UTEP doctoral student Sergio Vargas marked a small cotton ball with a lip balm and then used a flint and steel to set it ablaze outside the Bioscience Research Building as part of survival training for an upcoming arctic research trip.

Vargas was one of seven students, including one undergraduate, who attended the two-day Arctic Field Training last week offered by instructors from Denver-based CH2M Hill Polar Services (CPS). Along with fire starting, the students learned about water purification, best methods to stay warm and dry, how to pitch a tent, and ways to deter interest from three varieties of bears.