Portrait of 17-year-old NASA scientist

Moshe Kai Cavalin has two university degrees, but is not old enough to vote yet. He was about to get a driver's license, but he was not old enough to get a driver's license.

17-year-old NASA scientist

According to the AP, it is a contrasting portrait of Cavalin, 17, of San Gabriel, California, and the United States. He has a bachelor's degree from the age of 11, four years later, he earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of California, Los Angeles.

This year, he started studying online at Master's University of cyber security class. However, Cavalin decided to postpone his studies, to help the US Aerospace Agency (NASA) develop general surveillance technology for aircraft and unmanned drones in particular.

He has also published a second book, based on the experience of being bullied at school, and the stories others tell. Cavalin plans to take a pilot's license later this year. In his home in Los Angeles, is a collection of awards and titles for Cavalin's martial arts tournaments.

Cavalin, who doesn't like being called a genius.(Photo: AP).

However, he insisted, I was like every other teenager. Growing up in a family with a Taiwanese mother, Brazilian father, Cavalin was free to do what he liked after school.

"My case is nothing special. It's just a combination of family education, motivation and inspiration," Cavalin said, after working in NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.

"I don't compare myself to others. I just try my best."

Cavalin's parents recounted that their son was intelligent since childhood. At 4 months old, he spoke the first word in his life, by pointing at a jet in the sky and reading the name of the company in Chinese. At the age of 7, Cavalin completed his final trigonometric course in his home study program, and his mother transferred him to a community college.

"I think everyone thinks he's a natural genius," said Daniel Judge, a professor of mathematics, who taught Cavalin for two years at East Los Angeles College. "But actually, it was a very hardworking student, the most hardworking person I ever taught."

In his first year at college, he dreamed of becoming an astronomer. When I started to study advanced physics, this interest gradually decreased, then turned to cryptography. He pursued computer science again.

This is much more interesting, Cavalin said. He was very surprised, when NASA called for a job, after refusing him for being underage. Ricardo Arteaga, a senior and instructor of Cavalin at NASA, said he was perfect for the project of combining mathematics, computer science and flying technology.

"I need someone who can write software, understand math algorithms," Arteaga said. "At the same time, I need a pilot who controls the Cessna plane."

Award of martial arts exhibition at Cavalin's own home.(Photo: AP).

At the office, Cavalin is a quiet employee, but always exudes a sense of subtle humor, Arteaga commented. They discussed and laughed about many scientific issues. Cavalin's routine work at NASA is to run the collision simulation of aircraft and model airplanes, seeking to bring them to safety.

"He is really good at math," Arteaga said. "We are trying to evoke this talent at him."

After earning his master's degree, Cavalin hopes to continue his master's degree in business at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After that, he will open his own network security company. For now, Cavalin is counting every day waiting for his 18th birthday. He was anxious to drive himself to work, because until now, his colleagues still drove him to work every day.

Regarding love as other teenagers, Cavalin half-jokingly said that he will find his girlfriend when he finishes his doctorate.