Dr. James E. Hubbard and his team at The Morpheus Lab created a graphic novel to inspire a younger audience to explore mechanical engineering.
The idea stemmed from an interaction 25 years ago when a fifth-grade class from Dr. Hubbard’s hometown of Danville, Virginia, reached out to him. Their teacher had assigned them a project to research notable people from Danville, leading the students to contact Dr. Hubbard with numerous questions about his life.
This weekly correspondence continued for over eight months, culminating in the students writing a short book about his life. During this time, Dr. Hubbard arranged for the class to tour NASA Langley and the Virginia Air and Space Museum. These impactful interactions led the Mayor of Danville to award Dr. Hubbard the Key to the City.
Reflecting on this experience, Hubbard said, “It was then that I realized that this age group is critically important in being able to influence and shape the lives of future generations. It is this group that the graphic novel was designed to reach.”
Inspired by this, Dr. Hubbard decided to create Gearhart Legacies, a graphic novel that explores stories where mechanical engineering makes a difference in the world.
At The Morpheus Lab, his team interviewed a diverse group of engineers, faculty, students, and teenagers to uncover their stories, experiences, and challenges. They observed their backgrounds, motivations, dreams, and aspirations, noting both the similarities and differences. From these insights, they crafted the story of Gearhart Legacies.
Issue No. 1 of Gearhart Legacies, Tackling the Impossible, follows Meia and Cogwin as they embark in a daring quest at Morpheus Lab to realize Meia’s dreams. Facing adversity and strict rules in the city of Monopolis, they must decide whether to conform or fight.
The plot of Gearhart Legacies mirrors Dr. Hubbard’s life, highlighting his pursuit of dreams and taking unconventional paths. This journey created career obstacles and challenges by disrupting the status quo.
Dr. Rebecca Friesen, who assisted Dr. Hubbard with Gearhart Legacies, said, “I hope this graphic novel resonates with kids who have creativity and potential, but still need a vision of what’s possible and how they can contribute.”
Hubbard and his team collaborated with experts from the National Institute of Aerospace and Bully! Entertainment, who brought extensive experience in both pedagogy and storytelling. Together, they balanced technical accuracy with engaging narratives to ensure the engineering content is both educational and captivating.
Dr. Guillermo Aguilar, the J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering Department Head, praised these efforts. “Outreach efforts of this kind, especially aimed at middle-school children, are of great importance to our societal quest to encourage young students to pursue STEM careers in college,” he said. “I congratulate Dr. Hubbard and his team for leading this effort as part of the J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering’s outreach and communication initiatives.”