Luke Landherr

About

Dr. Lucas Landherr joined the Chemical Engineering Department in the fall of 2012, and has since been conducting engineering education research into novel teaching techniques for undergraduate and K-12 STEM education.  He has focused on the development of comics to teach complex science and engineering concepts, through collaboration with professional and student artists, and his comics have been adopted by colleges throughout the U.S. as well as in the U.K., Belgium, and Denmark.  Dr. Landherr is currently a regular contributor to the Chemical Engineering Education journal, producing the Drawn To Engineering comic, and is the engineering consultant helping to develop the Crash Course Engineering series with PBS Digital.

Dr. Landherr previously received his Bachelor’s degree from Lafayette College in 2005 with an honors thesis studying drag-reducing polymers. He then completed his Ph.D. at Cornell University in 2010, developing and characterizing thin polymer films and brushes as nanoscale lubricants. While at Cornell, he received a GK-12 NSF Fellowship, with which he designed curriculum and physics experiments for high school classrooms. In 2012, Dr. Landherr completed an NRC Postdoctoral Research Associateship with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where he conducted research on polymeric interactions with superhydrophobic surfaces.

Selected Publications

​Recent Publications:

• L. Landherr. Crash Course: Engineering, Serving as Engineering Consultant /Curriculum Writer, Youtube Series in Affiliation with PBS Digital, 2018-2019.
• L. Landherr. Integrating Comics Into Engineering Education To Promote Student Interest, Confidence, and Understanding. Proceedings of the ASEE Annual Conference, 2019.
• M. Vigeant, J. Cole, K. Dahm, L. Ford, L. Landherr, D. Silverstein, C. West. How We Teach: Thermodynamics, Proceedings of the ASEE Annual Conference, 2019.
• L. Landherr, M. Keszler. Drawn to Engineering: Illumination, Chemical Engineering  Education, 53(3), 2019, 145-146.
• L. Landherr, M. Keszler. Drawn to Engineering: Evolving Your Teaching, Chemical Engineering  Education, 53(2), 2019, 67-68.
• L. Landherr, M. Keszler. Drawn to Engineering: Idea Theft, Chemical Engineering  Education, 53(1), 2019, 63-64.
• L. Landherr, M. Keszler. Drawn to Engineering: Exams Are Alive With The Sound Of  … Music?, Chemical Engineering Education, 52(4), 2018, 294-295.
• L. Landherr, M. Keszler. Drawn to Engineering: Skeleton Notes, Chemical Engineering Education, 52(3), 2018, 221-222
• L. Landherr, M. Keszler. Drawn to Engineering: Diversity Statement, Chemical Engineering Education, 52(2), 2018, 115-116
• L. Landherr, M. Lubchansky. Drawn to Engineering: Answering Questions, Chemical Engineering Education, 52(1), 2018, 31-32
• L. Landherr, M. Keszler. Drawn to Engineering: Presenting Audiences, Chemical Engineering Education, 51(4), 2017, 163-164
• L. Landherr, M. Keszler. Drawn to Engineering: Humor in Exams, Chemical Engineering Education, 51(3), 2017, 126-127
• L. Landherr, M. Lubchansky. Drawn to Engineering: Problem-Solvers, Chemical Engineering Education, 51(2), 2017, 62-63
• L. Landherr, C. Pfluger, R.A. Koppes. The River Project: an Open-Ended Engineering Design Challenge from Bench-Scale to Pilot-Scale, Proceedings of the ASEE Annual Conference, 2018
• M. Vigeant, D.L. Silverstein, K.D. Dahm, L.P. Ford, J. Cole, L. Landherr. How We Teach: Unit Operations Laboratory, Proceedings of the ASEE Annual Conference, 2018
• L. Landherr. The Production of Science Comics To Improve Undergraduate Engineering, Proceedings of the ASEE Northeast Section Conference, 2016

STEM Comics:

• “Gene Therapy.”  Simonson, Z. (w) and Keszler, M.. (p). Ed. By Shepherd, D. Boston, MA: Northeastern  University. 2016
• “Assumptions.”  Cogswell, C. (w), Shepherd, D. * (w), and Pietsch, C. (p) Boston, MA: Northeastern  University.  2016
• “Refrigeration Cycles.”  Shepherd, D. * (w) and Keszler, M. (p)  Boston, MA: Northeastern University.  2016
• “Recycle and Purge Streams.”  Shepherd, D. * (w) and Lubchansky, M. (p).  Boston, MA: Northeastern  University.  2016
• “Fugacity.”  Shepherd, D. * (w) and Cooke, J. (p).  Boston, MA: Northeastern University. 2016
• “Heat Exchangers.”  Shepherd, D. * (w) and Lubchansky, M. (p).  Boston, MA: Northeastern University. 2016
• “Feedback Controls.”  Shepherd, D. * (w) and Lai, M. (p).  Boston, MA: Northeastern University. 2015
• “Uncertainty.”  Shepherd, D. * (w) and Kahl, A. (p).  Boston, MA: Northeastern University.  2015
• “Data Analysis.”  Shepherd, D. * (w) and Sparks, B. (p).  Boston, MA: Northeastern University.  2015

Other Journal Articles:

• “Interfacial Friction and Adhesion of Polymer Brushes.” Landherr, L.J.T.; Cohen, C.; Agarwal, P.; Archer, L.A. Langmuir 2011, 27, 9387-9395.
• “Effect of Pendent Chains on the Interfacial Properties of Thin Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) Networks.” Landherr, L.J.T.; Cohen, C.; Archer, L.A. Langmuir 2011, 27, 5944-5952.
• “Interfacial friction of thin PDMS network films.” Landherr, L.J.T.; Zhang, Q.; Cohen, C.; Archer, L.A. Journal of Polymer Science B, 2008, 46, 1773-1787.

(*- D. Shepherd is the creative pseudonym for L. Landherr)

Faculty

Feb 16, 2023

Landherr Receives AIChE Grant to Create Comic Learning Tool

Chemical Engineering Distinguished Teaching Professor Lucas Landherr has received a $3.5K grant from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Foundation to create a comic learning tool for high school seniors and first-year college engineering students.

Faculty

Jul 14, 2022

Landherr Receives 2022 AIChE Award for Education Research

ChE Teaching Professor Lucas Landherr was selected to receive the 2022 Award for Excellence in Engineering Education Research for his outstanding research on inclusive teaching in chemical engineering through the development of comics, visualization, and modules for novel STEM teaching tools for all-ages education.

Faculty

Apr 01, 2022

Landherr receives two grants from AIChE Foundation

Chemical Engineering Teaching Professor and Associate Chair of Undergraduate Studies Lucas Landherr has secured two grants from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Foundation to support K-12 outreach efforts. In order to continue their efforts in creating educational comics as learning tools, the AIChE Foundation awarded Landherr $4k to develop comics explaining how chemical […]

Faculty

Jan 03, 2022

Northeastern Chemical Engineering Faculty and Alumni Elected to AIChE K-12 Committee Leadership

Northeastern University will be well-represented in the leadership for the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) K-12 Committee in 2022, following recent elections by committee members.

Faculty

Nov 12, 2021

Landherr Serves as Co-programming Chair for National AIChE Conference

ChE Teaching Professor and Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies Lucas Landherr served as the Co-Programming Chair for the Annual Meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers this week in Boston.  Working to coordinate events over the last year and a half, Landherr helped to arrange the plenary talks delivered in conjunction with the meeting’s […]

Competitions

Nov 30, 2020

Chemical Engineering Students Compete in National AIChE K-12 STEM Showcase

At the national American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) virtual conference this month, chemical engineering students from the Northeastern student chapter of AIChE competed in a STEM module competition, highlighting their outreach efforts to K-12 students from across the country.

Faculty

Jul 31, 2020

Landherr Named To Meeting Program Chair Team for 2021 AIChE Annual Meeting

Chemical Engineering Teaching Professor Lucas Landherr has been named the Co-Meeting Program Chair for the Annual Meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) for the national conference to be held in November 2021 in Boston.

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