ATI faculty member involved in medical research project 

Treadmill exercise stress testing is an import diagnostic tool for cardiovascular disease. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technology is another essential diagnostic tool. Unfortunately, the two don't mix. The ferrous metal components in a standard treadmill are not compatible with the very strong magnetic field generated by MRI equipment.

An ATI faculty member, John Arnold, has teamed up with researchers at The Ohio State University Medical Center to modify a treadmill so that it can be used in close proximity to an MRI exam table, enabling doctors to obtain high-resolution images of the heart while a patient is in the recovery phase immediately after reaching peak stress level.

In the treadmill being developed by Arnold and his team members (Eric Foster, Subha Raman, and Orlando Simonetti), magnetic components have been replaced with non-magnetic stainless steel, aluminum, bronze, and polymers.

Two years ago, Foster, a graduate student in biomedical engineering, was seeking someone with hydraulics experience to work on the project, and Internet searching led him to Arnold. Before joining the ATI faculty in 2003, Arnold spent 27 years as an engineer, developing off-highway equipment with complex hydraulic systems. He is an assistant professor and coordinator of ATI's power and equipment, and hydraulic power and motion control degree programs.

The design challenges have been interesting, says Arnold. Most industrial hydraulic systems use oil as the hydraulic fluid. "In this kind of system, you don't have to worry about corrosion, so the materials that are optimal for use with oil often contain high strength steels," Arnold says. For component prototypes, he looked instead at hydraulic systems that use water, which are common in the food processing industry. These water hydraulic components are constructed of stainless steel and polymers, which are more compatible with MRI environments.

One challenge of the project was to find a supplier who could produce these non-ferrous components. Through his network of industry contacts, Arnold was able to find one supplier, a manufacturer in England, who was willing to undertake the production of system components.

The treadmill is currently being tested and results look promising. After achieving peak stress levels, patients will be quickly transferred to the MRI, allowing doctors to capture high-definition images of the heart within 60 seconds. According to team member Simonetti, associate professor of internal medicine and radiology, the OSU Medical Center is the only place in the world performing treadmill exercise stress tests inside the MRI scan room.  -- Frances Whited

It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that bling

As on any campus, Ohio State ATI's hallways and classrooms teem with young men and women clad in the ubiquitous college student ensemble of jeans and a hoodie. But on any given day, you are just as likely to see students attired in Western wear that spans the gamut from functional to fanciful.

And the Western style isn't confined to students in production agriculture majors, either. Ashley Hines of Piedmont is a landscape contracting and construction major whose Western ensemble includes a lime green satin shirt and a leather belt of the same color, embellished with glittering metal studs and, of course, a large belt buckle. Completing the look is a black cowboy hat edged in pink and a green rhinestone cowboy boot necklace. "I acquired most of this to wear in the show ring," says Hines, who shows pigs and cattle.

The big belt buckle is a very common sight at ATI, often combined with slim jeans and a plaid shirt for the lanky cowboy look. But even the guys can indulge in a bit of Western bling. Alex Dawes, a construction science major from Hudson, sports not just the big belt buckle but an elaborately tooled leather belt as well, and adorns his shirt with a silver-tipped bolo tie. "I've always dressed this way, because it's a style that most people don't wear, and I like trying to be different," Dawes said.

 "I have gone to several other colleges before coming to ATI, and I have not seen anything like it anywhere else," said Rhiannon Schneider, an agronomy major from Grafton, who was sporting a bit of handcrafted bling herself--a gold boot bracelet adorned with charms. "You can't find many students at other colleges who can get down and dirty and still be able to express themselves with cowboy bling." -- Frances Whited

ATI Turf Team is tops two years in a row 

If Associate Professor Dave Willoughby's green hair provoked a few odd stares in the grocery store, it didn't bother him one bit. The unusual dye job was his way of making good on a promise to ATI's turf bowl team: Bring home the first-place trophy this year, and he would color his hair green.

The four-person team of ATI turfgrass students did just that, winning the 2008 college turf bowl competition that is part of the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation's annual conference. The team from ATI won in 2007, too, the first year the competition was held.

The test consists of nine sections addressing the types of problems and challenges turfgrass professionals face on the job and pits teams from the five Ohio schools that offer associate degrees related to the turfgrass industry.

Team members Andrew Goehler, Lance Bailey, Jack Zoldak, and Renee Geyer tackled questions about such topics as turfgrass diseases, weed and insect identification, and the calibration of equipment used to apply chemicals, as well as questions related to accounting procedures, assets and liabilities, profitability, and other business management concepts.

"I am extremely proud of our students," said Willoughby in an interview with the Wooster Daily Record. "Winning the Turf Bowl the first year was a great accomplishment. Being able to repeat and bring the trophy back to Wooster for the second year in a row is indescribable." Willoughby is coordinator of ATI's turfgrass management degree program and serves as faculty advisor to the Turf Club.

The winning team receives a traveling trophy that will be displayed for a year until the next competition. Team members also received individual plaques.

"People in the grocery store keep asking me if I lost a bet," Willoughby said. "I tell them that I didn't lose anything. I won." -- Frances Whited