The New  Florida Protein Crystals in Space Program
Co-Sponsored by The Florida Space Grant Consortium	Program Manager Robert S. Smith	Co-Sponsored by The Alabama Space Grant Consortium

Credit: NASA photograph

The "Old" Florida Protein Crystals in Space grant funding  terminated on May 31st, 2005. The program was sponsored by the Florida Space Grant Consortium through a grant mangaed by the University of North Florida.  Dr. Marianne Barnes was the Principal Investigator for the grant and Mr. Robert S. Smith was the Program Manager and Instructor. The Florida program was part of a national program managed by a group from The University of California Irvine.  In the six years of the program's existance, over a thousand Florida high school students and teachers learned about structural biology, microgravity research, and space technology and participated in a lysozyme protein crystallization classroom activity.  Over 100 of these students and teachers were selected to participate in workshops conducted at either at the University of Alabama at Hunsville (UAH) or in the vicinity of the Kennedy Space Center to make protein crystal payloads which were launched by three space shuttle missions to the International Space Station (ISS).

Credit: NASA photograph

The International Space Station (ISS)-  Athough protein crystal microgravity experiments were conducted on space shuttle missions and onboard the Russian MIR space station prior to our program, the destination for our first three missions was the ISS. In fact our first mission, STS-106, was the first science payload mission to be conducted onbord the ISS (September, 2000).

Credit: ESA-Astrium

The destination for the new program will also be the ISS. The difference will be that the payload samples will be transported to the ISS onboard a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Cosmodrome in Baikonour, Russia in October, 2008.  Our ability to fly payload samples is being made possible by a donation by Dr. Owen K. Garriott, Azstronaut; Skylab (1973) and SpaceLab (1983).  Dr. Garriott has purchased space for his son onboard Soyuz from the Russian government.  His son will carry the payload samples onboard Soyuz to the space station. The Alabama Space Grant consortium is responsible for the coordination of the new program.  The Florida Space Grant Consortium is providing funding for our participation in the new program.

We prticipated in a workshop in Huntsville, Alabama on April 14th and 15th which was conducted by the Alabama Space Grant Consortium and  Dr. Joe Ng of the Structural Biology Department of the University of Alabama at Huntsville (UAH).  Four (4) teachers and fifteen (15) students participated from Florida along with students and teachers from Texas, Alabama, and Mississippi.  Six high schools from northeast Florida were represented at the workshop (The Bolles School, Terry Parker High School, and Stanton College Preparatory Academy in Jacksonville, Fleming Island High School in Clay County, and Eastside High School and Oak Hall School in Gainesville). One of the activities conducted at this workshop involved the students and two of the teachers making payload samples which are planned to be launched on the Soyuz rocket from Russia in October for the ISS. We are working on identifying funding so that we can participate in a second workshop with 3 teachers and 11 students in Huntsville June 24th and 25th.

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These workshops consisted of a presentation by Mr. Smith and a lab activity introducing a typical protocol involved in protein crystallization.  Please direct any questions you may have about the program to me, Mr. Robert Smith.

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This is our group of 4 teachers and 11 students who participated in the April 14th-15th, 2008 Huntsville workshop. 

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Huntsville April 14th/15th Workshop Agenda and links

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Sunday, April 13th- Travel to Huntsville by van.
          Stay at the Bevill Conference Center Hotel at UAH

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Monday, April 14th

The April 14th activities were held at UAH's new Shelby Center

A.M.- Welcome and Introduction by Dr. John Gregory and Dr. Joe Ng

Dr. John Gregory  Director, Alabama Space Grant Consortium

Dr. Joe Ng  UAH Structural Biology Laboratory

Dr. Owen J. Garriott  Astronaut, Skylab (1973) and SpaceLab (1983)

Dr. Larry J. DeLucas  Astronaut, STS-50

Dr. Edward Meehan  Director, UAH Structural Biology Lab

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P.M.- Vapor Diffusion Lysozyme Crystallization Activity
                    Mrs. Anna Holmes

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     Payload Sample Preparation
Dr. Joe Ng and UAH Structural Biology Lab staff

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Evening- Pizza party at the Bevill Center

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Presentation by Mrs. Anna Holmes about her experiences
associated with satellite launches with the European Space
Agency using Soyuz rockets from the Russian Cosmodrome

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Bo Smith, Program Manager, Florida Protein Crystals in Space
Margaret Baguio, Outreach Coordinator, Texas Space Grant Consortium

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Tuesday, April 15th

9:00 a.m.- Tour of Hudson Alpha Institute for Biotechnology

Dr. Neil Lamb gave a presentation and conducted a tour of the Hudson Alpha Institute. he Hudson Alpha Institue brings researchers and private companies together with the objective of investigating personal medicine.

Personalized medicine involves using individual's genome to determine appropriate medications increasing effectivenes and  reducing side effects.

Hudson Alpha Institute for Biotechnology website

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10:30 a.m.- Tour of UAH Structural Biology Lab

 
Click here for images of UAH Structural Biology Lab Tour

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12:00- Lunch and Final Remarks- Bevill Conference Center

The lunch gave students and UAH staff the opportunity to exchange comments following the workshop.

The tour of the US Rocket and Space Center gave the teachers and students  the opportunity to explore the museum and enjoy the video simumators and space rides.	Two teachers (Diane Conlon on the left and Sarah Rosenfeldt on the right) and a student (Virginia Hickox) anticipate the 'Space Shot' launch experience. Another popular simulator with the students was the gravity simulator.
Mr. Mohammed Arab, AP Chemistry teacher at Terry Parker High School and proein researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville receives some shuttle landing simulator training from Mr. Robert S. Smith (ex-navy carrier pilot)	Kristin Capes, student from Flemng Island HS practices simulated space shuttle landings in a futile attempt to defeat Mr. Smith in a good natured shuttle landing simulator competition.

Space Station Matters

Future Development Observable Protein Crystal Growth Apparatus (OPCGA) Experiment

Other Important Protein Crystals in Space links:

Track the Space Station Website (Marshall Space Flight Center)

NASA's Human Spaceflight Website

NASA's Microgravity Research Program Website (MSFC)

Microgravity News (MSFC)

Biological Crystal Growth in Space

Site Map for Research in Biological Crystal Growth in Space