Need a Physics Refresher? This NFL Cheerleader Has You Covered

By Erik Malinowski
Wired.com

Who says NFL Cheerleaders can’t also be science geeks?

Wendy Brown, who just completed her first season as an Atlanta Falcons Cheerleader, is actually wrapping up her fifth and final year at Georgia Tech, where she’s pursuing a degree in biomedical engineering. And it was her geeky, science-centric tendencies that led her to becoming a spokeswoman for NBC’s Science of NFL Football educational series.

And, as it turns out, she’s not the only Falcons cheerleaders pursuing higher education in science, as seven of her colleagues are also going through a science-heavy course load. And when she’s got some free time during class, Brown will take to her Twitter account and have a little fun at the expense of her classmates.

She’s also a research assistant at the university’s Barker Biomedical Engineering Lab as well as the coauthor of a study published in the journal Biomaterials called “Engineering fibrin matrices: the engagement of polymerization pockets through fibrin knob technology for the delivery and retention of therapeutic proteins.” And Brown also plans to pursue her PhD (even while she’s still cheerleading) and eventually become a reconstructive surgeon working with injured soldiers.

In advance of Sunday’s Super Bowl, Brown was brought on by the appropriately named ScienceCheerleader.com to introduce their Science of NFL Football segment explaining Newton’s third law of motion. And in the spirit of full disclosure, Brown does not actually appear in this video, narrated by NBC’s Lester Holt, but it’s nonetheless an informative reminder of how violent forces and momentum will play an active role Sunday, especially with defensive players like the Steelers’ James Harrison and the Packers’ Clay Matthews out to set the tone early.