Q. You are widely known for your work on the physics of superheroes (both in books and movies), but I’d like to start with your physics research. Which research project has been your favorite to work on so far, and why?

In my day job I’m a mild-mannered condensed matter experimentalist, whose research spans from the ‘nano’ to the ‘neuro.’ Dating back to my Ph.D. thesis at the University of Chicago, I’ve studied the electronic properties of amorphous semiconductors. I’m still trying to understand these materials, and have branched out to exploring nanocrytsalline semiconductors, either as free-standing thin films or when embedded in an amorphous matrix. Studies in my lab of conductance noise in disordered semiconductors led to collaborations with professors in Neuroscience and Bio-Medical Engineering, where we use techniques developed to study noise in semiconductors and apply them to voltage fluctuations in the brain. My favorite work of late is the identification, contrary to what I and everyone else assumed for decades, that conduction in amorphous silicon is non-Arrhenius but rather has an exp[-(To/T)^3/4] temperature dependence. I believe this is telling us something important about charge transport in disordered systems — but I have no idea what.

Q. What made you think of designing a physics course based on comic books?

Back in the 1990’s, when teaching an Introductory Physics class, I introduced examples of the principle of momentum conservation or electromagnetic induction taken from superhero comic books, simply as a way of livening up my lectures. In 2001 the University of Minnesota had introduced Freshman Seminars, and encouraged faculty to create engaging classes not tied to any curriculum. I thought an interesting experiment would be to see if I could teach an entire physics class, from Newton’s laws to modern physics, where the only examples and illustrations came from superhero comics. The course was intended to be open to anyone, not just science and engineering majors, and it proved to be a fun and accessible way to discuss basic physics concepts.

Q. Which comic book was your favorite pre-graduate school, and which is your favorite since graduate school?

I never had a strong DC or Marvel tribal identity. As a kid I loved DC comics’ The Flash — the notion of being able to run at super-speed really grabbed me for some reason, and Marvel comics’ Fantastic Four. The FF’s leader, Mr. Fantastic, had elastic powers AND he was the world’s greatest scientific genius. I read comic books as a kid growing up in the 1960’s but gave them up in high school upon discovering girls (a discovery I’m not given enough credit for in the scientific literature, but that’s a different argument). In graduate school, while waiting for the results of the Candidacy Exam that would determine whether I could continue my post-graduate studies, I picked up a stack of comics at a card shop. Some were not very good, but others, such as an early Frank Miller Daredevil or the X-Men at the start of the Dark Phoenix saga, were highly effective at getting me re-hooked. I continued collecting and reading them initially as a stress-release while working on my dissertation. I don’t think of it as a ‘guilty pleasure’ as I don’t believe in ‘guilty’ pleasures. You like what you like, and don’t need to feel guilty about it. Post-graduate school, my favorite comics are both limited series graphic novels at opposite ends of the light/dark spectrum: Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen and Darwyn Cooke’s DC: The New Frontier (both highly recommended).

Q. Did you ever work out any of the physics in the comic books you read before you were in graduate school?

Not really, no. But I do have a strong memory of one of the first times I realized that there were physics constraints on the use of super-powers. In Flash no. 167 (published in Feb. 1967), the Flash had lost his ‘protective aura’ that shielded him from the effects of air drag. That is, he could still run at super-speed, but when he went too fast, he would burn up, not unlike a meteorite entering our atmosphere. I had never heard of the Flash’s ‘protective aura’ before, but more important, I was chagrinned that it had never occurred to me that the Flash would need such a power to avoid this natural consequence of super-speed. This was the first, but certainly not the last time that I would consider the real world consequences of super powers.

Q. What was it like to work on movies like The Watchman or Spiderman? Are there any other movies or shows that you are working on or plan to?

It is a blast. The National Academy of Sciences has a program called the Science and Entertainment Exchange, that connects academics with film and television creators. The consulting done by scientists is on a volunteer basis for outreach purposes. Watchmen director Zack Snyder and Production Designer Alex McDowell were following Moore and Gibbon’s classic graphic novel very closely. If I were to protest that a certain scene or event was not scientifically accurate, they would be faced with the choice of alienating a million rabid Watchmen fans or one physics professor from Minnesota. (I know what choice I’d make — and I’m the physics professor from Minnesota!). But they nevertheless wanted to know how a character’s powers could possibly work. They used this information to create a believable fake reality, knowing that any moment the audience questioned what was on the screen, was a moment they were not paying attention to the story. With The Amazing Spider-Man I was brought in before a script was finalized, and they asked me to brainstorm how Spider-Man’s and the Lizard’s powers might function or be neutralized. Later on they asked me to create an equation that would serve as a “MacGuffin” in the film. That was a fun opportunity to take some real science, add some mathematical glitter, and create something that appeared on thousands of movie screens. Both Watchmen and Amazing Spider-Man led to YouTube videos where I discussed some of the science in these films, greatly expanding the audience that I could reach.

Q. How do you manage juggling outreach and research?

With great difficulty. There are obviously only so many hours in the day, and in addition to outreach and research, my teaching, service and most importantly, my family are all priorities. I’m reminded of the Robert Benchley essay: How I Get Things Done, which argues that there is no limit to what can be accomplished in a day — provided it is not what you are supposed to be doing! Deadlines help focus the mind. But most days I wish I were a better juggler, or better still, had super-speed like the Flash!

Q. What advice would you give to others about doing outreach?

If you are going to be a scientist communicator, do not neglect your scientist job in favor of the communicator. The better a scientist you are, the better you will be able to engage with non-scientists. This works both ways. Finding ways to communicate scientific concepts and research results using non-technical or non-mathematical language will often deepen your understanding of the problems you are addressing. Decide whether your goal is to describe jargon or basic principles. I’ve said that, in my opinion, most people are not anti-intellectual, but they are anti-snobbery. No one likes to be talked down to or lectured (as the father of three, I have experimentally verified this point). You’ll find more success if you can construct a narrative about the science you wish to describe. I use stories taken from superhero comics and movies, but anything (ideally something you are already interested in) can work.