September 5, 2001
Kreft spends summer studying asteroid
Local student attends six-week science program
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Spending six weeks this summer tracking an asteroid and defining its orbit alternated with pulling all-nighters to study calculus and learn computer programming may not be everyone's idea of a good time.
To Jim Kreft, however, it was the tops.
A senior at Traverse City West High School, Kreft participated in the Summer Science Program in Ojai, Calif., an intensive six-week look at all things science and the scientific method using astronomy as the base.
Working in teams of three, the students found an asteroid, tracked it, photographed it and plotted its orbit. Kreft's team took on asteroid 42 Isis in the constellation Anteres, located in what he termed a relatively empty part of the sky. The attention and rigor needed to find the asteroid in the sky, plot its course and take photographic plates of it was great fun to Kreft.
"This was my first experience in any type of astronomy," Kreft said. "The program was a really, truly amazing experience, it was the best experience of my life."
Flourishing in a challenging program like the Summer Science Program is a predictable outcome for Kreft, said Diane Moore, Kreft's former math teacher at West High School. She has seen him display a high level of intellectual curiosity and excitement about learning since she met him.
"Jim stands out in every way," added Moore, who wrote him a recommendation for the program. "Jim has math as his thing. He is very excited about it and a lot of fun to teach. That's one of the things that's nice in terms of these kinds of opportunities for kids because finding their niche while still in high school is a blessing."
The Summer Science Program began in 1959 and is geared to high school juniors and seniors who have taken calculus. Starting from there, they teach the students spherical trigonometry, celestial mechanics, vector analysis, meteorology, geology and computer programming. The intensive lectures and hands-on applications cram whole college semesters into a few weeks.
"During class you had to take notes or you would get lost because there were no books," Kreft noted. "I had to call my mom and have her send me more paper."
One of 30 students from around the world, including Jordan, China, Hong Kong and England, Kreft was the only student from the Midwest - though Kreft has plans to change that.
"It was truly an incredible experience, some of the people who came were so brilliant," he said. "One of my goals is to get someone from Traverse City to go every year."
Led by two college professors, the program also has a number of teaching assistants who help out, most of them alumni of the Summer Science Program.
For Kreft, who initially waded through a list of 30 possible summer program, the Summer Science Program stood out from the beginning. He discovered the program from an Internet newsletter and after some research on the other programs, Kreft wound up only applying to this one.
He rounded up lists of courses taken, grades, wrote an essay and gathered recommendations, all great practice for his fall task of filling out college applications.
"The application process really helped me because I am already in the mode of applying for college," said Kreft, who is looking at attending Carleton College, Kalamazoo College or Swarthmore College. "I am liberal arts oriented but I just concentrate in science."
While an enthusiastic and bright student, Kreft does not focus only on academics. Despite taking four Advanced Placement classes this year, he will also be on the Cross Country and Cross Country Skiing teams. In addition, last year he completed training to become an Emergency Medical Technician and hopes to work as one next summer to earn money for college.
"My grandfather was a pharmacologist and he's really influenced my life," Kreft said. "I've gone on a backpacking trip with him every year since I was six."