Field research is not without its share of occupational hazards.
Last summer, a group of three Limnology students on a data collection mission flipped their canoe in the Sturgeon River. Shallow water and lifejackets kept the young researchers safely afloat, but some equipment was quickly swept downstream. Among the casualties: a field-outfitted iPad rented from LSA Technology Services.
“I wasn’t thrilled to send that email, but such are the dangers of doing science in the wild,” says Jason Tallant, UMBS Data Manager.
For all intents and purposes, the iPad was assumed missing in action. Which made it all the more surprising when, seven months later, Tallant received an email from LSA Technology Services Circulation Supervisor, Ashley Koebel:
“You'll never guess the phone call we got the other day… Someone found an iPad in the river up north and it had our information on it! My boss retrieved it today and not only is it the iPad that went missing in the canoe incident, it also still works!”
Tallant attributes this unlikely story of survival to the iPad’s protective Lifeproof case, and no shortage of luck. The adventurous iPad is expected to go back into circulation on campus.
