{"id":28786,"date":"2016-02-10T11:43:10","date_gmt":"2016-02-10T17:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=28786"},"modified":"2016-02-10T11:45:23","modified_gmt":"2016-02-10T17:45:23","slug":"when-ice-is-more-than-ice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/when-ice-is-more-than-ice\/","title":{"rendered":"When ice is more than ice"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Erin Barney<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bill Wood uses a language only a select few can appreciate. He communicates in numbers, physics, and most importantly, frozen water.<\/p>\n

Wood, 46, is a member of the research and development group working toward perfecting curling ice. He\u2019s one of just six in the world to have that specific skill set and interest. In layman\u2019s terms, this group of engineers and physicists use their extensive knowledge about ice to create an ideal sheet for Olympic-level curling.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a bunch of Sheldon\u2019s,\u201d Wood said. \u201cEvery one of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sheldon label comes from CBS\u2019s show \u201cThe Big Bang Theory,\u201d a series featuring a group of extremely bright, but socially awkward scientists. Like Sheldon, Wood is insatiably curious, sometimes to a fault, he said. He can\u2019t bring himself to put a puzzle down until it\u2019s solved, so he\u2019s an ideal candidate to take on the potentially unending quest for the perfect sheet of ice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hate it, but I love it,\u201d Wood said. \u201cI have data and spreadsheets and binders and samples, but I\u2019m not there yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s a crystalized pond, frozen lake or a glassy sidewalk, ice is all the same, right?<\/p>\n

\u201cVery wrong,\u201d Wood said.<\/p>\n

Chemically, yes. Two hydrogen atoms bond to an oxygen\u2014Wood learned this while other kids were pedaling their first training wheel-free bike. But while hockey rinks are playable after a onceover by the Zamboni, curling ice needs a lot more TLC.<\/p>\n

Wood has to spend a full day scraping the curling surface before a match or tournament. He makes 17 passes over each sheet with the Ice King (a device resembling a lawnmower that cuts the ice flat.) Walking almost four miles grinding down a venue\u2019s eight sheets is only the first step in the preparation.<\/p>\n

Pebbling is next. The subtle bumps on curling ice create space for air to circulate up-and-under a curling rock, allowing it to glide. To create that texture, Wood attaches a copper covering that\u2019s poked with 54 holes to the end of a hose and sweeps it over the curling lane. He puts 8.5 million pebbles on each sheet.<\/p>\n

\"Bill
Bill Wood shows one of hundreds of copper pebble heads he has created (Erin Barney\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All elusive and temperamental, the pebbles are easily affected by the environment. Wood has dedicated his career and education to the discovery of a system that would gather and analyze environmental data from the arena and respond with instructions for how the ice should be treated that day.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether I get a Ph.D when I\u2019m done or not, doesn\u2019t matter,\u201d Wood said. \u201cThat\u2019s not the goal. The goal is to figure out why this freaking water droplet doesn\u2019t do what I want it to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The work only gets harder once the match begins. Wood can\u2019t miss even one second of monitoring changes in the arena\u2019s temperature. A half-degree drop alters the speed of a curling rock, something that doesn\u2019t evade the players\u2019 scrutiny.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey notice,\u201d Wood said. \u201cBoy do they notice. They\u2019ll walk off the ice and come right to me to complain about the slowness.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the past 10 years, Wood has done the ice for competitions of all levels in 21 countries, five continents, 34 states, and all 10 provinces in Canada. But no matter how many times he\u2019s been on the big stage, stress always seeps in. It takes a whole team of icemen to bear the pressure of maintaining impeccable ice conditions so curlers can just focus on curling.<\/p>\n

Rob Corn, 33, has been on several of those teams. Formerly a nationally-competitive curler, he joined the league of ice techs when he formed his own program in Crystal Lake, Illinois. Wood was the only one he trusted to correctly teach him the art of ice maintenance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a ton of respect for Bill,\u201d Corn said. \u201cHe takes the research to a next level, which is great for the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once he learned, the two worked on ice together for tournaments in the Chicago area. Corn said while Wood is the king of research, it helps to have multiple perspectives at each event.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you can throw rocks at the processional level, you can really tell what the ice needs to do and how it works,\u201d Corn said. \u201cWe create the ice together because having an athlete\u2019s eye really helps him. If I can throw a good rock on it, we can see our flaws on the ice and go back and fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wood is eager to pass along his knowledge to any interested parties. His most formidable prot\u00e9g\u00e9 is his son, Matthew. The 16-year-old already has scholarship offers to study engineering at the University of Windsor and the University of Waterloo.<\/p>\n

Wood proudly admits that Matthew also has him beat in math.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone told me to put him in a sport, put him in hockey,\u201d Wood said. \u201cBut why? I could spend $5,000 for hockey for a year, or for his birthday, I could buy him a 3D printer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which is exactly what he did\u2014he said he\u2019s happy to foster his son\u2019s inner-Sheldon.<\/p>\n

Wood said he expects someone outside his R&D group to adopt his ice investigation eventually, even if it\u2019s not his own flesh and blood. He was recently approached by a group at the University of Dalhousie in Halifax that wants to incorporate his findings into its curriculum. But though he doesn\u2019t see a solution in the near future, if he or someone else manages to perfect curling ice someday, he\u2019ll just move on to another puzzle.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father told me just the other day, \u2018You\u2019ll die with your boots on the ice,\u2019\u201d Wood said.<\/p>\n

Photo at top: Bill Wood monitors the speed of curling stones at the Chicago Curling Club (Erin Barney\/MEDILL)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Erin Barney Bill Wood uses a language only a select few can appreciate. He communicates in numbers, physics, and most importantly, frozen water. Wood, 46, is a member of the research and development group working toward perfecting curling ice. 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