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News

Satellite images help find safe routes to South Pole – Using satellite images and software, Ohio State University researchers are mapping land routes across the Antarctic that could make it safer and easier to transport equipment and supplies to the South Pole. Led by Carolyn Merry, professor of civil engineering at Ohio State, the researchers have mapped potential routes across a stretch of the Ross Ice Shelf, one of the giant ice sheets that extends outward from the frozen continent. Overland travel across the stretch of the ice shelf between McMurdo and the glacier is fraught with dangers because of deep crevasses that lie hidden under snow. In 1991, a tractor traveling across the ice shelf – a thick layer of ice floating on the Ross Sea – fell into a crevasse, bringing home the risks associated with surface transport from McMurdo to the interior of Antarctica. So supplies to the U.S. station at the South Pole are transported entirely by aircraft. But overland transportation could be more economical and convenient if it were safer. According to Merry, “these crevasses are very hard to see from the ground and even from a low-flying airplane because a lot of them are bridged over by snow that drifts into them.” Based on the images, the researchers came up with safe routes through the corridor. Contact: Carolyn Merry, (614) 292-6889; see http://www.osu.edu/researchnews/archive/ross.htm

Experts

OSU Student team cooks up better road pavement. A team of five Ohio State Engineering students has taken top honors among all Ohio universities in the Flexible Pavements Competition for their road surface formula and will receive a plaque at luncheon Wednesday at the Radisson Hotel on Sinclair Road. The students will test their mix against teams across the country at the National Flexible Pavements Competition at Auburn University. The students had to design a pavement mix to survive severe weather conditions, according to the team's advisor, professor Osama Abdulshafi. Ohio has the worst conditions for road pavement in the nation, thanks to freeze and thaw cycles that break up roads during late winter. Abdulshafi, director of the Ohio LTAP (Local Technical Assistance Program) in the College of Engineering, says this new OSU pavement mix may soon be the pavement mix of choice in Ohio. It may be used as part of an experimental perpetual pavement test of an 8-mile stretch of road in northeast Ohio to find ultimate solution for Ohio roads. Team members are: Michael Bline, Sage Flannagan, Adam Fowler, Daniel Pizzino and Stephen Risser, team captain. Contact: Osama Abdulshafi, College of Engineering, 614 292-7756.

Events

Internationally renowned cartoonist Roth to highlight freelance career – March 17. More than 60 original works of internationally renowned freelance cartoonist Arnold Roth will be on display at The Ohio State University to document the entire range of his half-century career. Roth will take part in a public presentation at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday (3/17) at the Wexner Center Film/Video Theatre, 1871 N. High St. “The Arnold Roth: Free Lance” exhibition, open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, will be free and open to the public at Ohio State’s Cartoon Research Library, 27 W. 17th Ave. Mall, room 023L Wexner. During his career, Roth has received numerous awards, including the Reuben Award as Cartoonist of the Year from the National Cartoonists Society. He also has been featured in more than 50 publications, including The New York Times, Newsweek, the Saturday Evening Post and Sports Illustrated. Contact: Lucy Caswell, Cartoon Research Library, (614) 292-0538.

Hug an optometrist – It’s Save Your Vision Month. March is National Save Your Vision Month, a time to appreciate the importance of good vision and eye health. The Ohio State University College of Optometry suggests that the month is a great time to schedule overdue eye and vision exams. The Ohio State Optometry Clinics are internationally recognized for their excellence in patient care as well as in research. In addition to offering eye and vision exams, glasses and contact lenses, the clinics offer vision training and orthoptics programs, low vision testing and visual rehabilitation, pediatric vision care, and many other specialized services. The Optometry Clinics also pioneer advancements in visual science. Examples of recent clinical developments include high oxygen permeable contact lenses, chemical analysis of tears, the electronic measurement of ocular pressure to detect glaucoma, investigation on how clearly infants can see, and the effect of pupil size on vision. Contact: Karen Greene, College of Optometry, (614) 292 0818.

The person listed as Contact will have the best information about the story. Call on our media relations staff for help with any Ohio State story – Liz Cook, (614) 292-7276; Elizabeth Conlisk, (614) 292-3040; Randy Dunham, (614) 292-8295; Amy Murray, (614) 292-8385, and Shannon Wingard, (614) 247-6821.