Three University of Alabama physicists get funding to participate in international dark matter experiment
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 2
Three University of Alabama physicists received funding last month that has secured their role in an international experiment searching for evidence of dark matter, a theorized invisible form of matter that would account for forces of gravity in the universe that seem to have no visible source. “It’s an unknown, a challenge for modern science,” said Dr. Andreas Piepke, one of the researchers. The experiment, known as the Lux-Zepelin, or LZ, experiment, involves dozens of researchers and is led by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, a national lab supported by the U.S. Department of Energy. Among the researchers are the three UA physicists, a team composed of Piepke, Dr. Jerry Busenitz and Dr. Ion Stancu. The most popularly accepted theory to explain the universe relies on dark matter, Piepke said. There are some gravitational forces, he said, that can’t be attributed to visible matter. Dark matter, unseen to the world and not yet proven to exist, would fill in the gap in the theory. “No one knows what dark matter is,” Piepke said. “We don’t know what the universe is made of, so to say.”
Five University of Alabama students begin internships at Walter Reed
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 31
Senior Shankitta Brown and four other University of Alabama students will spend the fall semester at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center as the first interns in a new undergraduate social work program at the facility in Bethesda, Md. The program launched this year is the first for undergraduates majoring in social work anywhere in the Department of Defense. Brown, 21, of York is joined by Caroline Miller of Charlotte, N.C.; Stephanie Craig of Pace, Fla.; Nicholas Marshalek of Flower Mound, Texas; and Keri Warren of Decatur. The internship, which began Aug. 20, will last the entire fall semester. The first week has been training and orientation as the students prepare to begin work with their supervisors, Brown said. The interns are paired with supervisors at the medical center based on their interests. Brown said the students will spend roughly half their time with each supervisor during the internship.
Christening Minerva: University of Alabama grad student builds boat to study river bottom
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 1
At a public boat launch on the Black Warrior River packed with boaters taking advantage of the long Labor Day weekend, University of Alabama graduate student Eugene Randle, plastic champagne coupe in hand, celebrated his months-long labor moored at the busy dock. Randle gathered with family, neighbors and fellow graduate students and professors from the department of geography to celebrate the launch of his research vessel Minerva, a renovated pontoon boat outfitted to help him study the river bottom of the Black Warrior River. “She’s not a luxury craft, she’s kind of spartan,” Randle said. The group gathered late Monday morning to celebrate the christening of the Minerva as a parade of fishing boats, ski boats and pontoon boats were hauled up and down the steep concrete ramp nearby at Rock Quarry Branch Boat Launch. “Minerva is a fitting name for a vessel which shall carry Eugene in his scientific journey,” fellow graduate student Shawn Carter said, reading from prepared comments. Randle’s wife came up with the name for the boat, inspired by the Roman goddess of wisdom and her connection to UA. The likeness of the goddess is included in the university seal.
University of Alabama campus gets a new look
Decatur Daily – Aug. 30
Buildings shrouded last fall in scaffolding were open as University of Alabama students returned to campus for the 2014 fall semester. The university has substantially completed work on a renovation and expansion of the Ferguson Student Center, a new $32 million student activity center, a $62.8 million residence hall and a new location for the Fresh Food Co. UA also completed work this summer on Sidney McDonald Hall, the new $13.3 administrative building for the UA system. UA is also wrapping up work on a new $4.65 million facility for the women’s rowing team at Manderson Landing. The university added about 75,000 square feet to the Ferguson Center. The $45.1 million addition and renovation to the student center was approved in 2011, and work began in 2013. The project aired out the food court on the second floor, expanded the SUPe Store on the first floor, expanded the Career Center and added new offices and a new main entrance on the south side of the building. The SUPe Store increased its floor space from 26,000 square feet to 44,000 square feet.
Alabama football fans to experience $2.5 million in game-day upgrades for home opener
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 1
Football fans will see upgrades at concession stands in Bryant-Denny Stadium and few changes for campus tailgating when the University of Alabama Crimson Tide faces Florida Atlantic University for the first 2014 home game on Saturday at 11 a.m. “It’s almost like going to a movie theater,” Milton Overton, senior associate athletics director, said about the concession upgrades. The concession upgrades are part of a host of changes at the stadium that include new ticket options, an expanded fan zone and connectivity upgrades by cellular providers. In June, the university’s trustees approved spending roughly $2.5 million on upgrades to the concession stands and concourses of the stadium. The upgrades include 246 TVs and digital signs and 300 point-of-sales terminals. … Fans tailgating on the UA campus won’t see many changes, according to Virginia Johnson, associate vice president in the division of financial affairs, auxiliary and support services. There will be more space available on the east side of the Quad following a move by the Crimson Tide Sports Marketing activities to the corner of University Boulevard and Wallace Wade Avenue. The SUPe Store tent location is also moving up to University Boulevard, she said.
John Grisham wins second Harper Lee prize
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 29
New York Times bestselling author John Grisham was awarded the 2014 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction for his book “Sycamore Row.” Grisham previously won the award in 2011 for his book “The Confession.” The book was one of three finalists for the annual prize co-sponsored by the University of Alabama School of Law and the American Bar Association’s magazine. Grisham was honored during a Thursday ceremony at the Madison Building in Washington, D.C., in conjunction with the Library of Congress National Book Festival. “My thanks to the committee for the selection of ‘Sycamore Row,’ ” Grisham said in a released statement. “I’m still admiring the first Harper Lee award. It’s hard to believe there is now a second one. I am deeply humbled.”
Business school ranks high in recent surveys
Crimson White – Sept. 2
The University of Alabama’s undergraduate and masters accounting program was ranked eighth in the nation by “Public Accounting Report’s” 33rd Annual Professor’s Survey. The new ranking jumped 15 spots since 2013, marking this the undergraduate program’s highest ever ranking. The Doctoral Program ranked 12th, and the program as a whole ranked second overall for a school of its size. Lisa McKinney, a lecturer in accounting, credits the recent ranking success to two main points. “Our research and our doctoral program are two of the leading factors in what contribute to a nation-wide perception of our program being great,” McKinney said. She said the “Public Accounting Journal’s” Annual Professor Survey is an opinion poll, based on how professors across the nation perceive a program. … McKinney said the University of Alabama’s program won over so much support – enough that it ranked fifth on the list of “Undergraduate Accounting Programs Most Frequently Voted No. 1 by Professors at Other Schools.” “All of our tenured faculty and tenure track faculty are getting published in tier one and tier two accounting journals,” McKinney said. “Professors across the nation read these papers, which influences their voting. Then our doctoral students go out to other universities and vote for us because they are proud of Alabama and the program we have here, and furthermore they impress other professors at those universities who in turn vote for us.”
Manderson partners with Georgia Pacific
Crimson White – Sept. 2 (Print edition only)
The Manderson Graduate School of Business has relationships with many businesses, but each year one stands apart. The school annually gives the Partner of the Year Award to recognize a company that has supported the school in various ways, like sending guest speakers, participating in school events, conducting mock interviews and hiring students for internships or full-time positions. Georgia Pacific, an Atlanta company that manufactures and distributes paper products, is the 2014-2015 partner of the year.
As BP Pays For Oil Spill Impact, Some People Aren’t Seeing The Cash
NPR via KOED News (Morning Edition) – Aug. 29
BP’s 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico disrupted business all along the coastline. Through the end of July, the oil giant paid more than $13 billion to compensate people, businesses and communities affected. The company is disputing some of those claims in court battles that could drag on for years. But there’s another group of people who lost money after the spill and never received compensation. That’s because their claims are tied to a six-month government moratorium on drilling put in place after the spill. Among them is Patrick Roy of Patterson, La. He owns Coastal Rental Equipment, which rented equipment to the offshore oil and gas industry .. Some small businesses can’t wait that long. “Frankly, big companies like BP depend on that,” says Montré D. Carodine, professor at The University of Alabama School of Law. She says a lot of times companies with deep pockets will intentionally drag legal proceedings out to wear down claimants. Back in Louisiana, Patrick Roy says he’s still pursuing compensation from BP. But if it comes it will be too late for his business. Currently he’s trying to sell the building where his rental company was located, hoping he’ll get enough to pay off some of his creditors.
WNYC – Aug. 29
Alabama no battleground for control of Congress
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 1
Alabama voters will largely be on the sidelines as Democrats and Republicans battle for control of Congress. No Democrat or independent decided to take on Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions and his $3.4 million campaign chest in the general election Nov. 4. Alabama’s other senator, Republican Richard Shelby, is not up for re-election. Three of Alabama’s six incumbent U.S. representatives have no major party opposition. The other three incumbents have major party opposition, but the opponents are poorly funded and largely unknown … “We would not be considered a battleground state,” state Republican Party Chairman Bill Armistead said … “That’s as certain as anything can be,” said political science professor emeritus William Stewart of the University of Alabama. The longtime observer of politics said Alabama no longer has a competitive two-party system, and Democratic victories are usually limited to districts with a majority black population, like incumbent Terri Sewell in the 7th Congressional District.
Gadsden Times – Sept. 1
Houston Chronicle (Texas) – Sept. 1
Greenfield Daily Reporter (Ind.) – Sept. 1
University of Alabama wins Spirit Cup prize in online competition
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 29
The University of Alabama has won the Spirit Cup prize, which is part of the 10th annual College Colors Day celebration. Fans of all college teams were encouraged to participate in the online competition. The Spirit Cup is a points-based competition that uses social media platforms to determine the winner. Tide fans earned points for UA by showing their school spirit on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtags #CollegeColors and #RollTide. Alabama finished with 81,006 points, topping Auburn University’s 60,463 points. South Carolina was third, Clemson was fourth and Penn State was fifth. To see the rest of the top finishers, go to www.collegecolorsday.com. For winning the competition, UA will receive a $10,000 donation towards its general scholarship fund.
Extra food from Bryant-Denny Stadium goes to area’s neediest
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 31
As fans file out of Bryant-Denny Stadium on fall football Saturdays, Phi Gamma Delta fraternity brothers and Alpha Gamma Delta sorority sisters work their way through the crowd back into the stadium to package leftover food to send to the West Alabama Food Bank. The sorority and fraternity partnered with the food bank to create the Fifth Quarter Program, a food salvage project which will kick off its third year after the Alabama-Florida Atlantic game on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Clad in plastic gloves and aprons to cover their game-day dresses and collared shirts, about 20 volunteers will divide between two windowless rooms — one in each zone — and begin scooping hamburgers, pulled pork, sliced beef, potatoes, chili, soups and other buffet-style foods into bags … The food comes from vendors who have catering contracts with Crimson Tide Hospitality to feed football fans in the north and south zones and the skyboxes, said Henry Lipsey, director of the West Alabama Food Bank. He said the amount of food made is based on how many tickets are sold for that game.
College students pledge allegiance to fraternities
Decatur Daily – Sept. 1
New pledges from the area at the University of Alabama have recently been announced. Pledging Alpha Omicron Pi are Anna Tucker, of Ardmore, Savannah Kennedy, of Elkmont, and Lauren Taylor, of Decatur. Alpha Phi pledge is Marylou Hobbs, of Ardmore. Chi Omega pledge is Lexi Jones, of Athens. Delta Delta Delta pledges are Jessica Smith and Madeline Smith, both of Athens, and Emily Light, of Decatur. Pledging Kappa Kappa Gamma are Meredith Burns, of Athens, Lanier Hennessy and Madison Rush, both of Decatur, and Laura Herndon, of Elkmont. …
Job fair held for Tuscaloosa Veterans
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Aug. 28
More than 20 potential employers participated in a job fair for veterans in Tuscaloosa. It was held in the atrium of the VA center. There was a steady stream of participants throughout the day. Some of the booths included Nucor Steel, Walter Energy, the University of Alabama, several security companies and range of others including the City of Tuscaloosa department of human resources.
Joyce Spencer: Community news for Friday, August 29
Huntington Herald-Dispatch (WV) – Aug. 29
TRIP: Shaye Steele of Culloden enjoyed a two-month trip to Beppu, Japan, this summer to study the Japanese language at Asian Pacific University. One weekend while she was there, she stayed with a Japanese family who lived on a farm, and one other weekend she and some fellow students traveled to Osaka, Japan, and stayed in hostels. Shaye, a National Merit Scholar, is a senior at the University of Alabama. She is the daughter of Dr. David and Candy Steele of Culloden.