Pop Culture Sci-Fi Turns Real

University of Victoria neuroscientist Dr. E. Paul Zehr drew on the comic book saga of Batman three years ago to demonstrate that extreme and prolonged physical training can produce superheroes of us all. Now with his latest book, Inventing Iron Man: The Possibility of a Human Machine, Zehr explores whether modern-day technology is up to the challenge of inventing a real-life Iron Man.
       “Science is inching closer to a point where portions of an Iron Man suit could in fact be made and used,” says Zehr. “But what does connecting the body to this kind of technology actually do to the person inside the suit? What will it mean to blur the line between human and machine?”
       Zehr will be providing a free talk called “Inventing Iron Man: Where is the Line Between Human and Machine?” at 7 p.m. on Tues., Sept. 20 at ICORD, the BC-based centre for spinal cord research and treatment located at Vancouver General Hospital and supported by UBC Faculty of Medicine and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute. Visit www.icord.org for details.
       Zehr, director of UVic’s Centre for Biomedical Research and a professor in the Rehabilitation Neuroscience Laboratory at UVic’s School of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education and in the Division of Medical Sciences, is a lead researcher at ICORD and a martial arts expert.
       He attended the Comic Con International in San Diego in July 2011 and will be at the New York Comic-Con in mid October. Comic-Con, a comic book and popular arts convention, frequently serves as the launching pad for upcoming movies and TV series.
       His critically acclaimed first book, Becoming Batman: The Possibility of a Superhero, was released in 2008. Zehr’s new book is published by Johns Hopkins University Press and is available now. More info: www.inventingironman.com.

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