Thursday, December 18, 2014

An award for tying science to superheroes

 Photo courtesy of University of California, Riverside

The Reston, Va.-based American Association of Engineering Societies is giving its prestigious Norm Augustine Award for Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Communications to a California university research professor who uses superheroes to explain science.

Suveen Mathaudhu, 39, an assistant professor in the mechanical engineering department and materials science and engineering program at University of California, Riverside, will be in Washington, D.C., on April 20 to receive the award. It is given to individuals who speak with passion about engineering, allowing the public to better understand the field and better appreciate how engineers improve our quality of life.

Previous winners include military leaders, a congressman, a Secretary of Defense and astronauts, including Neil Armstrong.

Mathaudhu helped to create a museum exhibit called Comic-TaniumThe exhibit, which is on display through Jan. 5 at the ToonSeum in Pittsburgh, combines the real world of materials science and the fictional worlds of comic book heroes, such Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man and Batman. The exhibit was previously shown in San Diego and Washington, D.C.

The society and Mathaudhu are updating the exhibit so that it would include video and also modules that could be used by elementary school teachers teaching science and math.

Click for full press release

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