Videos: Material Marvels
Posted on October 1st, 2012 by ASEE
Ainissa Ramirez, associate professor of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science at Yale, explains the wonders of her ever-expanding field in a series of YouTube videos. In the latest, she describes how a layer of carbon that is one atom thick, called graphene, will revolutionize our lives.
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From Lady Gaga’s glowing, LED-encrusted gown to lightweight body armor and high-tech sports apparel, engineered fabrics are turning up well beyond the fashion world. ASEE’s Prism magazine highlights some innovative examples.
When University of California, Berkeley senior Austin Whitney walked across the stage at graduation on May 14, 2011, it was more than just a personal triumph. His rise from a wheelchair represented a triumph for paralyzed people everywhere–and for engineers whose “adaptive technology” designs have helped disabled individuals overcome mobility limitations.
The Akron Global Polymer Academy of The University of Akron is hosting the third annual Rubber Band Contest for Young Inventors to encourage students in grades 5-8 to demonstrate their creativity and ingenuity by creating an invention that incorporates the use of rubber bands. Deadline for Entries: Wednesday, February 16, 2011.
The one-week ASM Materials camp at Missouri University of Science and Technology, July 25-30, 2010, offers rising juniors and seniors an opportunity to explore materials science and engineering principles through a combination of mini-demonstrations, field trips, and group projects. Past projects have included microelectronic circuitry, friction-stir welding, ceramic magnets, metal casting, glass processing, and heat treatment and mechanical property evaluation. Cost: Free. Application Deadline: May 31, 2010. 2011 dates to be announced.
This activity from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory involves students, grades 6-12, in the formation of crystals on glass slides. In conducting their experiment, students learn about basic principles that guide the work of materials engineers and scientists.
Food processing requires a lot of engineering, from developing farm equipment to the automated baking and mixing machines used in prepared desserts. One of the most inventive stages comes toward the end, when the food is packaged. Johannah Frueh, a science teacher at Orange Charter School in Hillsborough, North Carolina, has incorporated the engineering behind designing and making food packaging into her seventh and eighth grade elective lab classes.
Practicing elementary civil engineering, students in grades 1 through 8 build a portable paper structure able to support the weight of a book. They learn that material strength varies with shape and arrangement.
