MONDAY, JULY 1 – SUNDAY, JULY 7, 2013
BEST BETS
STUDENTS BLOG FROM GERMANY WHILE INTERACTING WITH NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS — Two UA chemistry graduate students are blogging about their experiences from Germany this week where they are congregating with the world’s top science minds at the 63rd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting. More than 600 young researchers from nearly 80 countries are part of this special convention. UA’s two College of Arts and Sciences’ students selected for attendance are Steven Kelley, a native of Olive Branch, Miss., and Michele Stover, a native of Moselle, Miss. Watch for updates from the students at http://uanews.ua.edu/. For more information on the students and the event, see this news release or contact Chris Bryant, UA media relations, 205/348-8323, cbryant@ur.ua.edu.
AEROSPACE ENGINEERING PRESENTED WITH U.S. FLAG THAT FLEW IN AFGHANISTAN – The wish of an Air Force captain killed when a refueling plane crashed in Afghanistan will be fulfilled when a flag he sent is presented to the UA department of aerospace engineering and mechanics. Capt. Mark Voss was a graduate student in the department taking courses over the Internet when he sent the flag as a thank you to the student assistant to Dr. Stanley Jones, retired head of the department. Unfortunately, the flag was returned to sender, but Voss’ father recently sent the flag after finding it. The student assistant and the current head of the department, Dr. John Baker, will be available to media at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 2, at Hardaway Hall on the UA campus. For more information, contact Adam Jones, UA media relations, 205/348-6444 or acjones12@eng.ua.edu
‘ALCESTIS ASCENDING’ – Seth Panitch, associate professor of theatre at UA, will take his play “Alcestis Ascending” on the road this summer to New York City, Havana and Alabama as part of his participation in creative research with the actors and dancers from UA and the Cuban El Instituto Superior de Arte .The exercise in creative research is part of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences Alabama-Cuba Initiative. “Alcestis Ascending” will be performed at the Harold Clurman Theatre on Theatre Row in New York City from Tuesday, July 9, to Sunday, July 21. Thereafter, the play will run for two weeks in Havana for the grand opening of the Raquel Revuelta Theatre. In addition, the play will preview at 7:30 p.m. Monday, July 1, through Friday, July 5, at the Allen Bales Theatre on the UA campus. For more details, contact Panitch at spanitch@ua.edu or 205/348-3845.
CURRENT COMMENT
FOURTH OF JULY: A LANDMARK IN HISTORY – July 4, 1863 – 150 years ago – was one of the most fateful independence days in American history, says Dr. George C. Rable, UA professor and Charles G. Summersell chair in Southern history. “Gen. George C. Meade’s Army of the Potomac had just won a costly but important victory over Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia at Gettysburg. And on July 4 itself, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at last received the long-await surrender of Vicksburg, thus virtually cutting the Confederacy in two. Yet in a little over week serious rioting would break out in New York City, and the war was far from over. Gettysburg only appeared to be a great turning point in hindsight, and the surrender of Vicksburg was seen by both sides at the time as a much more significant event.” Contact Rable at grable@as.ua.edu or contact Richard LeComte, UA media relations, at 205/348-3782 or rllecomte@ur.ua.edu.
UA CHILD-CARE EXPERT OFFERS KINDERGARTEN PREPARATION GUIDANCE – The first day of kindergarten can provoke feelings of anxiety and fear in both children and their parents, but there are numerous ways to help make the transition one of excitement and joy rather than trepidation. Children might feel anxious about moving on to kindergarten because they are worried they will not know anyone, they might not like their teacher, they might get lost in a new building or they will not know how to do the work. One University of Alabama child-care professional offers suggestions on how to ease that anxiety for both children and their parents. Contact: Kim Eaton, UA media relations, 205/348-8325 or kkeaton@ur.ua.edu, Robin Hollingsworth, director of the Child Development Research Center’s children’s program at UA, 205/348-0589, rhollingsworth@ches.ua.edu, or Kelly Avery, curriculum specialist with the Children’s Program, 205/348-8964, kavery@ches.ua.edu.