MONDAY, JAN. 27 – SUNDAY, FEB. 2, 2014
BEST BETS
UA TO HOST BUSINESS ANALYTICS SYMPOSIUM JAN. 30-31 – The University of Alabama’s Institute of Business Analytics will hold its annual Business Analytics Symposium Jan. 30-31 at the Hotel Capstone. The two-day event, hosted by the Culverhouse College of Commerce, will explore the diverse landscape of analytics in business with presentations by world-renowned experts in the fields of statistics, and data-mining. Experts from Culverhouse, ESPN, SAS, Nielsen, Millennial Media, Atlanta Braves, Alfa Insurance and Priorize will provide analysis of real world projects. Attendees should plan to interact with other participants including practitioners, faculty and UA students pursuing graduate degrees in statistics, business analytics and economics. The INFORMS Certified Analytics Professional (CAP®) exam will be administered on Jan. 29 as a pre-symposium event and requires separate payment. The last day to register is Jan. 28. For more information and registration visit http://mycba.ua.edu/basymposium. Contact: Edith Parten, UA media relations, 205/348-8318, eparten@culverhouse.ua.edu
STAR EXPLODES 11.4 MILLION YEARS AGO, SEE IT THURSDAY – A star exploded in a “nearby” galaxy some 11.4 million years ago, scientists estimate. Because of the time it takes light to travel, astronomers just spotted the explosion in recent days. Weather permitting, visitors can use a UA telescope to see this “supernova” Thursday from 8 p.m. until 10 p.m. in the observatory atop Gallalee Hall. Astronomers have named this supernova SN 2014J. It is in the galaxy called M82. UA offers the public several opportunities a semester to use UA telescopes to view celestial objects. For a list of this semester’s sky viewing opportunities, click here. For interviews about the supernova or Thursday’s viewing opportunity, contact Dr. William Keel, UA professor of astronomy, at 205/348-1641 or wkeel@as.ua.edu. For assistance, contact Chris Bryant in media relations, 205/348-8323, cbryant@ur.ua.edu.
UA CULVERHOUSE ALUMNUS EDWARD K. ALDAG FUNDS BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION – UA students seeking to start their own businesses now have an opportunity to turn their ideas into reality and receive startup funding. The Edward K. Aldag Jr. $50,000 Business Plan Competition hosted by the Culverhouse College of Commerce will award three students with the winning business plans with startup funding and in–kind services. All UA students can apply for the business competition by submitting a three-minute video pitch, two-page executive summary and proposed budget by the Friday, Jan. 31 deadline. The competition includes a preliminary round, mentoring session and live finale Thursday, Feb. 27 at The Edge. Judges will select from the initial pool of applicants to move on to a preliminary round that includes a live pitch. Those proceeding to the final round are required to participate in a 10-minute mentoring session and a 15-minute pitch prior to the live finale. The competition is made possible by Culverhouse alumnus Edward K. Aldag Jr., founder and CEO of Medical Properties Trust, Birmingham, and the Culverhouse College of Commerce. For more information visit http://mycba.ua.edu/businessplan. Contact: Edith Parten, UA media relations, 205/348-8318, eparten@culverhouse.ua.edu
UA EXPERT TIPS
UA MATTERS: DO’S AND DON’T’S OF POSTING PHOTOS ONLINE — Social media outlets like Facebook and Snapchat provide the means to share photos instantaneously, but people should be cautious when doing so. Meredith Cummings, the director of scholastic media in UA’s College of Communication and Information Sciences, shares some tips on how to safely post photos online, http://uanews.ua.edu/2014/01/ua-matters-dos-and-donts-of-posting-photos-online/. Contact: UA Media Relations, 205/348-5320.
UA’S HEALTH CORNER PROVIDES PRACTICAL HEALTH TIPS — Dr. Karen Burgess discusses asthma in children in the latest video in UA’s Health Corner, http://vimeo.com/album/2551337/video/84696078. 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
HUNDREDS OF HIGH SCHOOL PHYSICS STUDENTS VIE FOR SCHOLARSHIPS JAN. 31 –High school students compete for scholarships and bragging rights in Friday’s physics contest, sponsored, for the 38th year, by UA’s department of physics and astronomy. Last year, nearly 300 students, representing 21 schools, competed. Registration begins at 8 a.m., Jan. 31, in the Bryant Conference Center with the written exam starting at 9 a.m. in the conference center’s Sellers Auditorium. The day also includes a physics show beginning at 2:15 p.m. in the Ferguson Center Theater and concludes with a 3 p.m. awards ceremony. For a complete schedule, contest rules and more information, click here. For a news release, see here. For interviews, contact Dr. William Keel, professor of physics and astronomy, at 205/348-1641 or wkeel@as.ua.edu. For assistance, contact Chris Bryant in media relations, 205/348-8323, cbryant@ur.ua.edu.
AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERACY LECTURE SET FOR JAN. 30 – UA will host scholar Dr. Robert Reid-Pharr as the featured speaker for the 2014 Robert Milton Young Memorial Lecture in African-American Literary and Cultural Theory. Reid-Pharr will speak at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30, in 205 Gorgas Library on campus. The event is free and open to the public. Reid-Pharr’s talk, titled “Richard Wright in the Girls’ House,” will be the third Young Memorial Lecture. The series began in 2011 to honor the work and legacy of Dr. Robert Milton Young, a professor of English who died in 2010. Contact: Richard LeComte, media relations, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-3782
ELECT HER – UA’s Women’s Resource Center will host the Elect Her-UA Women Win program at 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb 1, in 301 Ferguson Center. Sponsored by the American Association of University Women, the national Elect Her initiative is designed to encourage and train young women to run for student government and future political office. In 2013, some 88 percent of Elect Her participants in colleges and universities across the country won their bids for student government president. Contact: Richard LeComte, UA media relations, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-3782
LOOKING AHEAD
HISTORICAL CAMPUS TOURS – As part of UA’s African American Heritage Month programming in February, faculty members from the College of Communication and Information Sciences will host historical campus tours throughout the month of February. Dr. Meredith Bagley will lead “The A.L. Tour: Honoring the Legacy of Autherine Lucy” on the following dates starting at 1 p.m. on the steps of Reese Phifer Hall: Feb. 3, 10, 17 and 24. Dr. Jason Black will lead “The African American Heritage Campus Tour” starting at 10 a.m. on the steps of Reese Phifer Hall on these dates: Feb. 5, 12, 19 and 26. The tours are free and open to the public.
JOURNALISM DEPARTMENT HONORS LONGTIME REPORTER — The University of Alabama journalism department and the College of Communication and Information Sciences will present the Clarence Cason Award in Nonfiction Writing to longtime Birmingham News reporter Frank Sikora at a luncheon on Feb. 7. Sikora will be honored for his long-form nonfiction writing. Tickets to the luncheon, which will be held at 11:30 at the Hotel Capstone, may be purchased by calling 205/348-4787 by Jan. 31. Sikora, along with Nathan Turner, the first black undergraduate journalism major at UA, will also give a free public address 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 6 in Reese Phifer room 216.
NIGHT OF THE VIOLA – UA’s Sonic Frontiers Series presents violists LaDonna Smith, Jessica Pavone and Wendy Richman in a concert at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10, in the Bama Theatre’s Greensboro Room, 600 Greensboro Ave. This free concert features three world-class performers of the viola, an often misunderstood “workhorse” instrument of the orchestra. The program is titled “Three Views of Viola.” Contact: Dr. Andrew Raffo Dewar, assistant professor of New College and music, adewar@ua.edu, 205/348-9928