Margaret Dalzell Lowman, Ph.D., isn't called "Canopy Meg" because
she spends her time in the comfy corner office. Actually, it's
quite the opposite. Lowman spends the better part of her life in
the canopies high above the tropical rainforest.
As a canopy biologist, Lowman has pioneered methods and
protocols for research in treetop biodiversity, including the use
of different canopy access techniques such as ropes, walkways, hot
air balloons, construction cranes and various combinations of those
methods. But gathering data became quite a chore when dealing with
a laptop that was too heavy and often couldn't withstand the
rainforest and its wet and humid conditions.
According to Lowman, who is also director of environmental
initiatives and professor of biology and environmental studies at
the New College of Florida, her last laptop would be tucked in
plastic bags and packed with silica gel packs to keep the heat and
moisture at bay. Most of the time, she said, she was apprehensive
about using a laptop up in the canopy for fear of damaging the
machine, losing the data, or running out of battery power. Instead,
she would carry pencils and paper, which could stand up to
unforgiving treatment in the rainforest.
She's been in locations where 13 rain showers fell in one day --
or four inches of rain in less than an hour – conditions that
Lowman said are "beyond the ability to take a picture with a camera
lens, let alone use a laptop."
Notebook-maker Lenovo recently equipped Lowman and four other
world-renowned scientists with rugged notebook PCs. Lowman said
this is her first rugged laptop, but she could have used it while
surveying the canopy in such places as Cameroon, Africa; Australia;
Peru; and Belize.
"I can drag it around in these locations and not worry," she
said.
The ruggedized notebooks can handle the challenging, hostile
environments these scientists endure in the name of research,
according to Lenovo. The ThinkPad X60s ultra-portable notebooks are
small and weigh three pounds; they include a shock-mounted hard
drive, an airbag-like Active Protection System, and rescue and
recovery features that protect data. They are designed to survive
extreme heat and cold and make it through extremely wet or dry
conditions.
According to Lenovo, IT staff, scientists and statisticians have
taken ThinkPads everywhere from treks on Mt. Everest to space
missions for NASA. Lowman said she's already put her ThinkPad to
use in the Florida forest but will soon venture with it to
Antarctica, where it will truly be put to the test.
"I spend a lot of time on a rope or in a hot air balloon,"
Lowman said. "I need field gear that is light and can work in
different conditions. I would often not even take a laptop with me
because it wasn't durable."
Lowman added that her research and the researches of other
canopy biologists have been hampered by the lack of adequate
technology. She noted, however, that this is starting to turn
around.
"We've been inhibited by not being able to take the technology
into the field," she said, adding that rugged notebooks, portable
photosynthesis readers, and GPS systems have helped her and her
colleagues. "We need tools for rigorous data collection. This is
very important, and research is needed."