#60 – Harvard Mechanics Prof. Zhigang Suo, master scientific storyteller

Molecular Podcasting with Darren Lipomi

This is a bonus episode from my new podcast, IDEAs in STEM Ed. I never charge for any of my content and don't monetize (though YouTube may), so if you've found this useful, please consider subscribing to the "IDEAs in STEM Ed" podcast on Spotify or Apple (https://open.spotify.com/show/6wnj0T4yiFbehk5eTtBF50?si=8080602ae33e4952), and to the IDEA Engineering Student Center on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiY4py9Yhn4dTRzPUO53ItqQ5tRmHN-or

Thanks! Darren

Zhigang Suo is the Allen E and Marilyn M Puckett Professor of Mechanics and Materials in the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Professor Suo obtained his BS degree from Xi’an Jiaotan University in 1985 and PhD in mechanical engineering from Harvard University in 1989. He began his independent career at UC Santa Barbara, moved to Princeton in 1997 and to Harvard in 2003. It was during this period that I became aware of Zhigang’s work, when he attended some of our more mechanics-oriented group meeting. Zhigang has been a leader in the thermomechanical reliability of semiconductor devices, and did some of the first mechanical analyses on soft matter devices critical to haptics, robotics, adhesives, and human-machine interfaces. He is an engaging public speaker and storyteller, and his talks generate standing-room-only crowds at conferences. In this episode, we talked about his trajectory in his career and life and challenges facing Asian and Chinese American scientists and engineers.