Lara Carlson gives Keynote Address in Valencia, Spain
Lara Carlson, DPE., FACSM, CSCS, associate professor in the College of Health Professions and the Center for Excellence in the Neurosciences, recently traveled to Valencia, Spain to give the Keynote Address at the 2015 International Conference and Exhibition on Automobile Engineering. Her address was titled: “More Than Just Turning Left: Physiological Responses of Motorsports Drivers.â€
Automotive engineering experts, business and academic delegates and students representing more than 15 countries around the world attended the conference. Carlson discussed her innovative research about the human body’s physiological and thermoregulatory response to the stress of competitive racecar driving. She published the first study that quantified the thermoregulatory and physiological challenges associated with competitive stock car racing. She collaborated with the U.S. Army on the project since a similar predicament exists with military personnel, such as aviation pilots and soldiers in armored vehicles.
Her study confirmed that completing physical tasks in elevated cabin temperatures, such as those of a racecar cockpit, with the addition of protective uniforms (which hinders evaporative cooling) results in increased heat storage, which may lead to heat illness, as well as the impairment of muscle activation and mental alertness. These effects may add to driver fatigue and possibly lead to catastrophic injury.