Comic-tanium is a traveling, non-profit educational exhibit that makes a connection between the real world of materials science and the fictional worlds of well-known comic book heroes, like Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man, Batman, and others. It was developed by the TMS Foundation, TMS, and the ToonSeum, Pittsburgh.
Comic-tanium uses comic art and mythology to present how materials science and engineering actually does “save the world” every day. Its mission is to inspire young people to pursue STEM careers. Micrographs of advanced materials and schematics of lightweight cars are juxtaposed with comic panels focused on the “materials power ups” of an array of comic heroes and villains. Replicas of Batman’s armor, Thor’s hammer, Captain America’s shield, and other artifacts make the comic pages on display come to life. Comic-tanium will be on display during MS&T14, October 12-16, at the ToonSeum. Conference attendees can stop by the TMS booth for a free ticket. The exhibit opens to the public on September 26 and runs through January 4, 2015. tms.org/comictanium/default.aspx.
Image caption – Suveen Mathaudhu, TMS Volunteer Comic-tanium Curator (left), introduced thousands of future scientists and engineers to real, imagined, and possible materials when Comic-tanium traveled to the USA Science & Engineering Festival in April 2014.
