SCHOOLS IN THE NEWS


Wheel Lunar Vehicle Tey definitely aren’t ideal road condi-


tions: the terrain is rocky and full of pot- holes. But a McGill University professor has been given the challenge of designing and testing a wheel for a new moon rover. Te Canadian Lunar Exploration Light


Rover will be used to carry cargo, crew, communications systems and drilling and excavation equipment. Te LELR wheel prototype from the Montreal university will be ready by spring, 2012. The Neptic Rover Team in charge of


developing the rover awarded McGill an $11.5 million contract to come up with a new wheel design. Peter Radziszewski, a mechanical engineering professor, heads the McGill team of almost 60 students from the graduate and undergraduate programs. Tis is not Peter’s first time reinventing


the wheel. In 2009, he developed another wheel prototype called the iRing, which consisted of a circular metal structure filled with granular bean-bag-like mate- rial. Tis design made the wheel strong and malleable around obstacles in its lunar environment. Four other organizations are part of the


Neptic Rover Team. McGill University is the only educational institution involved.


Fireworks Brilliant displays of exploding colours


streak the skies on many celebratory oc- casions around the world, but the gas and smoke produced by such fireworks can be quite toxic, says a University of Montreal study. Audrey Smargiassi, a professor in the


department of environmental and occu- pational health, found gasses and smoke from fireworks contain a thousand times more particles of potassium, manganese, titanium, chlorine and aluminium than normal concentrations. While there’s no reason to panic if you


find yourself under a brilliant display of lights, people suffering from respiratory and heart conditions should be careful. Previous studies have shown that regular exposure to fireworks increase the likeli- hood of heart problems. Audrey’s study is groundbreaking be-


cause it measured toxin levels from the ground instead of from rooftops as in previous studies. It also found that there was an increase in toxins as much as 14 km away from the fireworks display studied. Audrey staked out the famous fireworks


action at La Ronde amusement park in Montreal to complete her study. Over 5.7 million spectators gather for the fireworks competition at La Ronde each summer.


Energy drinks and alcohol Vodka-Redbulls and Jagerbombs


have become bar staples, but a Uni- versity of Dalhousie study says mixing energy drinks and liquor doubles the amount of alcohol people consume. If someone usually drinks two drinks during an evening out on the town, mixing that alcohol with energy drinks would double the alcohol amount to four drinks equivalent. Sean Barrett, associate professor


of psychology and psychiatry at Dal- housie, author of the study, says it is inconclusive about why this pattern occurs but he does have some theories. One is that people tend to drink more when they’re having fun and the added sedative creates this effect. He also sees an interesting correlation between the banning of smoking in bars and the rise of energy drink use there. People who smoke while drink- ing tend to consume more alcohol as well. Sean says the explanation may also lie


in the chemicals energy drinks release in the brain, affecting the amount of dopamine and making the euphoria effect from rising blood alcohols last longer.


SMART careers | Early Spring 7 S


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