John Legend pays tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. in Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa News – Jan. 19
America’s youth and young adults have the potential to make a real change, a chance to end educational inequality and continue some of the dreams of Martin Luther King, Jr., said singer-songwriter John Legend at The University of Alabama Sunday night. “We know that you, our nation of young people, are next in line to carry on his work,” Legend said. “As students, you have so much potential to create change in the world.” Legend focused on what he called educational inequality — the fact that the U.S. has fallen from first to 18th in the world in terms of high school graduation rates and that in certain areas, high schools aren’t educational centers preparing kids for a future, but instead are “dropout factories.” “The education system in the U.S. is broken,” Legend said. “We are not giving the chance for kids to succeed, there is educational inequality.”
Al.com – Jan. 20
Crimson White – Jan. 21
Sorority member among recipients of ‘Dream’ awards
Tuscaloosa News – Jan. 17
The University of Alabama sorority member who became the voice of the outcry to increase diversity in the campus’ Greek-letter community, UA’s first black student president, and a former university president were honored Friday for their efforts in the spirit of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy. “Tonight is a time to remember the past, celebrate our present and eagerly look to our future,” said E. Culpepper Clark, a former UA faculty member and administrator, who served as master of ceremonies. The Realizing the Dream Legacy banquet at Foster Auditorium was part of a series of events honoring the life and achievements of King. The event was hosted by Stillman College, Shelton State Community College, UA and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Former ABC national and foreign news correspondent and UA alumnus John Cochran was the featured speaker, and he recalled his experiences as a teenager watching the Montgomery bus boycott and the integration of UA as a college student.
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Jan. 21
WAKA-CBS (Montgomery) – Jan. 19
WNCF-ABC (Montgomery) – Jan. 19
CBS 12 (Chattanooga, Tenn.) – Jan. 18
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Jan. 18
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Jan. 18
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – Jan. 18
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Jan. 17
How are black holes formed?
Tuscaloosa News – Jan. 20
A flare from an unusually bright X-ray source is believed to be one of the rare occasions a black hole has been observed destroying a star in a dwarf galaxy. The flare could yield clues about the formation of super-massive black holes, according to researchers. “This is really the beginning of, hopefully, really interesting research,” said Peter Maksym, a University of Alabama post-doctoral researcher who led one of the studies of the flare. Data about the flare — located in the galaxy cluster Abell 1795 about 800 million light years from Earth — was observed by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes and was the subject of separate papers by two research teams. Maksym and his colleagues published a paper in the November 2013 issue of the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, and the UA researcher presented the results during the 223rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society meeting in Washington, D.C., this month, according to a release from NASA. The paper by the other team appeared in The Astrophysical Journal. Maksym said he is working on another paper based on observations from images captured by a visual spectrum observatory to “firm up” the claims that the bright flare was evidence of the destruction of a star by a black hole.
Analytic experts from across U.S. will meet at UA
Tuscaloosa News – Jan. 17
Before the next collegiate football season even starts, there will be rankings of the top teams. The best rankings will not be based on sentimentally or popularity but on analytics, a science that analyzes vast amounts of data to determine a likely outcome or course of action. Some of the top analytics experts will be at the University of Alabama later this month for a two-day analytics symposium. UA’s 2014 Institute of Business Analytics annual symposium will be Jan. 30-31 at Hotel Capstone. Hosted by the UA Culverhouse College of Commerce, it will explore the diverse landscape of analytics in business with presentations on statistics, forecasting, operations research, credit scoring, predictive modeling and data mining. Analytics experts from Culverhouse, ESPN, SAS, Nielsen, Millennial Media, the Atlanta Braves, Alfa Insurance, BBVA Compass, Priorize, BNSF Railway and Webb Wheel will provide analysis of real case studies.
WFTV 9 (Orlando, Fla.) – Jan. 19
Fox 10 (Mobile) – Jan. 19
Unraveling Misfolded Molecules Using ‘Reprogrammed’ Yeast Protein Could Lead to New Brain Disease Therapies
Science Daily – Jan. 16
At the heart of brain diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease is protein misfolding, in which distorted proteins are unable to perform their normal functions. At present, there is no known way to reverse protein misfolding. But James Shorter, Ph.D., associate professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics, at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, has found a possible way to unravel misfolded proteins by “reprogramming” Hsp104, a common yeast protein. The work was published this week in Cell. Hsp104 is a “chaperone” protein, one that assists in the proper formation and functioning of other protein complexes. Although Hsp104 is one of the most common proteins on the planet, it has no analogue in humans or animals … Shorter’s team collaborated with the lab of Guy Caldwell at the University of Alabama to test Hsp104 variants in the worm C. elegans and found marked rescue of alpha-synuclein toxicity, the first time that engineered enzymes have been shown to suppress neurodegeneration in a multicellular animal.
Medical News Today – Jan. 20
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Jan. 20
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Jan. 18
Brighter days may be ahead for Montgomery economy
Montgomery Advertiser – Jan. 18
One of Montgomery’s oldest businesses was happy to welcome the new year this month, in part because strong sales and a surging local economy could mean bigger things ahead. “We’re breaking records,” said Crystal Burney of Capitol Chevrolet. It’s one of several local dealerships that have reported growth during a massive upswing in auto sales across the United States. But car sales are just the tip of the iceberg here. From unemployment to home construction, Alabama and the River Region are speeding toward a more healthy economy at a faster pace than the rest of the nation … Statewide, unemployment is down to 6.2 percent and hiring is up. Experts say all of that is pointing to a brighter 2014 all around. “Things are looking up,” said Carolyn Trent, socioeconomic analyst for the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama. “It looks like it’ll be a better year than last year.” Trent and her colleagues delivered some good news Wednesday when they came to Montgomery for the annual Economic Outlook Conference at the Convention Center.
Despite recovery, foreclosures remain more common than before recession
Anniston Star – Jan. 19
Emily Hawkins came close to losing her Jacksonville home to foreclosure after being laid off from her research-writing job at the Center for Domestic Preparedness in 2010. “Every year our homeowner’s insurance would go up, so our house payment would go up,” Hawkins said recently. She contacted her mortgage company and tried to get a loan modification, but that proved frustrating and difficult … Hawkins’ story is a common one, with several hundred in the county facing foreclosures each year as the local economy continues its slow recovery after the Great Recession, which started in 2007 … Leonard Zumpano, professor of finance at the University of Alabama and the chair of real estate economics for the Alabama Association of Realtors, said the major wave of foreclosures is over, but many continue to struggle. Unemployment is down, which means homeowners are better able to pay their mortgages than during the worst of the recession, but housing markets typically rebound slowly, Zumpano said. According to the Alabama Department of Labor, Calhoun County’s average unemployment rate in 2006 was 3.5 percent, and in 2010 rose to 9.5 percent. The county’s 6.1 percent unemployment rate in November 2013 remained nearly double the pre-recession rate. “People got burned, credit ratings were hurt and they’re not going to be back in the housing market for a while,” Zumpano said.
Artificial Affections
Crimson White – Jan. 21
Spike Jonze’s most recent work, “Her,” starring Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson, is a “boy-meets-operating-system” romance story, with equal parts sci-fi and drama. … In the film, Phoenix’s character, Theodore, falls for a computer program named Samantha. Though she is a voice without a body, she is her own artificially intelligent being and evolves rapidly through her experiences, becoming a crutch for the lonely Theodore. “Artificial intelligence in a generic, layman’s term, is when a robot can sense its environment and make decisions to make it able to achieve its task based on its perceptions,” said Kenneth Ricks, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at The University of Alabama … “This was actually a student project,” Ricks said, referring to a robot that navigates mazes. “It will actually find its own way through a maze. Hit a button, hands off and pray.”
Health Career Forum promotes rural medicine
Crimson White – Jan. 21
Rural areas of Alabama are facing a significant shortage of primary care physicians, according to a press release issued by The University of Alabama. There is an even greater shortage of minority physicians throughout the nation, particularly black males. In an effort to create a dialogue about these issues, The University of Alabama’s College of Community Health Sciences hosted its first annual African-American Male Health Career Forum at the Ferguson Center Theater Saturday. The panel was the first of its kind geared specifically for high school students. Minorities are hugely underrepresented in the health care field, event organizer Pamela Payne-Foster, an associate professor in the department of community and rural medicine, said. “Only between 6 and 8 percent of medical students in the nation are African-American,” Foster said. “Of that, about 65 percent of the applicants are female, and 35 percent are male.”
Elect Her prepares women for office
Crimson White – Jan. 21
Elect Her: Campus Women Win, a program that trains college women to run for student government and future office, is coming to The University of Alabama Feb. 1. Sydney Page, senior and student coordinator for Elect Her UA, works with the Women’s Resource Center to bring Elect Her to the University during election season to help women run for Student Government Association positions. “We need to get more women in leadership roles throughout the state of Alabama,” Page said. “Women need to be an active part of the decisions that affect their lives and communities. What better way to begin this process of giving back than to get elected and serve in leadership roles than during your college tenure?” Page said The University of Alabama is one of the first institutions to have the program run by the American Association of University Women. AAUW empowers women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy and research.
Author’s nonfiction book details desegregation from 1963-1970s
Crimson White – Jan. 21
Though Earl Tilford earned his Ph.D. in American and European military history at George Washington University, Tilford still admits that his first love is Southern history, particularly Southern history in regard to his alma mater, The University of Alabama. “I’m from Alabama – got my B.A. and M.A. here, and about 15 years ago, I read a book by Culpepper Clark titled ‘The Schoolhouse Door: Segregation’s Last Stand at the University of Alabama,’ and I decided I wanted to write the sequel to that,” Tilford said. Tilford’s most recent nonfiction work, “Turning the Tide,” hit shelves last week after being Tilford’s focus since 2008. It details the desegregation of the University from June 11, 1963, the day Gov. George Wallace stood to block black students from entering the University all the way to the student riots of the early 1970s. The book is a remembrance of that time on campus, and Tilford said he wrote it in part for the alumni so that they could remember how they were and help others understand the changes to university culture over time.
Free tax prep services available for Alabama families
NBC 12 (Montgomery) – Jan. 20
Free income tax preparation services are available for Alabama families starting Monday. Services are available for families making less than $52,000 a year with children in the home or $20,000 per year without children in the home. Impact Alabama’s SaveFirst initiative is aimed at assisting families eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit — an antipoverty program for low-income, working families. However Montgomery families lose millions of dollars every year to commercial tax preparers simply to access this benefit, according to Impact Alabama. This is the eighth year of the initiative. Last year, more than 425 trained students from more than 16 campuses prepared tax returns for more than 6,200 families statewide. Tax services are provided in coordination with Huntingdon College, The University of Alabama, Auburn University Montgomery and Troy University Montgomery.
Chamber sees large attendance at banquet
Clanton County Advertiser – Jan. 20
Emily Kay Herring, Assistant Professor in Musical Theater Voice at The University of Alabama performed “The Songs of Patsy Cline” on Friday during the 2014 Chilton County Chamber of Commerce banquet.
Azalea Trail Spotlight: Maegan Lynch
Al.com – Jan. 20
Maegan Celeste Lynch, daughter of Kevin and Robin Lynch, is a member of the 2013-14 Azalea Trail Court. At Citronelle High School, Maegan is a member of the University Of Alabama Capstone Academy, captain of the Varsity Cheerleading Squad, on the A-Honor Roll and received the Art Achievement Award. … Maegan plans to attend the University of Alabama and major in pre-law and minor in marketing.