- Department: Aerospace Engineering
- University: Georgia Institute of Technology
- Location: Georgia
In Memory of Dewey Hodges May 18, 1948- January 31, 2022 https://ae.gatech.edu/news/2022/02/memoriam-dewey-harper-hodges Some people are quite certain that a Christian cannot possibly be a knowledgeable engineer or scientist. Consider though that of the 56 universally acknowledged fathers of modern science, all but two professed faith in Jesus Christ. In my courses we deal with Newton's laws a good bit. Newton wrote many works in mathematics and physics. Newton also believed the Bible to be the word of God and wrote commentaries on some books of the Bible. I invite you to consider the life of the 18th century genius, Leonhard Euler, one of my favorite people in history. Heard of e^{iq} = cos q + i sin q? That's Euler's equation. You will hear of Euler's dynamical equations in Dynamics, Euler's equations of fluid flow (Low-speed aerodynamics), Euler-Bernoulli beam theory ("def bods"), Euler's theory of column buckling (AE structures courses), Euler's theorem on rigid-body motion, Euler rotation, and Euler parameters (Advanced Dynamics). He wrote 864 books and papers, more pages of scientific and mathematical text than any other human in history. Most people do not know that he also wrote books on the Christian faith, some of which were published in several languages. He daily taught the Bible to his 13 children and many grandchildren. He did most of his work after having become blind. Euler believed, as I do, that without the presuppositions revealed in the Bible, it was impossible to make sense of life. The most important person in my life is Jesus Christ, and the most important aspect of my identity is that I am His servant. I attempt to apply the Christian faith to every aspect of my life, including my profession. There may be a few things about my teaching and the way I conduct myself that you find praiseworthy. If so, they are all because of Christ. There are most certainly things about me and about my courses that are imperfect and need improvement. These are there because I am a flawed human being -- like everyone else.
Friends describe me
someone who makes too many puns
My hobbies
piano, singing, squash
Fantasy dinner guests
The late Dr. Greg Bahnsen, Congressman Ron Paul
Best advice I ever received
I was told to NOT drop out of the PhD program to become a full-time evangelist
My undergrad alma mater
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
My worst subject in school
thermodynamics
In college I drove
1963 Ford Fairlane
If I weren't a professor, I would
probably seek to start a consulting business
Favorite books
Institutes of Biblical Law by R. J. Rushdoony
Favorite movies
Cromwell, Luther, Braveheart
Favorite city
Munich
Favorite coffee
Torrefazione Italia,Palermo blend
My latest accomplishment
I completed three books in just under four years.