Mechanics for Material Design

“Solids, Fluids, and Everything Between” Program at Dryden Elementary with the Cornell Center for Materials Research outreach team (March 2023), designed by Robert Wagner

4-H Career Explorations University U Program for 8th and 9th graders (June 2022 – Finally Back to In Person!!!!)

Polymers and Mechanochemistry Booth in the 4-H Youth Building at NY State Fair (August 2019)

4-H Career Explorations University U Program for 8th and 9th graders (June 2019)

Polymers and Mechanochemistry Booth in the 4-H Youth Building at NY State Fair (September 2018)

4-H Career Explorations University U Program for 8th and 9th graders (June 2018)

4-H Career Explorations University U Program for 8th and 9th graders (June 2017)

Introducing science at the intersection of solid mechanics and chemistry. We had six groups of 15 students rotate through our lab over a day and a half.

Students conducted their own polymer stress-strain characterization.

Learning about bonds – did you know that electrons are yellow?

Wait – those aren’t middle schoolers – Yuval and Maegan made excellent atoms for our practice session.

Kenneth was in charge of setting up and running our fully instrumented polymer tension testing demo.

Reuse and Recycling Booth in the 4-H Youth Building at the NY State Fair (Sept 2016)

States of Matter lesson at Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science (Nov 2015)

Graduate student Suwon facilitating liquefying air demo

Middle school students making liquid nitrogen ice cream

Graduate student Meenakshi leading the states of matter dance

Prof Silberstein showing the fracture surface of a banana dunked in liquid nitrogen

Reflection/refraction learning kit under development for Cornell Center for Materials Research lending library (2014-2015)

versions for 6-8th grade and 9th-12th grade now on CCMR website:

Meenakshi trying kit prototype with teachers at the Cornell Science Sampler Series Workshop in NYC

Meenakshi and Naigeng discuss kit with teachers at a workshop in Cortland

Being a “Buddy” at Expanding Your Horizons (April 2014)

Lab trip to the Greater Ithaca Activities Center with the Cornell Center for Materials Research outreach team (March 2014)

CHESS Postdoc Margaret Koker and Prof Silberstein help the GIAC kids make silly putty.

Naigeng and Meenakshi show the GIAC kids the colorful consequences of hydrophobic interactions between dishsoap and milk.