A summer in which a record-breaking number of days with daytime temperatures of 100-plus degrees is emphasizing the need for communities to finds way to protect children at public recreational facilities from scorching summer heat. In direct sunlight the surfaces of playground equipment can heat to temperatures above 150 degrees. Ariane Middel, an associate professor in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, a part of the Fulton Schools, and a researcher in ASU’s Urban Climate Research Center and director of the SHaDE Lab, is among those seeking ways to help protect people from the increase in the frequency and severity of extreme heat , particularly in outdoor urban environments. Pouya Shaeri, a Fulton Schools computer science doctoral student is assisting in the research.