science experiment with real-life laboratory equipment.

Funded by the Texas Space Grant Consortium, the project had the purpose “to help us better understand the physics of the protein crystallization process in microgravity so that we may ultimately improve the applications of that process in laboratories on earth.”

In order to participate, students submitted an essay where they had to explain why they are interested in structural biology.

Scientists from NASA directed the workshop and guided students on the experiment using sophisticated optical systems to conduct observation and recording of the crystal growth process. Once samples were loaded and frozen in liquid nitrogen until the time of mission launch.

Samples were to be loaded on the International Space Station, but at the time of the experiment all launches were put on hold due to the Columbia disaster. Due to that, the TSGC sent El Paso students along with other Texas participants to Florida to visit the Kennedy Space Center on March 2004.

Ray Bell Desert Challenge

Article on El Paso Times, Borderland Thursday, July 15, 2004

Students' models of rover teach engineering, science

Darren Meritz
El Paso Times
For 13-year-old Paul Dumond, learning the lofty principles of physics, algebra and trigonometry has never been so thrilling now that he's gotten a chance to build a miniature Mars rover out of Legos this summer at UTEP.
He even raced his mini Mars rover at the first Ray Bell Desert Competition on Wednesday -- named after Bell, a robotics professor who is retiring in August.
"It's pretty fun to do stuff here that I wouldn't be able to do at regular school," Dumond said while troubleshooting his small Lego rover, which on Wednesday wasn't operating exactly according to plan.
"Well, the car really didn't work. We didn't plan enough and our engine was a dud, so we're blaming it on the engine," he said.
Dumond is in his second summer of the Texas Pre-Freshman Engineering Program at the University of Texas at El Paso, an eight-week, $160,000 program for middle- and high-school students interested in math, science and engineering.
Each year about 300 students work hands-on with engineering and science projects aimed at shoring up knowledge and interest at an early age in disciplines at which the United States typically lags behind other countries.
Coronado High School junior Nichole Ramirez, a graduate of the program who is a student instructor for TexPREP this summer, is touting the educational benefits of the program -- especially for students who want to learn the more intricate details of how things work.
"It really entices you because it's challenging," said Ramirez, who plans to study either mechanical or computer engineering.
The program also has a special application for the El Paso area because it can offer Hispanic students a chance to learn about those fields, program administrators said.
"We're trying to motivate" students, said Sally Blake, director of TexPREP and an associate professor of physics and education at UTEP. "We're trying to increase the number of Hispanics who go into engineering, mathematics or science because there's a very small representation of Hispanics in those fields."