Oklahoma State University
OSU researchers test sensor at Sugar
Bowl
While fans were tailgating in the Big Easy for the Jan.
4 Sugar Bowl, four Oklahoma State University researchers
were testing a new sensor that detects deadly chemical agents.
Jim Harmon, OSU physics professor, and some of his graduate
students developed a powerful sensor that can quickly detect
cyanide gas, sarin, mustard gas and other toxic industrial
compounds.
This technology will tell first responders about the concentrations
of deadly substances with which they come in contact. The
feedback from the device is received in a matter of seconds
and increases the responders’ ability to react.
University researchers experimented outside the dome,
mainly in the French Quarter and in the downtown area. The
sensor was subjected to garbage, beer, manholes, people
and exhaust fumes. Harmon said there was no sign of false
positives and everything worked according to plan. One of
the teams’ biggest concerns was how the crowd was
going to react to the testing.
“Even though our research may have looked a little
suspicious, no one really seemed to notice us,” Harmon
said.
As research advances, the sensors will be used in a variety
of ways. Office buildings and schools will soon have a network
program designed to keep people safe from any chemical agent
that might enter the facility.
Courtesy of The Daily O’Collegian
Louisiana State University
Student-made swing bonds residents
A piece of rope, a couple of boards and an old seat cushion
have helped make the Pentagon residence halls a more close-knit
and care-free living community.
Biological sciences junior Jared Yore, biological sciences
sophomore Paul Miles and finance sophomore Michael Curtis
Underwood collaborated to create the Pentagon swing.
The idea came last year when Miles, wearing his rock climbing
gear, climbed a tree in the Pentagon area and looked down
at the courtyard.
“We like to think of ourselves as pleasers,”
Yore said. “We like to make people happy, and we thought
having a swing would please everyone in the community.”
Yore also said the swing encourages students to take time
out of their busy days and take in other aspects of college
life.
Yore said last year the swing consisted of a piece of
plywood tied to the rope, but during the summer it was removed
by Facility Services.
The swing has since been modernized, and the plywood seat
has been replaced by a seat cushion.
“The larger seat is safer and more comfortable,”
Scott Scribner, a geography sophomore, said.
Yore said people like to use the swing because it gives
them the opportunity to feel like a kid again and forget
the stress of college life.
Courtesy of The Reveille Online
Harvard University
Law students lace up their skates
Though this week’s plummeting temperatures have
driven most members of the Harvard community indoors, the
Law School is giving its students a reason to brave the
elements—an outdoor ice skating rink.
Dean of Harvard Law School Elena Kagan said she decided
on the spur of the moment this week to build the rink in
Javis Field, an open space in front of the Law School’s
student center, Harkness Commons.
“I was thinking about the renovation of the Hark,
which is taking place this summer,” Kagan said. “And
I saw an old article about the Hark from the 1950s. In the
photo, I noticed that there were people skating in Javis
Field. I thought it was a great idea.”
“It’s winter. How do you make people happy?”
Kagan asked.
Apparently, you build a rink.
“Why can’t we build something warm?”
said Brad Carrick, a second-year student. “Or if it
has to be cold, I think we should also build a luge and
have luge lessons. And wear meat helmets.”
Depending on its popularity, the construction of an ice
skating rink may become an annual tradition at the Law School.
For now, students are getting set to strap on their skates
and practice their triple-axels.
Courtesy the Harvard Crimson
Eastern Washington University
Roadside bears stolen
Two of Cheney’s six-foot residents, two Smokey the
Bear signs that sat on Highway 904, were snatched, Steve
Harris, Department of Natural Resources Northeast Fire Prevention
coordinator, said.
“Right now, I don’t have the budget to replace
him,” Harris said.
“We installed Smokey this summer to reduce human-caused
fires,” Harris said. “Smokey had tamper-proof
bolts that obviously didn’t work.”
The Smokey the Bear signs were dual aluminum cut-outs,
surrounded in vinyl and each side was two feet wide.
“I don’t have the numbers to crunch, but people
have noticed Smokey is missing,” Harris said. “I
have gotten good feedback from the signs and it is always
tough to lose something to theft.”
“I just want him back, especially by fire season.
If Smokey is not returned by next summer, I will get a little
ticked off,” Harris said. “I hope someone notices
something, perhaps sees Smokey nailed up to a dorm room
wall and knows it doesn’t belong to the student.”
The Smokey signs gave information on burning regulations
in the Cheney area and basic fire danger ratings.
The theft story ran in The Easterner on Jan. 15. The next
day, an anonymous phone tip led Harris to the signs. Lenn
Person, who works with Harris, found the signs behind the
Cheney Veterinary Clinic, just as the caller said.
Dr. Bill Holleman, who runs the clinic, said he knew the
signs were missing but didn’t know they were behind
his building.
“Nothing’s really visible behind the building
because there is a lot of brush back there,” Holleman
said.
Courtesy of The Easterner Online |
