Deb Chachra facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Deb Chachra
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| Born | 1971 (age 53–54) |
| Alma mater | University of Toronto (BS, MA, PhD) |
| Awards | NSF Career Award (2009) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Olin College Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Thesis | The influence of lifelong exposure to environmental fluoride on bone quality in humans (2001) |
| Doctoral advisor | Marc Grynpas |
Deb Chachra (born 1971) is a professor and a materials scientist. Materials scientists study what things are made of and how they work. She is an expert in biological materials, like bone, and infrastructure, which includes things like bridges, roads, and power grids.
Professor Chachra is passionate about finding new ways to teach engineering. She was one of the first professors to teach about materials at Olin College. In 2023, she wrote a non-fiction book called How Infrastructure Works.
Contents
From Aspiring Astronaut to Scientist
Deb Chachra grew up in Scarborough, a part of Toronto, Canada. Her parents had moved to Canada from New Delhi, India. When she was young, she dreamed of becoming an astronaut.
This dream led her to study engineering at the University of Toronto. She was a dedicated student and earned three degrees there: a Bachelor's, a Master's, and a PhD. For her PhD, she researched how fluoride affects the strength of human bones.
During her studies, she also became interested in Colletes bees. These amazing insects create a clear, cellophane-like material to line their nests and protect their eggs.
Career in Research and Teaching
After earning her PhD, Chachra became a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). There, she studied how bones change as people get older. She also researched how to make replacement heart valves last longer.
She later joined the faculty at Olin College, where she continued to study fluoride and hard body tissues like bones and teeth. She was one of the college's founding professors. The first class of students she taught graduated in 2006.
Besides her research, Chachra is a writer. She has written for magazines like The Atlantic and MIT Technology Review. She also contributed to the comic book ... Planet. Her online newsletter, Metafoundry, was praised by Wired magazine.
Making Engineering Better for Everyone
A big part of Professor Chachra's work is improving how engineering is taught. She studies the experiences of students, especially women and those from minority groups. She wants to make engineering a welcoming field for everyone.
At Olin College, she helps create programs to support all students. She believes in learning by doing and often has her students work in teams on real-world projects. She has also helped other universities around the world develop new engineering programs.
Chachra has spoken out about making science and engineering fair for all. She has written for the famous science journal Nature about the experiences of women in engineering.
Awards and Recognition
Chachra's work has been recognized with several awards.
- She received a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation to support her research in engineering education.
- In 2009, she won the William Elgin Wickenden Award from the American Society for Engineering Education.
Works
- How Infrastructure Works (2023)
