Science and Engineering have always played a large role in the superhero universe and have been the center of endless debates over how things actually work in the real world. This weekend, NC State Engineering Alumna and friend of the ISE Department, Tamara Robertson, invited ISE professors Kanton Reynolds and Karen Chen to join her at NC Comicon Bull City 2017 as panelists to continue the discussions about how getting the science and engineering right has become such a critical part of the storytelling.
Dr. Kanton Reynolds
Dr. Reynolds joined Robertson and Matt Brady, science teacher and founder of thescienceof.org, on The Science of the Justice League panel where they took on the science behind everything from Kryptonian Superpowers to Billionaire Science. Dr. Reynolds tackled the engineering aspects of Cyborg as well as all of Batman’s gadgets.
Dr. Karen Chen
Dr. Chen joined Robertson, Matt Brady, and Jeremy Whitley, the creator of The Unstoppable Wasp and other Marvel comics, on the Let’s Talk Superhero Science panel where they talk about how science and engineering have inspired superhero technology while comics have inspired kids to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). Dr. Chen shared with the audience how she used real-world science and engineering principles to build the virtual reality worlds she uses for her research.
