Protecting human subjects

The University of Pittsburgh is the first university in Pennsylvania to receive full accreditation from a new organization that evaluates safeguards for research involving human participants.

Accreditation by the 4-year-old, non-profit Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs is voluntary, but displays an institution's commitment to the welfare of research participants. Thus far, it has accredited 24 entities nationwide.

Pitt's Institutional Review Board, which reviews and monitors all research involving human subjects, reviews and approves about 1,000 new research protocols each year.

A toxic legacy

Dr. Conrad Volz of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health will discuss potential health hazards related to iron and steel industry waste at a public program Saturday in Homestead.

Dr. Volz, scientific director of the Center for Healthy Environments and Communities, will discuss the health risks associated with wastes left behind by former iron and steel producers and explore land use alternatives. The program is free and begins at 1:30 p.m. at the Pump House, on Waterfront Drive.

Summer, fall skies on display

A mixture of wonders from both the summer and autumn skies, such as the Andromeda galaxy and the Double Cluster in Perseus, will be on view during this Saturday's public Star Party at Deer Lakes Regional Park, Frazer.

The public viewing session at the Wagman Observatory, sponsored by the Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh, will begin at 6:50 p.m., weather permitting. For more information, call 724-224-2510.

A garden over their heads

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have nothing better to do now than watch the grass grow -- on their "green" roof.

The $172,000 rooftop garden sits on the south roof of historic Hamerschlag Hall, an office/laboratory/classroom building topped by a cylindrical tower that is a university icon. The garden has been four years in the making and was showcased during an event Friday.

Planted with grasses and perennials and featuring a log filled with holes to accommodate insects, the roof is designed to help cool the building during summer and to use and absorb stormwater runoff that otherwise would end up in the sewer.

Green roofs could be part of the solution for the region's stormwater problems, said Dave Dzombak, professor of civil and environmental engineering. Many sewer lines in the city continue to combine sanitary and stormwater flows, resulting in overflows of sewage into local rivers after heavy rains.

The project began four years ago when students applied for a research grant to study living roofs. Their study led to the design and construction of the roof garden by architecture and engineering students.