William S. Hammack
Contact Information:
e-mail:
phone: (217) 244-4146
fax: (217) 333-5052
203 Roger Adams Lab
MC-712, Box C-3
600 S. Mathews Ave.
Urbana, IL 61801
Professor
B.S., Michigan Technological University, 1984
M.S., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1986
Ph.D, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1988
- ACS/Exxon Fellowship in Solid State Chemistry, American Chemical Society, 1992
- Teacher/Scholar Award, The Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation, 1993
- The Advisor's List - top 10% of advisors in the College of Engineering, University of Illinois, UC, 1999
- Excellence in Teaching Award, School of Chemical Sciences, University of Illinois, UC, 2001
- Science in Society Award, National Association of Science Writers, 2002
- Service to Society Award, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 2002
- Edwin F. Church Medal, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2002
- Silver Reel for National News & Commentary, The National Federation of Community Broadcasters, 2003
- The President's Award, American Society for Engineering Education, 2003
- James T. Grady - James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public, American Chemical Society, 2004
- Award for Distinguished Literary Contributions Furthering the Public Understanding of the Profession, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers , 2004
- Science Writing Award in Broadcast Media, American Institute of Physics, 2004
- Jefferson Fellow, United States Department of State, 2005-2006
TEACHING THE PUBLIC ABOUT ENGINEERING
Bill Hammack focuses on explaining
engineering and technology to the general public. His goal is to
enhance "engineering awareness" and to add a human face
to the engineering enterprise. He does this through several venues:
(1) via commentaries on public radio, (2) by teaching an innovative
course to students who are not majoring in science and engineering,
(3) through public speaking, and (4) through books and magazine
articles.
PUBLIC RADIO PROGRAM
Every week for the last couple of years Hammack has produced an
essay focusing on common articles found in everyday life. In this
program, called
Engineering & Life, he's described how
the invention of Velcro was inspired by a walk in the woods that
left an engineer's socks covered with burrs. Hammack has discussed
the origins of the typewriter and of potholes, as well as the amazing
career of Leon Theremin, who in the 1920s invented an early electronic
instrument that would eventually inspire the development of the
synthesizer, and who was later kidnapped by the KGB. Another piece
described the story of Spam the canned meat, not the electronic
variety.
His talks lasting just two or three minutes,
are distributed across the state by Illinois Public Radio, and can
be heard in Urbana-Champaign on Tuesdays. They are broadcast on
WILL AM 580 at 7:20 and 9:20 in the morning. The radio pieces are
available nationally at his
web
site.
TEACHING NON-MAJORS ABOUT ENGINEERING
His course,
The Hidden World of Engineering, is taught every
semester to a diverse mix of students majoring in commerce, architecture,
photography, history, and graphic arts. This popular course gives
students an appreciation for engineering and for how engineers think.
It is taught in a unique way that lets the students work in teams
and actually do engineering
PUBLIC SPEAKING
Professor Hammack uses the stories he has gathered to speak to the
public about engineering. For example, he recently gave a keynote
address to the top 100 Graduating Seniors of the University of Illinois,
talked to a local service club about engineering, and helped kick
off the opening of the Women in Engineering Summer camp. His speeches
may be read at his
web site
