We have been a bit silent on the Environmental Extremes Lab Blog recently. In part, this has allowed us to recharge the batteries after a very busy last academic year. Nevertheless, plenty has been going on over the summer and early autumn months. We supported nine MSc research projects allied to environmental extremes, with some exciting results coming out of them to share in due course.  Dr Alan Richardson and Dr Mark Hayes were interviewed as experts for a Ministry of Defence Service Inquiry into the death of a soldier during an annual fitness test at Brecon in 2016. Mark  with Dr Ash Willmott presented to the GB Hockey team around pre and per cooling strategies leading up to Tokyo 2020.  We supported another two Para-Monte Altitude Awareness Days for individuals heading to altitude. Well done to our own University of Brighton’s Sally Reeve and her daughter, Marianne, who successfully and safely completed their trek to Machu Picchu, passing Dead Women’s Pass on the way.

Of course we cannot forget to acknowledge Emily Watkins, one of our Technical Instructors and PhD students, who recently submitted her PhD thesis and we wish her all the very best as she prepares for her viva! No doubt that getting some of her work published using an occupational heat tolerance test will help. Four of our PhD students also attended the 7th Annual Conference on the Physiology and Pharmacology of Temperature Regulation.

As we kick back into another academic year and as I prepare another round of lectures for our 2nd year – Performance in Environmental Extremes Module and 3rd year – Expedition Physiology Modules, a quick back-of-an-envelope calculation tallied the number of students involved in environmental extremes at the University of Brighton this year to 94!

2nd year Performance in Environmental Extremes Module – 45

3rd year Expedition Physiology Module – 35

MSc Applied Environmental Physiology Module – 10

PhD students – 4

We had 95 last year so it is not a bumper year, but becoming the norm. This year, it also includes 26 of our 3rd year students that will be conducting their dissertations allied to environmental extremes, 19 of these on English Institute of Sport Supported Dissertation Projects which focus towards answering priority research questions that will help our athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympic Games. So, a busy but exciting year beckons in our labs with plenty teaching of environmental extremes that we will keep you posted on throughout the year!