The newest episode of the podcast Unfold mixes comic book superhero action and science. No better pairing, since many of the heroes and villains in comics started out as scientists or are connected to scientists. The things they create and the materials they use can tell us a lot about the real world, too — everything from physics to engineering.

The hosts talk with Professor Ricardo Castro, who teaches engineering students to think outside the box and to contemplate the unlikely, but not always impossible, real-world applications of materials science based on the powers of superheroes. UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May lends some supernatural powers of his own to the discussion.  

In this episode: 

• Ricardo Castro, associate dean of research and graduate studies, UC Davis Department of Materials Science and Engineering 
• Gary S. May, UC Davis chancellor

The award-winning podcast launches a new episode every Tuesday through Nov. 23.

Unfold is available free, on demand at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon's TuneIn, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts. It is produced by Cody Drabble. Original music for Unfold comes from UC Davis alumnus Damien Verrett and Curtis Jerome Haynes. Follow Unfold on Twitter at @Unfoldpodcast.