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Background To date, there has been little research to establish how creativity relates to engineering student persistence and academic achievement. Purpose This study used creativity to predict engineering student persistence and achievement relative to demographics, academic aptitude, and personality. It further evaluated those predictors for consistency throughout the undergraduate engineering program. Design/Method Participants were entering first‐year engineering students in 2011 and 2012. Academic aptitude was measured by high school rank and SAT scores. Personality was characterized using the Big Five inventory, which measures the traits of Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness. Creativity was assessed using student artifacts on three tasks and a modified creativity questionnaire. Outcome measures were students' persistence and GPA over four years. Multinomic logistic regression and multivariate regression were used to model the relationship between predictor variables and persistence and achievement. Results SAT math, high school rank, and Conscientiousness were predictors of persistence and achievement. Creativity measures did not predict GPA, and creative self‐efficacy was negatively related to engineering student persistence in the major. Conclusions Our results suggest that creativity is not appropriately taught or rewarded in some engineering curricula, and those engineering students who view themselves as highly creative are less likely to graduate in engineering.

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Retrieval studies of total hip replacements with highly cross-linked ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene liners have shown much less surface damage than with conventional ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene liners. A recent revision hip replacement for recurrent dislocation undertaken after only five months revealed a highly cross-linked polyethylene liner with a large area of visible delamination. In order to determine the cause of this unusual surface damage, we analysed the bearing surfaces of the cobalt-chromium femoral head and the acetabular liner with scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and optical profilometry. We concluded that the cobalt-chromium modular femoral head had scraped against the titanium acetabular shell during the course of the dislocations and had not only roughened the surface of the femoral head but also transferred deposits of titanium onto it. The largest deposits were 1.6 microm to 4.3 microm proud of the surrounding surface and could lead to increased stresses in the acetabular liner and therefore cause accelerated wear and damage. This case illustrates that dislocations can leave titanium deposits on cobalt-chromium femoral heads and that highly cross-linked ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene remains susceptible to surface damage.