Hi there! My name is Chase Buchanan and I am the 12th grade Applied Physics and Engineering Teacher at HTHM.
I grew up in Santa Barbara, CA and received my BS in mechanical engineering at UCSB, but my interest in engineering began long before college. Some of my favorite memories from childhood include breaking open toys to harvest their gears and springs in order to build my own contraptions. In high school, I was first exposed to project based learning in the engineering academy at my school. The experience was so positive that I decided to mentor the senior class capstone projects during my final year of college and my first few years as a working professional. Since then, I have worked as an engineer in various industries including for museums (Exploratorium in San Francisco), medical devices, and optic based research and development. Throughout my career I have focused on bringing conceptual ideas into the physical world and helping my colleagues however I can.
I’m thrilled for this year at HTHM and to get the opportunity to make cool stuff with students! My class is centered on making things using the engineering design process and applying physics to guide our decision making. The physics we learn will be foundational, rooted in the project, and/or apply to relatable phenomenons. While working on projects we will use tools and machines to design, build, and test.
Outside of work I have a bunch of interests, but to keep it brief here are a couple. I am into all kinds of bike stuff ranging from road to mountain to BMX. Bike is life. And most important of all, spending time with my super cool wife Bertie, my amazing baby girl Didi, and our two chunky cats Damien and Pig!