UA professor leads federal earthquake research project
Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 5
When he was in sixth grade, John van de Lindt made a seismograph out of a coffee can and a spring for a science fair. Now one of the nation’s leading experts on structural damage caused by earthquakes, van de Lindt has come to the University of Alabama, where a jewel of a lab is being built to study the effect of one of nature’s worst disasters on man-made buildings. Van de Lindt will head the effort to find better ways for buildings to withstand earthquakes. Van de Lindt, who joined UA in July as a graduate professor of structural engineering after six years at Colorado State University, is the lead researcher in a six-institution, $1.2 million federal project to test ways to gird old wooden buildings against extreme earthquakes…Van de Lindt and other researchers who are part of the National Science Foundation project will test design fixes for soft structures that have so far been modeled in computer simulations. Besides UA, Clemson and Western Michigan universities along with Rensselaer and California polytechnic institutes are participating in the five-year NSF project. “There are a lot of people looking at solutions for soft-structure problems, but we are the only ones testing it,” van de Lindt said…
UA to offer stadium tours
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Oct. 4
If you want to see more of Bryant-Denny stadium you’re in luck. The University of Alabama is offering stadium tours. They’re available most Monday through Fridays at 10:30 and noon. The tours are first-come, first-serve, and cost $5 per person.
Texting-while-driving simulator on campus
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Oct. 4
Today a simulator that typically teaches about drunk driving was at the University of Alabama. But this time, the effects of alcohol were replaced with the distraction of text messaging. Students were asked to drive a simulated vehicle while sending text messages.
Bingo probe indictments may shift power in Montgomery
Birmingham News – Oct. 5
…Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ron Sparks has made acceptance of gambling his “prize issue,” said Bill Stewart, the retired head of the political science department at the University of Alabama. Undecided voters may now associate gambling with corruption, and lean toward Republican candidate Robert Bentley, he said.
WCBS-AM-CBS RADIO (New York, N.Y.) – Oct. 4
Wells Fargo looks to retain customers following change
TradingMarkets.com – Oct. 5
…Robert Brooks, a professor of finance at the University of Alabama, said that series of events gives Wells Fargo plenty to work on as it builds an image and brand in Alabama. “Any change in who is handling your money is something people don’t like, even if it is just a name change,” he said…”I would think Wells Fargo would be running to their customers and not waiting for them,” he said…Brooks said any association with such sub-prime lending can damage a bank’s reputation. “Perception is everything,” he said.
Montgomery Advertiser – Oct. 5
AP analysis: Economic stress declined in August
Associated Press – Oct. 5
…Still, two Southern states, Alabama and Mississippi, have posted the sharpest gains in economic conditions over the past six months. Their improving fortunes can be traced to gains in auto manufacturing. Many plants that laid off workers in the summer of 2009 have rehired them, many as temps, said Ahmad Ijaz of the University of Alabama’s Center for Business & Economic Research. That’s occurred as demand abroad and domestically has strengthened. “We have pockets in the state that are doing really well, even though employment isn’t going up as rapidly as we would like to see,” Ijaz said…