University of Alabama geologist honored at White House for Antarctic mountain research
AL.com – April 17
A University of Alabama geologist was honored at the White House Monday as a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the nation’s highest honor for young researchers in the early stages of their careers. President Barack Obama greeted Samantha Hansen and the 101 other award recipients, according to a UA release, after an award ceremony at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Hansen is currently researching how the Transantartic mountain range, now mostly buried under ice and snow, formed 55 million years ago across Antarctica by measuring seismic activity from earthquakes occurring around the world.
Tuscaloosa News – April 17
Conference gives undergraduates chance to present research
Crimson White – April 17
A record 600 students will present research findings during The University of Alabama’s annual Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity conference at the Bryant Conference Center on Thursday. The seventh annual event, hosted by the University’s office of the vice president for research, will include poster and oral presentations by undergraduate students, who will compete for cash prizes and earn experience presenting or defending their research projects before judges.
Advertising team advances to finals, places first
Crimson White – April 17
The University of Alabama Advertising Team took first place in the District 7 American Advertising Federation’s National Student Advertising Competition on Friday. This win marks the second district win in the last three years and the third district win in the last five.
Advertising students submit work to national student showcase
Crimson White – April 17
A group of advertising students will have work displayed in a national student showcase in May. Students in Glenn Griffin’s advanced advertising development class have submitted 20 pieces of work to a professional creative exhibition called “The One Show” by The One Club for Art & Copy in New York.
Law student remembered for kindness, selflessness
Crimson White – April 17
When Dominic DeSimone was not in class at the University of Alabama Law School, he could be found working out at the Rec or perhaps helping a friend fix up a failing car. Dominic’s friends and family, who were more likely to call him “Dom,” will always remember his smile and unfailing willingness to lend a hand when someone needed help with an assignment or just a little morale boost. … Hector Dominic DeSimone passed away Friday night in an accident at the age of 23. Dominic graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2011 and was finishing up his second year of law school at The University of Alabama.
Last Lecture tackles diversity
Crimson White – April 17
Students, faculty and the public were brought together to reflect on their definition of diversity and how they approach it Wednesday night in Russell Hall. Robin Boylorn, assistant professor of interpersonal and intercultural communication, encouraged the audience to embrace different social identities during her presentation of the Last Lecture, a graduate school program that invites one professor to speak to a group of UA students as if for the last time.
NYC acoustic jazz trio Dawn of Midi bringing eclectic sound to Alabama’s Sonic Frontiers concert series
AL.com – April 17
New York City-based acoustic jazz trio Dawn of Midi will perform at Bryant-Jordan Hall (formerly Bryce Hospital) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The show continues the Sonic Frontiers Concert Series from the University of Alabama. Dawn of Midi is a critically-acclaimed trio comprised of Akaash Israni on bass, Amino Belyamani on piano and Qasim Naqvi on drums. They draw on their roots in Morocco, Pakistan and India, and influences include the likes of Aphex Twin, the Police, Can and Ms. PacMan. Thanks their diverse interests, the eclectic trio creates “acoustic minimalist music with a driving edge and a dance floorfriendly beat,” according to UA. Their second album, “Dysnomia,” creates “one long, seemingly endless groove with complex textures and interplay that resembles a seamlessly mixed DJ set of cutting-edge electronic music.”
Classical guitarist Paul Bowman continues Druid City Brewing Company live music series tonight
AL.com – April 17
The Druid City Brewing Company’s [Live at the Brewery!] series keeps on trucking tonight with classical guitarist Paul Bowman. The event marks a collaboration between DCBC and The Tuscaloosa New Music Collective, which works to serve to promote the composition and performance of contemporary art music in Tuscaloosa. The event takes place at 5:30 p.m. in the DCBC tap room before Bowman heads over to Moody Music Building at the University of Alabama to perform again at 8 p.m.
University of Alabama Alumni and friends to hold annual scholarship dinner May 8
AL.com – April 17
University of Alabama Alumni and Friends Baldwin County Chapter will hold its annual scholarship dinner. The dinner will be held May 8 at the Craft Farms Clubhouse in Gulf Shores. Distinguished Baldwin County high school seniors, who will be attending the University, will be receiving academic scholarships. The students and their parents will be recognized. In recent years more than $30,000 per year in scholarships has been given by the chapter. A highlight of the dinner meeting will be the featured speaker, Dr. Charles Karr, dean for the University of Alabama College of Engineering. The dinner meeting is open to all friends of the University of Alabama as well as all alumni.
Firat Soylu to speak at annual graduate student symposium
Crimson White – April 17
On Friday, the College of Communication will host Firat Soylu as the keynote speaker for the sixth annual graduate student symposium. Soylu, a postdoctoral fellow from Northwestern University, will present “The Promises, Challenges and Future of Educational Neuroscience.”
Evolution rapper to return to UA
Crimson White – April 17
Canadian rapper Baba Brinkman will visit The University of Alabama on Friday to persent his “Rap Guide to Evolution” and to film a documentary. . . . Brinkman will also be performing in private as part of an experiment being conducted by Christopher Lynn, an assistant professor of anthropology, involving three groups. One group will watch a video of a traditional science lecture; the second group will watch a video of Brinkman performing his “Rap Guide to Evolution”; and the third group will see Brinkman perform live.
Fashion show promotes recycled ensembles
Crimson White – April 17
Models strutted down the cement sidewalk in front of Doster Hall on Wednesday sporting designer-esque ensembles from wedding gowns made of coffee filters to dresses made of caution tape. The annual Tee Time fashion show, organized by Fashion Inc., was every bit the “Project Runway” extravaganza for the College of Human Environmental Sciences.
NPR journalist finds home in Tuscaloosa
Crimson White – April 17
Not many people can say they’ve spent an evening with Price in his Los Angeles Mansion, writing a novel with Tori Amos or eaten bacon with CeeLo Green. Then again, not many people are Ann Powers. As NPR music critic and correspondent, Powers dedicates much of her life to figuring out why music makes people tick. … Nearly five years ago, Powers moved from Los Angeles to Tuscaloosa, where her husband, Eric Weisbard, accepted a teaching position in the American studies department at The University of Alabama.
Professor works to engage students in community
Crimson White – April 17
Mounds of paperwork clutter the desk. An aroma of pickles fills the air. A portrait of Abraham Lincoln hangs proudly behind the professor’s head. This is the office of Stephen Black, a self-proclaimed “nerdy boring” professor at The University of Alabama who has dedicated himself to a life of public service. … Black, the founder of the non-profit organization Impact Alabama, became fascinated with policy as a young child growing up in New Mexico. He admired the work of his grandfather, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo L. Black, and strived to make a difference in the lives of others. After three years at a Birmingham law firm, the Yale Law School graduate took a teaching offer at The University of Alabama on a whim, he said. It was then, in 2004, that Black was inspired to create the Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility at The University of Alabama and later Impact Alabama, a non-profit organization housed in the CESR. Both programs aim to accomplish Black’s number one goal: service.