About
Brandon Patterson is a PhD student in mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan and Co-Director of RELATE. Brandon is heavily involved in a variety of STEM communication and outreach efforts and is an active researcher in the areas of fluid mechanics and biomedical acoustics. In the lab, Brandon uses supercomputers to study how ultrasound can damage human tissue by interacting with gas and bubbles in the human body. The hope is that one day this work will contribute to the development of safer, more effective medical imaging and ultrasound therapy. Passionate about his work, Brandon loves to share what he does with others and has given talks about ultrasound at a variety of scientific conferences and public events such as Nerd Nite Ann Arbor. He is also in the process of publishing his first STEM-inspired children’s book on bubbles.
When Brandon isn’t working on his own research or sharing it with others he spends much of his time helping others to tell the stories of their own work. As a co-director of RELATE, Brandon works to host a variety of science communication workshops and community engagement events. He is also a co-founder and co-instructor of Engineering the World Around US, an annual six-week course on mechanical engineering for underrepresented Detroit area high school students. Brandon plans to complete his PhD this year, after which he will continue working on science communication and outreach.