Poet-Scientists
Satya Seetharaman's specialty is mechanical engineering: He has his bachelor's and master's in the subject, and now is working toward his doctorate degree.
But there are some days when he grows a little tired of the field.
Sometimes, Seetharaman said, "you just want to have a different way of looking at life."
So since his early teens, Seetharaman has escaped from the world of numbers and manufacturing by writing poetry. He recently surprised himself by winning both the technical and non-technical categories in Ohio State's annual poetry forum for science majors.
The forum, in its third year, is open to all students and faculty in the College of Engineering and College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
The goal: "Celebrating the Engineer as Renaissance Person."
When accreditation boards for engineering have complained that engineers "can’t communicate with people," Ohio State knew it was time to start making some changes, said Julie Graf, a graduate teaching assistant who helps run the forum.
The contest “makes these scientific, rational people realize that you can’t ignore emotional values," Graf said.
The forum is a prime example of cooperation between vastly different colleges; the judges are English professors.
“The Department of English loved the idea," she said. "They have been so receptive and supportive of us.”
The forum organizers are working on an anthology of engineering poetry--and Seetharaman is pondering his future.
"Maybe in a few years," he said, "I would want to start writing full-time."
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