I like teaching with artifacts; it helps students understand the implications of science and technology and why certain scientific theories emerge at a particular moment in time..”
María Portuondo, associate professor and chair Department of the History of Science and Technology

From ancient astrolabes used for solving problems related to time and the position of the sun and stars to an old manual sewing machine to a rotary phone to a Morse code machine, Portuondo, who is an electrical engineer, uses them all and more in the classroom to demonstrate to students how humans have interacted with technology over time and how scientific ideas change. She says students are most intrigued by the complex astrolabes and other instruments used during the Renaissance.