Spotlight: Teen Has 'Dream Science Vacation' at JPL

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/features/dreamvacation.cfm

Spotlight: Teen Has 'Dream Science Vacation' at JPL
Written by Mark Whalen
Media contact: Carolina Martinez (818) 354-9382
August 29, 2003

Many visitors to Southern California have Disneyland on their itinerary.
So when R.J. Gross and his family made their way here from Pennsylvania
earlier this month, the Happiest Place on Earth was definitely a target
destination.

This wasn't the priority for R.J., however. As a matter of fact, the
15-year-old aspiring robotics engineer chose JPL as his destination
after winning the Discovery Channel's Science Challenge, a national
middle-school science contest, that allowed him to choose a "dream
science vacation" anywhere in the United States. Gross' entry in a
regional science fair about the effect of light-emitting diodes on
planaria regeneration caught the attention of the Discovery Channel,
which offered him an application in the contest. Out of 4,000 entries,
Gross was selected as a finalist, competing among 40 students in
Washington, DC.

A 250-word essay about his dream science trip sealed his and his
family's first visit to the west coast.

Gross calls robotics his hobby. He said his recent efforts have
produced homemade paintball guns and an autonomous machine that
can go through a maze, extinguish a candle and return to its starting
point.

"I love robotics," Gross said. "When I looked for a place to go, I
chose JPL because they're at the frontier of new robotics, paving the
way for the future."

Gross, joined by his father, Roy, visited the Lab Aug. 11-12 for a
special tour of JPL, and the teenager certainly got his fill of what
robotics is all about. At the Mars Yard, rover integration and test
engineer Jessica Collisson showed off the full-scale models of
the Mars Exploration Rovers. Terry Huntsberger showed him robots in
development that walk up inclines. "Those walking robots
were ingenious," R.J. said. "Mind boggling."

He was also somewhat surprised, and delighted, to learn that the Lab
is so much more than robotics. He visited with oceanographer
Dr. Bill Patzert, who explained JPL's Earth-imaging satellites. "It's
interesting how they integrate science and robotics to find El
Nino," Gross said. His visit also included the Spacecraft Assembly
Facility and the ion engine test chamber. Before departing, he
chatted with JPL Director Dr. Charles Elachi.

Gross and his family, from Lansdale, Pa., a Philadelphia suburb,
eventually did see Disneyland and other tourist destinations, but
the youth's "behind the scenes" JPL visit stands out.

"I got to go where most people don't get to go," Gross said. "It was
really cool."