Coasters, Crystals & Chemical Engineering | S6

Strap in with Miranda Cosgrove for a high-energy episode of Mission Unstoppable that blends amusement-park thrills with cutting-edge science. Suzy Cheely, Vice President of Design & Engineering at Busch Gardens, breaks down the physics of roller coasters from lift-hill potential energy converting to kinetic energy to the difference between centripetal (track-holding) and centrifugal (what riders feel) forces on tight curves. In the lab, geologist-paleontologist Michelle Barboza-Ramirez grows dazzling bismuth crystals in minutes on “Barboza Rocks,” showing how a mineral’s crystalline structure creates those geometric, step-like towers.

Then Erika Anderson, a reliability engineer at a major refinery, turns cardboard, straws, rubber bands, and CD wheels into a mini car to teach “design it right, operate it right, maintain it right” and iterates toward smooth, straight-line performance. Finally, chemical engineer Dr. Elizabeth Wheeler demos organs-on-chips: patterned-metal electrodes on microchips that “listen” to heart cell contractions, with an eye toward bioprinting 3D tissues and better predicting human responses to medicines (and reducing animal testing). From roller coaster engineering and mineral crystal growth to reliability and microfluidics, this episode delivers STEM you can feel, see, and build.

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Mission Unstoppable with Miranda Cosgrove celebrates women who have become superstars in STEM-related careers. Watch every weekend on your local CBS station.

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