This Pitt student co-authored an engineering textbook

During her years at Pitt, mechanical engineering and materials science graduate Samantha Wismer (ENGR ’22) checked all the boxes: completing a challenging academic path, excelling as a teaching assistant and conducting research, to name a few accomplishments. But she also took a step few undergraduates ever do: co-authoring a textbook with her mentor, Visiting Assistant Professor Matthew Barry in the Swanson School of Engineering.

The book, “Statics and Mechanics of Materials: An Example-Based Approach,” uses an innovative format to boost student engagement with the text. It’s not Wismer’s first foray into the field of engineering education. She also spent time as a teaching assistant for three different engineering courses, work for which she was recognized as an outstanding teaching assistant by the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science. She was also an author on two conference papers on the topic of engineering education.