Obama court appointee Kagan to speak at Alabama
Associated Press (via Lakeland Ledger (Fla.)) – Sept. 25
The newest member of the U.S. Supreme Court will address law students at the University of Alabama. Associate Justice Elena Kagan has accepted an invitation to speak at the law school in Tuscaloosa next week on Oct. 4. Kagan will speak as part of a lecture series named for retired U.S. District Judge W. Harold Albritton, who helps lure justices to Alabama and whose family funds their visits. President Barack Obama appointed Kagan to the Supreme Court in 2010. She previously served as U.S. solicitor general. Ten Supreme Court justices have spoken in the past at Alabama, which generally is ranked among the nation’s top law schools.
Tuscaloosa News –Sept. 26
DOE Awards ION Engineering $15 Million for Carbon Capture Pilot Project
Electric Energy Online – Sept. 25
ION Engineering (ION) announced that the Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy (DOE-FE) will provide $15 million to support a CO2 (carbon dioxide) capture one megawatt equivalent (1 MWe) pilot project at Nebraska Public Power District’s Gerald Gentleman Station in Sutherland, Neb. ION and partners will contribute another $4 million in matching funds bringing the total to $19 million for the 45-month project. In addition to NPPD, partners include the University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) and the University of Alabama Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. Previously, ION has received $5M from DOE-FE to develop its advanced solvent process.
Power Engineering – Sept. 25
Tuscaloosa startup in state Launchpad finals
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 26
A Tuscaloosa-based startup company that is developing technology to allow mobile devices to recharge wirelessly without the need to plug in to a power outlet will be one of five state companies competing in the finals of the Alabama Launchpad Start-Up Competition Final Pitch today at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover. The company, e-Electricity, is affiliated with University of Alabama researchers and has listed Sloan McCrary as its team leader…The five teams are competing for up to $100,000 that can be used to further the development of their businesses.
Researchers publish enormous catalog of more than 300,000 nearby galaxies
Space Daily – Sept. 25
More than 83,000 volunteer citizen scientists. Over 16 million galaxy classifications. Information on more than 300,000 galaxies. This is what you get when you ask the public for help in learning more about our universe. The project, named Galaxy Zoo 2, is the second phase of a crowdsourcing effort to categorize galaxies in our universe. Researchers say computers are good at automatically measuring properties such as size and color of galaxies, but more challenging characteristics, such as shape and structure, can currently only be determined by the human eye. An international group of researchers, led by the University of Minnesota, has just produced a catalog of this new galaxy data. This catalog is 10 times larger than any previous catalog of its kind. It is available online at data.galaxyzoo.org, and a paper describing the project and data was published today in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society … In addition to Fortson and Willett, other authors of the research paper include…William Keel, University of Alabama…The research was funded primarily by the National Science Foundation and the Leverhulme Trust.
ARDT showcases variety of choreography
Crimson White – Sept. 26
The Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre will reignite the semester with its 21st fall performance Oct. 1-3 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 4 at 5:30 p.m. in Morgan Auditorium. The recital will feature seven dance numbers by five different choreographers, including faculty from the department of theater and dance and ARDT members. Cornelius Carter, the director of the dance program at The University of Alabama and the director for ARDT, picked the season for the company’s performance and choreographed two pieces for the show. Carter said he wants to make sure there is a wide representation of different kinds of dances. “We choose dances that will challenge the students and dances that will bring a diverse showing to our audience,” he said. Along with the choreography from faculty members, there is a 20-minute modern piece, “How Can We Sing Of Oneness If The World Isn’t Complete,” choreographed by guest Jane Weiner.
Car to be in homecoming parade has ties to Alabama, JFK
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 26
A bright, apricot-colored car centerpieced at the upcoming University of Alabama homecoming parade might seem like an odd choice for Bama fans with an ingrained dislike of the color that symbolizes several rival schools. But the 1962 Lincoln Continental convertible should revive memories of the 1963 Orange Bowl, when legendary linebacker Lee Roy Jordan led the Tide in a 17-0 shutout against the Oklahoma Sooners. The car was specially made for the Orange Bowl parade, held on New Year’s Eve 1962. President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline were the grand marshals and among the 72,880 fans in attendance the following day. A photo that ran in the Miami Herald that week shows the first lady standing in the back seat of the car while the president greeted Cuban exile leaders.
9/27: La Forza Chamber Orchestra in Paradise Valley
Arizona Central – Sept. 25
A couple of times a year, Frank Darmiento keeps company with some of the Valley’s top musicians. As conductor of La Forza Chamber Orchestra, he has the good fortune of rehearsing with the best and then delivering that sound to an audience. For free. He’ll do it again this week at Valley Presbyterian Church, the orchestra’s home…Upwards of 50 musicians volunteer to participate in the orchestra’s twice-yearly performances, in September and May…Noel Engebretson, a professor of piano in the School of Music at the University of Alabama, already knows there could be a tricky spot in the material between his piano and the orchestra’s wind section. He’s the featured soloist for this weekend’s show and has time to attend just two rehearsals. “There are some passages in the third movement where it goes piano, wind, piano, wind,” Engebretson said. “Just back and forth. It’s hard to coordinate.”
Women’s wheelchair basketball team welcomes new season, teammates
Crimson White – Sept. 25
The women’s wheelchair basketball team is preparing for the start of its season, and it’s hoping that it plays out differently than last season after losing in the championship game to Wisconsin-Whitewater for the second year in a row. “We won three straight before I got here,” Caitlin McDermott, a junior from North Carolina, said. “The past two years we’ve gotten second.” The two runner-up finishes are fueling the team this year…For this season, the team is welcoming a few newcomers, including freshman Jude Hamer from England, who plays on the national team there. Hamer decided to leave home to come overseas due to the many college opportunities offered for the sport and the level of competition that comes with playing for The University of Alabama.
Why Does The U.S. Economy Sag? Look No Further Than The Number 17
Forbes – Sept. 25
The significant efforts in recent years to measure economic freedom did not come from universities. They came from think tanks. These efforts are a powerful proof that think tanks are an essential institution in civil society. More than that, the “freedom truths” they affirm are vital for the world and the United States. This is crucial information that we all need to know. The two main efforts to document the benefits of economic freedom have been led by think tanks—namely, the Fraser Institute and Heritage Foundation … Despite the different methodologies used by Fraser and Heritage the results were quite similar. The first indices were released in the 1990s. They worked separately and still show a very high correlation. In 1997, when I first studied the results, the correlation between the indices of Fraser (Economic Freedom of the World, EFW) and Heritage was 0.86 (a 1.00 would mean a perfect match)…The most current figures, using the latest comparable indices, show a correlation of 0.79. This number correlates well with the top 10 countries in each index. (Derek Carter, an economics, mathematics and finance major at the University of Alabama, conducted research for this article.)
PNC Foundation awards Women’s Business Center in Mobile $10,000
Al.com – Sept. 25
The Women’s Business Center Inc. received a recent $10,000 boost from the PNC Foundation, earmarked to help the small business resource center improve access to capital for clients in Mobile and Baldwin counties … In addition, tickets remain available until Oct. 1 for “An Evening of Networking with Business Women of the Mobile Area,” benefiting the Women’s Business Center and featuring University of Alabama President Judy Bonner as the keynote speaker. The Oct. 8 event, hosted by the Women Lawyers of the Mobile Bar Association, begins at 5:30 p.m. at the RSA Battle House Tower, and tickets are $20 each.
Frozen Tide plays for injured player
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Sept. 25
Hockey is best known for its fast pace and hard knocks. And the sport is quickly becoming better known at the University of Alabama. The team is known as the “Frozen” Tide, but as Leigh Garner found at the team’s season opener their bond will warm your heart…But without ever playing a game, this team has had more than its share of hard knocks…Alex Gutierrez had only been on the team for two weeks when he was hit by a truck while riding his bike … his injuries were life-threatening. UA student Jeff Frenkel: “I mean, they are like brothers to me, these guys. So I don’t know what I would do without ‘Bama hockey right now.”
Dancing through school
Crimson White – Sept. 26
Are we human, or are we dancer? That is the question Aubrey Heathcott, a junior majoring in dance with a minor in public relations, asks herself before every performance. The popular Killers song “Human” is always humming through her mind as she makes her way to the stage with minty-fresh breath from the peppermint patty she snacks on, a pre-show tradition she has practiced since she was 7 years old. Heathcott has been dancing her entire life, and this past summer she had the opportunity to dance in Italy with the Atlanta-based dance company Staibdance… Juggling dance rehearsals, schoolwork, her sorority and a job at the Recreation Center can be hard work, but Heathcott has found a way to keep her sanity and her schedule all in check, said Zeta Tau Alpha sorority advisor Jessie Jones, who worked with Heathcott when she was the organization’s ritual chair.
Capstone Alliance creates Out at UA
Crimson White – Sept. 26
In 1987, a massive rally for gay rights in Washington, D.C., spawned what is now referred to as National Coming Out Day, celebrated on Oct. 11. Capstone Alliance, The University of Alabama’s LGBTQ+ and allied organization for faculty, staff and students, is honoring that day with the launch of an online initiative designed to celebrate LGBTQ+ faculty and staff. The website, dubbed Out at UA, will serve as “a visual depiction of LGBTQ+ and allied employees on campus,” entailing a photograph, title and department for each participant, President of Capstone Alliance Jessi Hitchins said. Though the website primarily features profiles of faculty, staff and graduate students, the site is also aimed at helping undergraduates. “We want people to understand there are [LGBTQ+] students on campus, and we want them to feel less isolated. We realize some people are not comfortable on this campus. We want to make them feel more safe, even though we know this tool won’t break down all barriers,” Hitchins said.