Blair Johnson, left, and Zachary Schlader will conduct research and facilitate experiential learning at the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington's new extreme environmental chamber. Photo by James Brosher, Indiana University
"We think we may be the only people who have ever stepped from a room at over 120 degrees Fahrenheit to a room that was minus 40 in a matter of seconds," said Zachary Schlader, associate professor of kinesiology at the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington.
Schlader and his collaborator, associate professor of kinesiology Blair Johnson, recently celebrated the completion of the School of Public Health's extreme environmental chamber, funded by the United States Department of Defense.
The chamber, which can create both hot and cold research environments, is unique in its ability to reach temperatures as low as minus 40 Celsius. It allows researchers to study the effects of extreme hot or cold on humans in a controlled and safe setting.
In addition to studies in support of Department of Defense work, Johnson and Schlader will each use the chamber to continue their research on improving both public health and outdoor working conditions in extreme climates.
Heat's effect on public health and economy
"Everyone remembers a time when they got too cold or too hot," Schlader said. "What we study is relevant to every human; everyone looks up the weather because they want to be able to dress appropriately and protect themselves."
Schlader's research on the physiological effects of heat reaches beyond everyday comfort; it also confronts the rising challenge of heat-related injuries and illness in an increasingly warmer world.
According to the National Weather Service, heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the United States. Older adults and infants are particularly vulnerable to heat-related illness and injury.
"People who work outside, such as construction or agricultural workers, are at risk for heat-related illnesses," Schlader said. "This is a public health issue, but it's also an economic issue, in terms of absenteeism and a loss of productivity. Our studies - and what we can test in the new environmental chamber - identify ways to protect outdoor laborers and the general public from heat stress."
Schlader's research focuses in part on simple, accessible ways to protect the health and safety of humans in heat. He is a member of a collaborative research team affiliated with La Isla Network, a nonprofit focused on protecting workers from heat stress and other environmental exposures. They recently tested a rest-shade-hydration protocol among agricultural workers and found that for every dollar a company invested in the heat stress mitigation program, they saw $1.60 in return.
From the heat to the Arctic
The Department of Defense granted funds toward the construction of the chamber to support its increased interest in maintaining a presence in the Arctic. The chamber can run studies on the effects of extreme cold on laborers and soldiers.
Schlader, left, and Johnson in the coldest section of the extreme environmental chamber, which can reach temperatures as low as minus 40. As soon as the door to this room opens, a mist of fine snow forms as warmer, humid air enters the cold chamber. Photo by James Brosher, Indiana University
"This facility opens the door to new research opportunities for faculty and students at IU," IU Bloomington Chancellor David Reingold said. "Even more, it benefits the Department of Defense by deepening our understanding of how people and technologies of all types respond when exposed to extreme temperatures. Projects like this provide impactful solutions to current and future problems we face in Indiana and the rest of the nation, which is central to much of our research at IU Bloomington."
The Canadian engineering firm CANTROL completed work on the chamber in the spring.
"Most academic chambers only go down to minus 20 Celsius," Johnson said. "Our chamber can reach minus 40 Celsius, and it's also one of the largest chambers of its type.
"It has enough air exchange to allow multiple people to be in the chamber at a time. That's important because it allows you to get more observers and study participants in the chamber. We can simulate everything from shoveling to medical activities and monitor participants' responses to the cold."
The chamber looks like a room-sized rectangular box from the outside. The first section of the chamber - equipped to reach hot and cold temperatures - is outfitted with a computer monitor and two treadmills. The adjoining chamber, which is roughly the same size and can reach minus 40 Celsius, remains mostly empty to provide plenty of room for researchers and study participants.
Schlader and Johnson both rigorously enforce safety protocols in the chamber. In addition to following frostbite guidelines set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they also use the buddy system for every visit to the chamber.
"We never do studies alone, and we always have two research personnel for every one study subject," Johnson said. "We also do constant physiological safety monitoring of subjects."
Monitoring participants in the front chamber involves a relatively straightforward system of connecting the test subjects to monitors. However, because the colder side requires a closed door between the computer monitors and the chamber, Johnson's research group uses wireless technology in the form of pills that test subjects ingest to monitor core temperatures.
Johnson hopes the work done in the new chamber will be applicable beyond his own research focus.
"There's not a whole lot of academic work on the effects of cold on humans, especially at the temperatures we're able to get to," Johnson said. "We're excited to make the most of this chamber's potential on research for the military. But this could have a significant impact on fishing and mining industries in the Arctic as well."
Opportunities like this are made possible in part by generous donors to Indiana University. You can support public health research at IU by making a gift to the Dean's Research Fund at the School of Public Health-Bloomington.
