果冻传媒麻豆社

Retired INL engineer joins research faculty at U of I鈥檚 Department of Nuclear Engineering.

For some people, the process of nuclear reactions, thermodynamics and chemical processes might as well be magic. The average person doesn鈥檛 understand how these processes can create energy that warms homes, cleans water or creates chemicals.

But Mike McKellar loves these systems and has the ability not only to understand them, but model them and find ways to make these processes more efficient.

For McKellar, the magic of engineering is what he loves. And it鈥檚 precisely his ability to understand complex processes that also makes him a successful performing magician.

鈥淭here are a lot of people that enjoy the sciences and who really enjoy magic as well. When you have a mathematical mind, you understand math and physics. There is a branch of magic where that gives you the advantage,鈥� said McKellar, a research faculty member in the College of Engineering at the 果冻传媒麻豆社, Idaho Falls. 鈥淚f you understand the math of magic, you can actually enter in to a realm that the magic actually looks impossible.鈥�

Retired After 26 Years at INL

Originally from Utah, McKellar earned his bachelor鈥檚 degree in mechanical engineering from Brigham Young University and went on to get a master鈥檚 and doctorate in mechanical engineering from Purdue University in Indiana. In March 2017, McKellar retired after a 26-year career at

鈥淭here are a lot of people that enjoy the sciences and who really enjoy magic as well. 鈥� If you understand the math of magic, you can actually enter in to a realm that the magic actually looks impossible.鈥�Mike McKellar

The Art of Magic

McKellar鈥檚 interests occasionally collide when his students ask him to perform magic, such as at a family night for nuclear science students. McKellar is a member of the regional ring of the , which has about 15 members in southeast Idaho. He performs six or seven shows a month for area nonprofits and private parties. He doesn鈥檛 charge for his nonprofit shows and twice a year performs at the juvenile detention center.

鈥淚鈥檓 a big fan of the art of magic. I like doing card magic and coin magic. I do some rope magic. I have linking metal rings,鈥� he said. He鈥檚 also begun to learn mentalism, or mind-reading. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e doing regular magic, people can pull their disbelief away, but they know that there might be a trick behind it. That鈥檚 fun. Mentalism, you start moving into a point where people start to ask questions that maybe there鈥檚 something beyond.鈥�

But McKellar isn鈥檛 interested in being deceptive or spooky.

鈥淚 do assure everyone that everything I do, they can do too with years of practice,鈥� he said. 鈥淢agic isn鈥檛 about fooling people. If it鈥檚 done right, it鈥檚 about bringing a sense of astonishment and wonder.鈥�

McKellar, who earned the rank of Eagle Scout as a youth, has volunteered with the for around 15 years, where he assists with training programs for adult leaders and youth members. He also serves on the board for the Mountain Falls Apartments project, which offers low-income housing for seniors.

鈥淚 do it because I feel it鈥檚 important to give back. Being involved in Scouting, I now have very close friends throughout southeast Idaho, people I can depend on,鈥� McKellar said. 鈥淚 guess I really enjoy it because the people I work with are just outstanding people and really make me a better person.鈥�

Article by Savannah Tranchell, University Communications and Marketing.

Published in the May 2018 issue of .