Newark Alumnus Among Students Who Worked with NASA

A Newark native was on a team of Fresno State students who went to NASA in Houston this summer as part of the Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program.

Gonzalo Levya joined seven others as they conducted an experiment in which they “tested the formation of a substance called calcium oxalate in order to see how it reacts in a microgravity environment on NASA’s ‘Weightless Wonder’ aircraft,” according to The Collegian, Fresno State’s student-run newspaper.

Calcium oxalate is related to kidney stones, said Levya, who added that NASA has found problems with kidney stones in astronauts.

Levya, who graduated from Newark Memorial High School in 2001 and Ohlone Community College in 2008, told Patch in an email interview that the students were classified as NASA researchers.

His hope for the future is to own and operate his own space exploration company and "be recognized throughout the universe."

To read the full report and see a video from Fresno State's The Collegian, click here

Newark Patch Editor Nika Megino contributed to this report.