UA Engineering college opens 3-D Printing Lab to campus
Al.com – March 6
The University of Alabama College of Engineering has opened a 3-D printing lab meant to encourage creativity among faculty and students. The UA 3-D Printing Lab is free to anyone on campus to test the bounds of the relatively new technology of additive manufacturing, the process of creating objects by layering material on itself. UA reports that in its first semester, the lab has already attracted faculty and staff from art, theater, biology, engineering and the other sciences eager to use the technology. “The lab will allow us to better prepare our students for the sorts of environments they will see when entering the work force and help them develop the skills so critical in getting products to market,” said Charles L. Karr, dean of the UA College of Engineering, according to a UA release. “We made the conscientious decision to open the laboratory to students across the campus because it allows for the added benefit of providing engineering students with access to a truly cross disciplinary environment, one that will allow for innovation and creativity.”
UA engineering students build concrete canoe
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – March 6
Some stiff competition for University of Alabama engineering students. They’re competing with 19 other college teams across the region to make the best concrete canoe. Students will be competing in Miami next week. Whoever’s canoe stays afloat the longest wins the challenge.
UA to honor one of first black faculty members
Tuscaloosa News – March 6
The University of Alabama will honor one of its first black faculty members with a ceremony next week. A ceremony commemorating Archie Wade’s 30 years as a faculty member in the kinesiology department will be at Graves Auditorium on the UA campus at 4 p.m. March 12. A plaque honoring Wade’s service will be placed in the conference room at Moore Hall, where Wade had an office and taught classes as one of the first black faculty members at UA. Wade is a Tuscaloosa native. He coached basketball and baseball at Stillman College, his alma mater, and played professional baseball. He earned his master’s degree at West Virginia University and worked as a recruiter for coach Paul W. “Bear” Bryant while working on his doctorate degree at UA. He retired in 2000. The ceremony is part of the UA’s “Through the Doors” activities, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of integration at UA.
Local start-ups reach finals of competition
Tuscaloosa News – March 6
Two Tuscaloosa-based start-up companies, MagnnPro and Thrupore Technologies, were among seven state companies selected by judges as finalists in Alabama’s Launchpad competition this week. The Lauchpad is sponsored by the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama to help budding entrepreneurs bring their discoveries and ideas to market. The top winners of the competition will share in a $100,000 prize that will be used to further develop their business. The two Tuscaloosa companies are involved in nanotechnology and have ties to researchers at the University of Alabama. MagnnPro is developing what it describes as a “safer, more effective” nano wire for use in MRI scans. ThruPore is developing what it describes as “superior” catalysts that are used in chemical manufacturing to cause or accelerate chemical reactions. The seven finalists will now have their business plans assessed by an independent expert. The competition will continue until May when the winners will be named.
New musical sees world premiere in Moody Music Building
Crimson White – March 6
A new musical drama, “Hermitage Cats Save The Day,” will have its world premiere at 6 p.m. in the Moody Music Building. The musical is geared toward children by incorporating audience participation, with an original music score composed by Grammy-nominated musical artist and composer Chris Brubeck. Pamela Penick, who serves as local project manager, wants to encourage all ages to attend. “The program will be a great family-oriented concert but will also appeal to university students because of the jazz component,” Penick said. “To have a piece by Chris Brubeck and to have him here is really something that students shouldn’t pass up.”… Penick said production is made possible by the collaborative effort between the Russian Arts Federation, UA’s School of Music, College of Arts and Sciences, The Russian National Orchestra and the RISE school.
Wheelchair basketball teams head to nationals
Crimson White – March 6
For The University of Alabama’s two wheelchair basketball teams, success is nothing new. The women’s team has competed in the last five national championship games and is headed to their sixth consecutive title game at the 2013 National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Championship this week. “After a tough loss in the championship game last year, we have really had a whole new drive for this season,” Lindsey Mertz, president of the women’s team, said. “Really the whole season we have been focused on doing the things we need to do to be successful in the national championship tournament.” Beginning Thursday through Saturday, eight men’s teams and four women’s teams from different conferences will compete at the Lakeshore Foundation.
Study looks at importance of coping skills during hospital stays
MedicalXpress – March 6
No mother wants to see her child hospitalized, but how she copes with it could impact the child’s anxiety level, a recent study by a University of Alabama researcher found. As hospitals move toward family-centered care, there is a greater need to evaluate the response of the whole family, not just the patient. By exploring the relationships between hospitalized children’s anxiety level, mothers’ use of coping strategies and mothers’ satisfaction with the hospital experience, Dr. Sherwood Burns-Nader, a child life specialist and assistant professor in UA’s College of Human Environmental Sciences’ department of human development and family studies, hoped to learn more about how the health-care team can promote coping strategies in patients and families. “Coping patterns are important because they facilitate a person’s handling of a stressful experience,” Burns-Nader said. “If someone is going through a tough time, positive coping patterns provide extra resources that can help that person deal with the demand of a stressor.” The study, “The relationship between mothers’ coping patterns and children’s anxiety about their hospitalization as reflected in drawings,” which was co-authored by Burns-Nader; Dr. Maria Hernandez-Reif, UA professor and director of UA’s Pediatric Development Research Lab; and CHES alumna Maggie Porter, was accepted for publication in the Journal of Child Health Care.
Pulitzer winner Rick Bragg to speak at fundraising event
Crimson White – March 6
Pulitzer Prize-winner Rick Bragg will be speaking at an Alpine Living Magazine fundraiser March 6 at 7:30 p.m. in Gorgas Library Room 205. Alpine Living is an award-winning international travel magazine created and edited entirely by University of Alabama students. Every other year, a group of about 20 students travels to a new location near the Alps for a period of two weeks to create more than 100 pages of editorial content. Amanda Sams, editor-in-chief, said the class is traveling to Spain this year to visit the Pyrenees. They will be in Spain March 15-30. “For our fifth edition, we will travel to Spain,” Sams said. “We’ll report back to you from several places throughout our journey including Barcelona, Basque Country, Madrid, Sevilla and, as a convenient side trip for our readers, Lisbon, Portgual. We’ll write about everything from dining on a budget to dressing like a Spaniard to where to get the best wine.” The money raised through this fundraiser will help cover the cost for some of the travel expenses for the trip. Students pay for the trip out-of-pocket, and Alpine Living offers some scholarships to help students.
World-renowned pianist bringing his recital to Alabama on Sunday
Al.com – March 5
Zsolt Bognar, a talented world-traveling pianist, will perform Sunday at 6 p.m. in the Moody Music Building Concert Hall on the University of Alabama campus. Bognar has taken his recital to the Kennedy Center and the Lincoln Center here in the U.S. as well as recital halls in Hungary, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Japan, Russia and the Netherlands. Bognar is coming to UA through the UA chapter of the Music Teachers Association and will also work with a masters class on Saturday at 3 p.m. Sunday’s piano recital is free and open to the public.
Research scientist to speak on conservation partners
Crimson White – March 6
The University will welcome Jessica Deichmann, a research scientist from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, to speak as part of the department of biological sciences lecture series Thursday. Deichmann will be presenting “Strange Bedfellows? Conducting Research Alongside Industry to Improve Biodiversity Conservation,” where she will discuss projects in which conservationists and the oil and gas industry are working together to protect tropical habitats in Peru, South America and Gabon, Africa. Deichmann will describe her work on four projects: the use of habitat mapping to guide operations planning, an evaluation of the utility of “canopy bridges” to mitigate the fragmentation effects caused by pipeline construction, the use of DNA bar-coding as a tool in amphibian assessment in Gabon and a program that monitors and assesses an endemic amphibian in the Peruvian Andes. All four projects represent the collaboration between researchers and industry leaders, who are often viewed as enemies. By maintaining the partnership, the oil industry is still able to explore the tropical land, but by using new methods from the conservationists, which help keep the habitats and their wildlife safe from harm.
Visiting philosopher to lecture on abortion controversy
Crimson White – March 5
Tackling a tough topic as part of the Philosophy Today series, visiting philosopher William Lycan will deliver the lecture “Why the Abortion Issue is So Difficult” Thursday, March 7, at 7:30 p.m. in 205 Smith Hall. “The abortion issue seems uniquely intractable. People not only strongly disagree but seem unable to find common ground for discussing the issue,” Lycan, a professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, said. By attending the lecture, students will understand why the abortion issue is so hard to debate about, Lycan said. “It’s important to have informed dialogue because all too often on this issue – on each side of it – there is ill-informed shouting rather than reasoned discourse. On the other hand, a main purpose of my lecture is to explain why that’s so,” Lycan said. The talk is not advocating a pro-life or pro-choice stance, but rather discussing the complexity of the issue.
Japanese artist brings work to Ferguson
Crimson White – March 6
The Ferguson Center Art Gallery will be presenting works of Toko Shinoda this month on The University of Alabama campus. Shinoda was born in Dairen, Manchuria, in 1913 and moved to Tokyo in 1914. She studied calligraphy from 1919-1935 and then began teaching calligraphy. Her first exhibit, a one-woman show, began in the 1940’s; her career would then span over the next 73 years and start an abstract movement. For the Ferguson Center Gallery, Shinoda’s works are significant in many ways. “This is the first time we will be featuring a female as part of the show. She is a Japanese national treasure and is an active artist who turns 100 this month,” Shiori Ito, Ferguson Center art gallery coordinator, said. Shinoda began using lithography in the 1960s, which the Ferguson Center Art Gallery, has never featured before…For students who aspire to follow in Shinoda’s brush strokes, the exhibit correlates to programs offered here at The University of Alabama, Ito said.
Deans juggle responsibilities, challenges
Crimson White – March 6
Michael Hardin, dean of the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration, said a day in the life of a dean is anything but ordinary. “At the end of February, I went to Turkey,” Hardin said. “I left Sunday, got there Monday afternoon and spent two days there. I left Thursday and had to get up at 3 o’clock in the morning to head back to Birmingham. Over the weekend, I spent time answering phone calls and emails.”…“A lot of the trips that I make are out visiting donors, telling people what we’re doing,” Hardin said. “The key factor in rankings at business schools at the undergraduate levels is other dean’s perception of what you’re doing.”…Robert Olin, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, arrives at his office around 7 a.m. and leaves at 6 p.m. Olin spends most of his time with other deans talking, listening and brainstorming the general theme of, “How can we be better?” “My personal goal for the college is to live up to that in everything we do,” Olin said. “Nothing brings me greater joy than to see College of Arts and Sciences students excelling, especially when they have set challenging goals for themselves and achieved or, even, exceeded them.”…Peter Hlebowitsh, the newest member of the College of Education, assumed his position as dean on Jan. 1… Hlebowitsh said one of his goals is to personally meet with every faculty and staff member in the college. “New deans, in my view, have a responsibility to understand the ground before they begin to try to water and seed it – to know the people, the traditions and the situational knowledge well enough to negotiate through the institution,” Hlebowitsh said.
Program examines turn-of-century courtship, what might have been
Demopolis Times – March 5
The Southern Literary Trail continues its Trailfest 2013 celebration in Demopolis on Thursday, March 14 with a recognition of Women’s History Month and a look back at a regional romance that could have changed the course of America’s cultural history. The free program begins at 5:30 p.m. at Gaineswood with presenters whose specialties include Women’s History, Southern Literature and the American Theatre…For the event at Gaineswood, Stephen Pieschel will be joined by Professor Donna Meester of the Department of Theatre at The University of Alabama and by Professor Lisa Dorr of the University’s History Department. From her experience as a costume design professor and costume designer for theatres across the country, Meester will deliver a visual presentation of the clothing styles worn by a couple in courtship during the 1900 era of Edwina and Gaius. University of Alabama history professor Lisa Dorr will speak about the rules of dating and marriage in effect during the era, especially for women.
National Council of Negro Women mentors local youth
Crimson White – March 6
The National Council of Negro Women began a new mentoring program at Central High School this semester for young women with the aim to help them develop a variety of skills. “The goal is to educate the students and help them promote academic success and also provide social skills for the students,” said Vanjessitha Wilkinson, the Central High School social worker…De’Anna Trunnell, the mentoring chair for the NCNW at The University of Alabama, reached out to Wilkinson about starting the program last semester. Because of time constraints, she decided to postpone the program’s start-up until this semester…Trunnell decided to begin the program at Central High School because of its proximity to the University. She also saw a need for a mentoring program within the Central High community, she said. “We knew that those girls in the school really needed great role models in their lives,” Trunnell said.
MBA students study business, culture in Turkey
Crimson White – March 6
The University of Alabama is gaining new relations with Turkey through its Executive MBA immersion study program. EMBA students traveled to Istanbul, Turkey, to learn about Turkish business while experiencing the country’s culture and economy during the last week of February. The students not only had the chance to visit local landmarks such as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque but were able to discover Turkish business and their strategies successes. Glenn Richey Jr., interim associate dean of international business, explained what EMBA students focus on during their immersion study. “We teach a general overview of the cross-cultural context of international business management and provide a country/region specific examination of the challenges that face international managers,” Richey said. “Throughout the course, the issues of culture and ethics are examined, and then we take them to a country and have them ‘dig deep’ into the culture by learning to do business in emerging markets and studying culture, norms, habits, etc.”
E-Verify: Bad for both businesses and employees
Huffington Post – March 5
According to a 2012 analysis from the University of Alabama, that state saw its GDP drop by at least $2.3 billion when between 40,000 and 80,000 workers fled the state en masse after elected officials strongly pushed E-Verify and other anti-immigration measures.
UA fundraiser set for Thursday
DeKalb Times Journal – March 5
Crimson Tide fans will have the opportunity this week to bid on UA memorabilia and hear from a former Nick Saban-coached wide receiver. The DeKalb County Chapter of the University of Alabama National Alumni Association will hold a banquet for alumni, fans and friends of the university Thursday night at Terrapin Hills Country Club. Sign-in begins at 6, and dinner is scheduled for 6:30. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $20 or $15 for students.
High school student who works to fight drug abuse plans to attend UA
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – March 5
A Shelby County High School student has a unique platform to combat drug abuse…Jamie Hillman, a student at Shelby County High School, is in a position to actually do something about the state’s drug problem. The high school senior was appointed to the Alabama Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force … When she’s not fighting crime, Jamie Hillman is captain of the varsity cheerleaders and valedictorian of her senior class. She’ll study law when she enrolls at the University of Alabama in the fall.