National Science Foundation: Science of the Winter Olympics: The Science of Skis

In skiing events like the downhill, slalom or ski jump, it's often the skis that are bound to an athlete's feet - and the materials used to make them - that give these athletes an edge over the competition. U.S. Ski Team members Julia Mancuso, Ted Ligety and Scott Macartney, and Katharine Flores, an associate professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Ohio State University, explain how the materials used to make skis play a vital role in their performance on the mountain.