Jeremy Hinds' experiment is now on the International Space Station.
Two decades later, Jeremy Hinds can still remember his first day as a student in former Lanphier High School science teacher Ray Bruzan’s classroom.
Scattered across the ceiling tiles were pennants denoting where Bruzan’s former students went to college.
Hinds, now a scientist with Eli Lilly and Co. in Indianapolis, said he remembers staring at the ceiling and pledging his pennant would someday join the ranks.
After he graduated in 1993, and enrolled at Iowa Wesleyan University, Hinds’ first trip back to Springfield included a stop at Lanphier.
“I couldn’t wait to bring my pennant back and put it up in his classroom,” he said.
Hinds, 42, may hold a distinction from any other Lanphier graduates who put pennants on the ceiling — working with NASA.
In 2013, Hinds proposed an experiment to NASA about testing the effects of freeze-drying on food and medication in space. Earlier this month, his experiment was launched in a shuttle from Cape Canaveral and attached to the International Space Station.
Hinds said he doesn’t know how soon he will get the results, but the experiment could contain significant findings.
Freeze-drying is a common technique to preserve food, but it’s unknown what happens during the process without gravity.
One of the reasons NASA was interested in the idea, Hinds said, is because freeze-drying could be key to space travel. NASA is also studying if plants can be grown in space and freeze-drying could be a way to preserve them.
“When you freeze-dry anything, the shelf life increases significantly,” he said.
Hinds added the experiment could also have implications on Earth, if he finds out the absence of gravity actually increases performance.
Working with NASA, he said, has been the highlight of his career. But he also recognizes he may never have reached this point if he had never set foot in Bruzan’s classroom.
Ever since the sixth grade, Hinds said, he was interested in science, but taking Bruzan’s chemistry class “sealed the deal.”
His former teacher, who taught at Lanphier from 1967 to 2001, said he isn’t surprised Hinds has been successful. As a student, Hinds was continually interested in every topic he presented.
In addition to bringing his pennant back, Bruzan said, Hinds would speak to his classes.
“It was a real awakening for my students getting to see someone of his caliber be very successful,” Bruzan said. “It’s wonderful to hear and not surprising for me to hear the success he’s having.”
Hinds said he hopes his experiment with NASA can inspire Lanphier students to pursue their dreams. He grew up in a blue-collar family and didn’t know any scientists. His father worked at Fiatallis and his mother was self-employed and later became a baker.
“It doesn’t matter where you come from or your background,” he said. “If you have the desire and drive, you can achieve or accomplish literally anything.”
— Contact Jason Nevel: 788-1521, jason.nevel @sj-r.com, http://twitter.com/JasonNevelSJR.
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