Engineers at the Thayer School collaborated with the United States Army's Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory in Hanover to develop a solar-powered robot designed for operation in Antarctica and Greenland. Dubbed "The Cool Robot," the prototype was tested in Greenland last year and is one cubic meter in size, weighing 61 kg. It can operate without human support and carry a load of 15 kg over 500 km of Arctic tundra in only two weeks. James Lever, an engineer with the CRREL, described the robot's functions at the European Geosciences Union annual meeting. According to Lever, the Cool Robot will perform tasks such as "sampling for bacteria in the snow, measuring the atmosphere, or doing a glaciological survey with ground-penetrating radar." The robots will also be used to create distributed sensor networks across the Arctic regions. U.S. Army engineers plan to deploy five robots by the end of 2007.
Two Duke lacrosse players were arrested on Tuesday and charged with first-degree forcible rape, first-degree sexual offense and kidnapping. Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty, the two players charged, have been released on bail and are scheduled to reappear in court on May 15. They are among the three players that reportedly attacked and sexually assaulted a woman who was invited as an exotic dancer to a Duke lacrosse team party on March 13. Prosecutors expect to identify and charge a third player in the case, but are awaiting the discovery of more conclusive evidence. Defense lawyers maintain there was no rape or assault at the party. "This is probably the worst miscarriage of justice I've seen in 34 years of practice," Seligmann's attorney Julian Mack said.
The Dartmouth track and field team is holding a date auction this Friday from 8:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. in Collis Caf. Thirty men and women team members will display their talents to the audience, who can then bid on them for a date. Proceeds from the auction will support the Relay for Life taking place on May 5. Melissa Machaj '07 expressed hope that the auction could raise interest in the track and field team. "We have our Dartmouth Invite meet coming up this Saturday so we would love to see people come cheer us on," she said.
