You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity

every day. I'm your host, Elise Hugh. Reallogy is the branch of physics that studies the deformation

and flow of materials, both solids and liquids. And while this may be one of

the lesser-known scientific fields of study, according to chemical engineer Sean Ferrington,

it has the potential to completely transform how we understand and diagnose cardiovascular disease.

In his talk, Sean sheds light on why this field is so powerful

and why it's time for engineers and medical professionals to work together to integrate

this emerging science into routine care. When I was a kid, my uncle would tell me these great stories about his aerospace engineering career.

He used to tell me all about the machinery and the designs that he built throughout his life,

and always said he'd pick the perfect career for himself because of all the cool stuff he was able to build.

Once he told me about working in the nose cone of an Apollo rocket,

fixing some sensitive piece of equipment just a few days before it's launched.

I was enamored by this. Listening to his stories had me daydreaming about all the

innovative technology that I could build. And it's what inspired me to become an engineer too.

Since going down this path, I've learned there's more to engineering than just the amazing stuff

we build. There's also to engineering than just the amazing stuff we build.

There's also a vital responsibility in the work,

sometimes with the ability to save human life.

Put simply, when engineers mess up, people die.

And this is what my PhD advisor warned me about when I started working with him four years ago.

When I decided to follow the path of chemical engineering, I could have never imagined I'd be doing my PhD in a field of study called reology.

But reology was interesting to me, enough so I spend a few years

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