2027 Session 4

BOOM! The Science of Explosions

March 20, 2027

An Interactive Session led by Dr. Deb Dickerson

Faculty member, Department of Industrial Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech

Deb Dickerson is a faculty member in Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech, who specializes in keeping people safe from hazardous materials.  She has been teaching on this subject since 2000 and conducts research on hazards, safety, and warnings.   Before becoming a professor, Deb worked in hazardous materials management, where she had to wear a “moon suit” at work and occasionally got to blow things up.  She will share some of these experiences in her talk:  “BOOM!  The Science of Explosions”.   How do explosions happen?   What types of explosions are there?  What are some engineering uses of explosions?  And, how do we keep ourselves safe?