Real science vs. Hollywood superheroes—it seems like a fun topic, something on the light side. A symposium at the Annual Meeting Friday drew considerable media attention. (Scientific American and CNN's SciTechBlog, for example.)

But in a Science Podcast interview, Jim Kakalios, a physics professor at the University of Minnesota and the author of “The Physics of Superheroes,” made clear that the subject is no guilty pleasure.

There are students “who are never going to become scientists or engineers, but they’re going to be citizens and voters for the rest of their lives,” Kakalios said. “And the traditional ways we have of teaching physics turn these students off….

“Whenever I use superheroes to illustrate science concepts, students never wonder when they’re going to use this in their real life,” he continued. “Apparently they all have plans for after graduation that involve spandex and patrolling the city and knowing how many evil mad scientists there are out there.”

Listen to the full podcast interview with Jim Kakalios. And check out Helen Fields’ story for ScienceNOW.