Denise L. Smith, PhD, is a professor in the department of health and exercise sciences and the class of 1961 term professor at Skidmore College. She also holds an appointment as a research scientist at the University of Illinois Fire Service Institute. She received her PhD from the University of Illinois in exercise physiology in 1990. For nearly two decades, Smith has conducted scientific research on cardiovascular responses to exercise. Her research is focused on the physiological strain associated with heat stress, with a specific emphasis on cardiovascular and thrombotic responses to firefighting. She has led several federally funded research projects dealing with the cardiovascular… strain of firefighting.Smith has published studies on heat stress, cardiovascular function, and the physiological aspects of firefighting in numerous peer-reviewed scientific journals, including the American Journal of Cardiology, Medicine and Science inSports and Exercise, Ergonomics, Journal of Thermal Biology, and Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine. Smith has collaborated extensively with fire service organizations, has served in leadership roles in the American College of Sports Medicine, and is a member of the American Physiological Society.Bo Fernhall, PhD, is a professor in the department of kinesiology and community health at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He received his PhD in exercise physiology from Arizona State University in 1984. Fernhall has nearly 30 years of experience in cardiovascular research, with a current focus on how exercise and diet affect heart, arterial, and autonomic function. He also directed cardiovascular rehabilitation programs for over 20 years, combining research and clinical experience.Fernhall is a fellow of the American Heart Association, the American Association of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation, and the American College of Sports Medicine. He was elected to the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education in 2005. He has won several national research awards, most recently the G. Lawrence Rarick National Research Award in 2006 for his research on the benefits of exercise in people with disabilities. Fernhall has published over 160 peer-reviewed manuscripts in scientific journals, including the American Journal of Cardiology, Amercan Journal of Hypertension, American Journal of Physiology, Atherosclerosis, European Heart Journal, and Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.