May 8, 2000

Junkyard dog turns old into new

By Lisa Nelson, Creative Communications
Reprinted from Horizons

Rarely is there a blueprint to work from, and cost is usually an issue.

But Charlie Britton, head of NAU's Academic Affairs Instruments Lab, finds a way to build whatever gizmo, gadget or contraption someone might need to get a job done.

"We can do most anything except strike a match on a bar of soap or mend a broken heart," jokes Britton, borrowing a quote from a friend.

Britton and part-time employee Greg Florian have built everything from a blood-pressure cuff for frogs to entire telescope systems, excluding the mirrors.

The lab originally was dedicated to physics and chemistry research, but not serves the entire campus. The list of projects includes a water flow chamber, shields for greenhouse plants, a customized exercise bicycle to measure oxygen use and an experimental wastewater treatment facility.

Britton and Florian have even rehabilitated all the building signs on campus.

The many professors who have turned to Britton for help have found they get what they need - custom made to their specifications and at a much lower cost than commercially available.

Britton holds down costs by using recycled materials wherever possible. The lab charges $25 per hour, plus the cost of any nonrecycled materials.

"I'm a junkyard dog," Britton confesses. "If it's flat or round and not too full of holes, we'll take it."

Stored in the Academic Affairs Instrument Lab are old shelves and bed frames, plastic tubing, screen frames and discarded ductwork - all waiting to be turned into something new and useful.

Many of the materials have been donated to the lab by NAU Recycles, Surplus Property and Facility Services.

Britton counts 950 projects completed by the lab since his arrival in 1991. He estimates that the lab has save the university more than $350,000 in that time.

"That means professors can use their grant money for research instead of spending it on hardware."

Britton got a lot of mileage out of discarded plastic wall panels from the university's old ice hockey rink. He used them to make radiation shields and a hundred sets of DNA gel boxes for school teachers participating in a summer program at NAU. The teachers then were able to take the gel boxes back to their science classrooms.

That's the thrill of the job for Britton - "getting equipment to people will get it into the hands of youngsters so they can learn."

Besides that, the job is fun.

"This is the most rewarding job in my life," said Britton, who spent 25 years at Texas Instruments where he worked in metallurgical research.

"It's like having your own erector set and getting paid to play with it," he said.

But Britton isn't one to keep all the goodies to himself. He invites students and others on campus to make use of the shop's equipment, which includes a lathe, boring mill, precision surface grinder, welder and hardness tester.

"This stuff doesn't belong to Charlie," he said, "If you want to use something, come on down. If you want me to show you how to do something, I'll be glad to."