Moundville’s big dig: Archaeologists examine site around museum before planned renovations
Tuscaloosa News – July 7
A renovation and expansion to the museum at Moundville Archaeological Park has prompted the largest excavation there in several years, which should reveal more clues about life for the ancient city’s inhabitants. Archaeologists are often called to dig through an area before construction forever changes the land, and this time a team with the University of Alabama is looking at its own ground before a $4.9 million expansion and renovation to the Archaeological Museum at the park begins in August.
UA professor given time with the Hubble Space Telescope
Tuscaloosa News – July 5
Hanny van Arkel just wanted to know what the blue blob was in the picture, but the question she asked so stumped astronomers that NASA awarded them time on the Hubble Space Telescope to answer it. ‘What’s the blue stuff below,’ van Arkel asked in an online forum back in the fall. ‘Anyone?’ University of Alabama astronomer Bill Keel is part of an international team of astronomers hoping to provide the answer, and, though they have a good guess, they need a clearer picture of the object nearly 700 million light years away. They’ll get that picture next year.
University of Alabama scientists develop a green alternative to mercury, alcohol thermometers
Birmingham News – July 7
University of Alabama researchers believe they have developed an effective and environmentally friendly alternative to thermometers that use mercury or alcohol. The new technology could potentially be used as a commercial product and in scientific laboratory applications. Robin Rogers, the director of the University of Alabama’s Center for Green Manufacturing, says the new thermometer uses an ionic liquid to measure temperature. The ionic thermometers have advantages over mercury, which was once the most common filling for thermometers, because mercury is toxic and solidifies at minus 38 degrees Celsius. Alcohol, a common alternative, evaporates at high temperatures.
Opinion: State colleges must help more students graduate
Detroit News – July 6
With all of the recent publicity about Michigan cities’ awful high school graduation rates, the state’s attention has been focused on improving teenagers’ school success. It’s time the state expands its focus and strategies to improve graduation rates at Michigan’s colleges and universities as well. . . . Michigan universities could take a lesson from the University of Alabama. The college didn’t change its admissions or graduation policies. Rather, it redesigned its introductory mathematics course to provide greater support to its freshmen with limited mathematics skills. The result: Its African-American graduation rate leaped from 53 percent to 65 percent. And first-generation white students fared better as well.
‘Oil producers are the beneficiaries of high oil prices’
Birmingham News – July 6
Few things animate consumers these days like gas prices, which have been regularly rising above $4 a gallon. The reasons gas prices fluctuate are tied in with global politics and economics, according to University of Alabama chemical engineering professor Peter Clark, who is well-schooled in the how and why of petroleum economics, supply and demand. Clark is pro-exploration, and he believes there is at least as much oil out there that isn’t being tapped as has ever been tapped in the history of oil tapping.
A World Of Useful Maps Awaits On The Internet
Tampa Tribune – July 6
The measure of how important maps are to historians and genealogists becomes apparent when you explore the many paper-map collections available in libraries and digital collections online. . . . Historical Map Archive: This University of Alabama site has thousands of maps, most of which do not relate to Alabama. It’s worth spending time for a thorough exploration. Go to alabamamaps .ua.edu/historicalmaps/ index.html.
Colorful characters make unusual comedy a must-see
Montgomery Advertiser – July 6
An Alabama Shakespeare Festival production featuring the Graduate Acting Company, “The Beaux Stratagem” previews July 11 and 12 and opens July 13 at the theater. . . . Director Ed Williams said that bit came out of one of the rehearsals and they decided to keep it because it was hilarious. With this show, he said you can expect to see just about anything. “It’s a Restoration comedy, and in that, virtually every kind of comedy exists. It’s knock-down, drag-out fun, and it has been fun exploring that,” said Williams, who is with the University of Alabama/Alabama Shakespeare Festival’s Professional Actor Training program.
UA Professor Discusses SIDS
MSNBC — July 6
SIDS is the sudden death of an infant below the age of 1 where a very thorough investigation fails to explain why the death occurred. Dr. Marc Feldman, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Alabama says, “We have to understand a few things about sudden infant death syndrome. One is that there is typically no warning sign.”
UA Professor, Dr. Robert Brooks, Discusses Jefferson County’s Sewer Debt
Fox News Channel — July 4
…the bank that put us in these deals. When we hire experts, we expect to get an expert opinion. University of Alabama professor says commissioners should have sought outside advice instead of the banks. They should have understood that they did not have the in-house financial expertise to navigate these waters and should have retained independent financial expertise to represent their interest and not the interest of the large investment banks. If Jefferson County were to default, it would be the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, twice as big as the bankruptcy of Orange County, California, in 1994.
Former Bryant High star hopes to heat it up in the Major Leagues
Tuscaloosa News – July 5
It’s been called The House that Ruth Built and The Cathedral of Baseball. Now it’s also David Robertson’s office. Robertson, a former Paul W. Bryant High School and University of Alabama star pitcher, quickly climbed the ladder in the New York Yankees organization. Now, he’ll get a chance to do most of his work at legendary Yankee Stadium.