MONDAY, NOV. 4 – SUNDAY, NOV. 10, 2013
BEST BETS
PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR RECEIVES MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH GRANT – Dr. Kim Giyeon, assistant professor of psychology at UA, will study geographic factors and racial disparities in mental healthcare across the country after securing a five-year, $573,000 grant from the National Institute of Aging. In previous research, Giyeon found that blacks in the South are less likely to use mental health services than whites, citing lack of trust in healthcare systems and differing socioeconomic statuses. The variables at the national level will be greater and more diverse, Giyeon said, making public data sets from the Centers for Disease Control and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System important to examining the effects of location at local and regional levels. “… the eventual goal is to have cutting-edge research in the intersection of aging, mental health and geography to find certain ways to eliminate or reduce the disparities,” said Giyeon. For more information, contact David Miller, media relations, 205/348-0825 or dcmiller2@ur.ua.edu.
UA PROFESSOR’S BOOK WINS AWARD – Dr. Joshua Rothman’s book, “Flush Times and Fever Dreams: A Story of Capitalism and Slavery in the Age of Jackson,” has won two major awards. Rothman’s book won the Gulf South Historical Association’s Michael V.R. Thomason Book Award for the best book on the history of the Gulf South earlier this year, and won the Frank L. and Harriet C. Owsley Award, given in recognition of a distinguished book in southern history, awarded by the Southern Historical Association, on Nov. 1. Rothman is a UA history professor. Contact: Bobby Mathews, UA media relations, 205/348-4956 or bwmathews1@ur.ua.edu
VETERANS DAY EVENTS: UA will present a Veteran’s Day ceremony from 11 a.m. to noon Monday, Nov. 11, on the Quad in front of Gorgas Library. Rain location will be in 205 Gorgas Library. Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Duane Lamb, UA assistant vice president, facilities and grounds, will be the keynote speaker. A Walk of Champions featuring luminaries is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 11, on the north side of Bryant-Denny Stadium. More events will be posted at http://vets.ua.edu/. For more details, contact Richard LeComte, media relations, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu or 205/348-3782.
STUDENTS, PROFESSORS WRITE BOOK CHAPTER ON AUTISM – Three UA students along with two professors will publish a book chapter detailing their research in developing a smart phone application for children with autism. The app is designed to boost the interpersonal communication skills of children with autism. Watch UA News (www.uanews.ua.edu) for more information or contact Adam Jones, UA engineering media relations, at 205/348-6444 or acjones12@eng.ua.edu.
RESEARCHERS LOOK TO BUTTERFLIES TO IMPROVE FLIGHT – Dr. Amy Lang, associate professor of aerospace engineering and mechanics, has been awarded a grant by the National Science Foundation to get a better understanding of the aerodynamic properties of butterfly wings as an avenue to improve human-made flight. Visit http://uanews.ua.edu/2013/10/ua-researchers-look-to-butterflies-to-improve-flight/ or contact Adam Jones, UA engineering media relations, 205/348-6444 or acjones12@eng.ua.edu, or Dr. Amy Lang, 205/348-1622 or alang@eng.ua.edu
UA EXPERT TIPS
UA MATTERS: HOLIDAY FOOD SAFETY: UA’s Diane Bridgewater offers suggestions on how to ensure your food is safely stored and prepared during the upcoming holidays so you and your guests can enjoy each bite. Bridegwater is an instructor in human nutrition and hospitality management in UA’s College of Human Environmental Science. To see her tips, click here. Contact: UA media relations, 205/348-5320.
UA’S HEALTH CORNER PROVIDES PRACTICAL HEALTH TIPS – Dr. Jared Ellis explains how to tell the difference between the cold and the flu in the latest video in UA’s Health Corner, http://uanews.ua.edu/videos/health-corner-cold-vs-flu/ The video series addresses health topics and provides practical advice and guidance from UA’s expert sources and physicians in the College of Community Health Sciences. A new video topic posts every Wednesday morning. Contact: UA media relations, 205/348-5320.
EVENTS
UA GRADS AT NASA TO HOST ENGINEERING, COMMUNICATION DISCUSSIONS – On Thursday, Nov. 7, alumni from UA working on NASA projects will be on campus to talk with students about the Space Launch System from an both an engineering and communication perspective. “Communicating the Future of Exploration” will be at 5 p.m. in 222 Reese Phifer Hall. The event will feature four UA alumni who work on the communication team for the SLS. At 5:30 p.m. in 38 Lloyd Hall, four UA engineering graduates who work on the SLS will present “Engineering the Future of Exploration.” Contact: Adam Jones, 205/348-6444, acjones12@eng.ua.edu, or Misty Mathews, 205/348-6416, mmathews@ua.edu.
DANCE ALABAMA! – UA dance majors take a huge step forward in this student-choreographed production set for Nov. 5-8 in the Morgan Hall auditorium. For more information, contact Bobby Mathews, UA media relations, 205/348-4956 or bwmathews1@ur.ua.edu
AUTHOR EXPLAINS WHAT UA’S GRIDIRON SUCCESS MEANS FOR THE SOUTH – UA’s historical (and current) achievements on the gridiron are the subject of a talk by Dr. Randy Roberts, an American historian, at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, in Gorgas Library room 205. “Five Reasons Why Alabama Football Matters to History” explores the Crimson Tide’s success during bleak economic and political climates in the South, and why those on-the-field victories were so important to Southern culture. Roberts’ appearance is sponsored by the Summersell Center for the Study of the South and co-sponsored by the department of American studies. For more information, contact Bobby Mathews, UA media relations, 205/348-4956 or bwmathews1@ur.ua.edu.
NOVELIST MARGARET WRINKLE HOLDS EXHIBIT AT UA – The next exhibition in The University of Alabama Gallery in the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center, “’Wash’ by Margaret Wrinkle: Seeing Across the Divide,” will be on display from Monday, Nov. 4, to Friday, Nov. 15. The exhibition features a series of photographs taken by Wrinkle at slavery-related sites throughout the South while researching her critically acclaimed novel, “Wash.” An opening reception, reading, and book signing will be at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5, in the University Gallery, 620 Greensboro Ave. in downtown Tuscaloosa. For more information, contact Bobby Mathews, UA media relations, 205/348-4956 or bwmathews1@ur.ua.edu
TINKER TOUR COMES TO UA – In the 1960s, Mary Beth Tinker was one of several middle- and high-school students sent home for wearing black armbands to school in protest of the Vietnam War. The case would eventually be heard in the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled to protect the free-speech rights of the students. Now Tinker is touring the United States to tell her story and will visit UA on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Her talk will be at 9:30 a.m. in the Ferguson Theater and will be free to the public. Tinker’s visit is sponsored by the Alabama Scholastic Press Association and the department of journalism. ASPA, along with the Alabama Pro chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, will also sponsor a talk by Tinker at Birmingham’s Civil Rights Museum at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5; this event will be for high school students but will also be open to media. Contact: Misty Mathews, 205/348-6416, mmathews@ua.edu or Meredith Cummings, UA scholastic media director, 205/348-2772, mccummings1@ua.edu.
TOWN HALL MEETING – UA’s Honors College presents the second in its series of Town Hall discussions, “Student Debt,” at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 4, in the Ferguson Center Forum. The event is free and open to the public. Participants are Helen Allen, UA director of Student Financial Aid; Alabama Rep. Bill Poole, R-Tuscaloosa, chair of the House Education Budget Committee; and Dr. Stephen Katsinas, director of the Education Policy Center and UA professor of higher education administration. Contact: Richard LeComte, media relations, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-3782
UA TO HOST SYMPOSIUM ON RACE RELATIONS – The College of Arts and Sciences, the Institute for Social Science Research, the department of gender and race studies, the department of political science and the School of Social Work will host a symposium titled “Student Perceptions of Race Relations at the University of Alabama: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives” from 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6 in Gorgas Library room 205. The event will feature research presentations on several dimensions of campus race relations by UA faculty, as well as several distinguished researchers across the disciplines of psychology, sociology, and political science. For more information, contact Bobby Mathews, UA media relations, 205/348-4956 or bwmathews1@ur.ua.edu.
LOOKING AHEAD
WOMEN IN THE SCIENCES: The UA Women in STEM Experience initiative will host its second Pathways to Success conference from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, in Shelby Hall on campus. The conference will offer support, encouragement and education to women who are juniors, seniors and graduate students majoring in science, technology, engineering and math-related fields. Keynote speaker will be Dr. Mary Lou Soffa, the Owens R. Cheatham Professor of Computer Sciences at the University of Virginia. She will join several presenters from UA who will cover topics on career, education and lifestyle issues for women in STEM fields and careers. For more details, contact Richard LeComte, media relations, 205/348-3782 or rllecomte@ur.ua.;edu.
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION WEEK: UA’s Capstone International Center is sponsoring International Education Week from Monday, Nov. 11, to Tuesday, Nov. 19. Events include movies, workshops on resume writing and information about UA’s study-abroad programs as well as films, a science comedian and a look at the role of women in Afghanistan. Details may be found at the program’s website. The Capstone International Center initiates, promotes and supports UA’s international efforts on campus, throughout the state and around the world. For more details, contact Richard LeComte, media relations, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu or 205/348-3782.
ACCLAIMED PSYCHOLOGIST TO LECTURE, OFFER ADVICE ABOUT EVALUATING “EXTRAORDINARY CLAIMS” – Dr. Scott O. Lilienfeld, professor of psychology at Emory University, will deliver the Michael Dinoff Memorial Lecture at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15, in room 208 of Gordon Palmer Hall. Lilienfeld, whose work has been published in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Time and USA Today, will speak about how people can better navigate the confusing world of extraordinary claims, like psychics, Bigfoot, alternative medicine and extrasensory perception. “There won’t be answers, but there will be skills for everyone to avoid errors in thinking that we’re all prone to, and that can sometimes lead us to see patterns or meaning when it’s not really there,” Lilienfeld said. “With the advent of the web, there’s been an information explosion, but also a misinformation explosion. The problem is, without skills to evaluate the web, people don’t know how to sort wheat from the chaff.” For more information, contact David Miller, media relations, at 205/348-0825 or dcmiller2@ur.ua.edu.
Contact
UA Media Relations, 205/348-5320