Every student has stories of their professors unique personalities but one has been to the moon and back, at least metaphorically.

A Penn State alumnus and currently an instructional designer for the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Nahks TrEhnl is the artistic astronomer or the astronomic artist, whatever you want to call him.

He has finally found a way to mix his pallet with his two favorite interests, only to arrive back at Penn State, where he first realized his passion for them.

Long ago in time and space

TrEhnl got into space, robots and aliens some 30 years ago like many kids his age.

He grew up during the Voyager probe era with the mindset: Soon we'll get to see even more incredible things no one has ever seen before.

TrEhnl owned many astronomy books at the time, but one in particular had an effect on him that would solidify his interest in astrobiology to this day.

One of these had a particularly profound effect on me, containing a passage something to the effect of . . . and just think what if, on a planet around that star you see in your telescope, there's another creature with its own telescope, looking back at you? TrEhnl said via email. My interests in astrobiology, life elsewhere in the universe, and all that lit up big time, and its just stuck ever since.

When he was young, TrEhnl said he found a relief in Star Trek and the idea of life on other planets as he moved around the country every few years.

His fathers job with the United Way allowed him to travel to Tennessee, Mississippi , Georgia , Iowa and Texas before staying in Pennsylvania for the second half of high school.

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Penn State alumnus turns art into science and vice versa