Alabama golf team honored at White House
Tuscaloosa News – March 11
The University of Alabama’s 2013 national champion men’s golf team was honored at the White House on Monday along with several other national championship teams from the 2012-13 academic year. The teams were greeted on the South Lawn by President Barrack Obama.
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – March 10
WPMI-NBC (Mobile) – March 10
UA researchers to map West Alabama food insecurities
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – March 10
Two journalism researchers from the University of Alabama are looking for answers as to why some of West Alabama is lacking food security. Researchers, Dr. Scott Parrott and Chip Brantley say “food insecure areas” are considered to be areas in the county that have limited or no access to healthy food. With much of West Alabama being considered rural or poverty-stricken, community members in these locations have access only to convenience stores, gas stations and fast food restaurants. Their diet lacks healthier foods like fruits and vegetables. “What we are trying to do is use some software and apps to actually map out these locations where people might not have good access to healthy food, and then we also want to map out areas in which obesity or diabetes or health issues that are prevalent and related possibly to the lack of healthy food options.” Parrott says by conducting this type of research and working with students on this project, he hopes to lower the risk of obesity and other health related issues in our area
3D Printing at The University of Alabama may help with cancer research
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – March 10
The University of Alabama s 3D printing lab has opened a window into cancer research. The first 3D print of a g-quadru-plex DNA sequence and its molecular structure may give researchers a valuable new tool in the fight against breast cancer, UA science and engineering librarian Dr. Vincent Scalfani said. They collaborated with researchers at University College London in the UK to develop the 3D model. This allows researchers to touch, hold and better understand the biological target they’re aiming for. “What typically happens with most molecules is you can really only visualize it or can only see them on paper or on a computer screen, so this is a way that you can take that computer screen image and make it real. There’s tremendous power in that. Now you can touch and feel instead of just looking at a computer screen.” Scalfani says the model is already being used in pre-clinical studies for pancreatic cancer.
Tickets start Monday on three new camera-monitored intersections
Tuscaloosa News – March 9
Starting Monday, tickets will be issued for red-light violations captured by cameras at three new intersections across the city. … Steven L. Jones Jr., an associate professor in the University of Alabama’s Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering and a member of the University Transportation Center for Alabama, a research center housed at UA, recently completed work on a red-light camera implementation manual for the Alabama Department of Transportation. Together with Research Engineer Elsa Tedla, Jones used data and scientific findings to help develop the Red Light Running Camera Implementation Guide that ALDOT will use to dictate red-light camera implementation on state highways. “What you want this tool to do is put a stop to the person who is blowing through a light a second to two after it’s already turned red,” Jones said. “You just want to save people’s lives.” He said about a year’s worth of research and work into the manual revealed that when these cameras are used correctly, red light running decreases. “There are industry and academic reports out there that, I think, when you look at and you control for the bias, you can see that there is a desired safety effect,” Jones said. “It’s the same way there’s a desired safety effect from rationally used … speed limit signs. “When you put up a rational speed limit, it positively affects behavior and speed related crashes go down.”
EDITORIAL: Alabamians’ arduous climb
Anniston Star – March 11
For too many in Alabama, the ladder to the top is a rickety, unsteady contraption that’s missing a few rungs. It’s not an easy climb. The fortunate have a much easier time chasing their version of the American dream. They are Alabama’s middle and upper class, people born into homes in which worries about the necessities of life — paying for food, clothes and shelter — are largely nonexistent. Consider them the lucky ones. . . . The time lawmakers have spent this session discussing abortion is a complete waste of the legislative calendar. It is the perfect illustration of politicians who prefer throwing chum to their faithful than making progressive decisions that move the state forward. “When you see education of people as an investment, you see returns on that investment,” University of Alabama economics professor Gary Hoover told The Star. “In the Southeast, it’s seen as a cost, with no positive returns. So that’s how we treat it.”
Race, gender inequality topics of symposium
Tuscaloosa News – March 11
The Alabama Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Law Review journal will host a one-day free public symposium on the legacy of race and gender inequality on April 4 at the University of Alabama Law School. “The Legacy of 1964: Race and Gender Inequity Fifty Years Later” commemorates the 50th anniversary of the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and will begin at 8:45 a.m. April 4. Those planning to attend must register by Friday. Go to www.law.ua.edu/register to register. A national group of legal scholars in the study of race and sex equality speaking at the symposium will explore the legacy of the legislation.
Visual artist Lonnie Holley to blend electronic music, new Alabama student pieces at Sonic Frontiers show
AL.com – March 10
Visual artist and musician Lonnie Holley will perform using voice and electronic keyboards while surrounded by an exhibit of his art and new pieces by University of Alabama students of Pete Schulte as part of the Sonic Frontiers Concert Series on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Paul R. Jones Gallery in Tuscaloosa. The reception begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Paul R. Jones Gallery. Holley’s exhibit is on display through April 11. The Atlanta-based visual artist and musician, who was for many years based in Birmingham, was known to many as “The Sandman.” He has created an internationally recognized body of sculptures, paintings and art environments.
Film series to honor deceased TCF professor
Crimson White – March 11
William Nolan’s students remember him for the film festivals he took them to and for the extended office hours he offered to anyone who needed help. He held in-depth discussions on all kinds of documentaries and regularly took his students on field trips to watch them. Nolan died Sept. 27, 2012, when he was electrocuted from faulty wiring on a boat dock in Tennessee. He was survived by his wife and their newborn son. Now, more than a year after his death, the Honors College is holding a film screening in his name. The Will Nolan Documentary Series: “The Look of Things” will be held at the Bama Theatre on Wednesday at 7 p.m. “Will was larger than life. He was one of the smartest and kindest people I’ve ever met,” Andrew Grace, professor of telecommunication and film, said. “He was a better teacher than I’ll ever be, so I’m not sure there is a way to properly pay tribute to his life. But I believe he would have appreciated this series, and I know he would have loved these movies.”
Student-led show choir to hold spring concert
Crimson White – March 11
Audiences have the opportunity to enjoy renditions of a variety of musical numbers in “An Evening with Resonance: A Spring Revue,” the spring concert produced by student-led show choir Resonance. The show will include acts inspired by Disney, Mumford & Sons and everything in between, incorporating performances by both the full group and smaller groups.
Medical sociologist speaks about disaster research
Crimson White – March 11
Natural disasters can happen around the world on a daily basis. Victoria Ravels, a professor and medical sociologist at New York University, spoke to a small crowd in Little Hall on Monday afternoon about the various elements that can affect the aftermath of a disaster. “Disasters change how you approach life,” Ravels said. Ravels, who received graduate degrees from Boston College and Columbia University and her doctoral degree from Columbia, has studied responses to disasters for more than a decade and is an expert on the social and mental stresses individuals experience after disasters.
Circle K to host Skate Night
Crimson White – March 11
Both masters of skating and wobbly-legged beginners are invited to attend Skate Night, an upcoming charity benefit hosted by the University of Alabama student organization Circle K in honor of Jason McNeil, a Tuscaloosa man who was injured during an assault last July. “We have put a lot of effort into publicizing the event, and we feel like it is going to be a huge hit,” Sarah Kidwell, Circle K fundraising chair, said. “We will be having a big reveal at the end of the night to show how much money we have raised.”