UA professor receives grant to study weight loss sensor
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Nov. 11
A University of Alabama professor is working with students and professionals to test a device that could change the future of weight loss … According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, more than a third of adult Americans are obese. But a new device created in a University of Alabama lab could help those who struggle with weight loss. UA professor Dr. Edward Sazonov received a $1.8 million grant from the National Institute of Health to test a wearable sensor that tracks what you eat. Sazonov began developing the sensor 10 years ago to help determine a person’s eating patterns and prevent over-eating. Sazonov: “You’re sitting next to a bowl of chips and all of a sudden it’s empty, right? So everybody experiences this. But it’s subconscious, so our device hopefully can prevent such behavior by detecting them and saying okay maybe it’s time to stop. The most recent prototype is a pendant that you wear around your neck. Sazonov says the grant will allow his team to update the device into a Bluetooth-earpiece with a camera.
UA’s Manderson Graduate School of Business makes list of best MBA programs in the U.S.
Birmingham Business Journal – Nov. 12
The University of Alabama has gained a reputation for educating future business leaders, and one program at the school recently ranked among the top in the nation. The Manderson Graduate School of Business was ranked 82nd in the country for full-time MBA programs, according to a recent Bloomberg report. The rankings compiled the 85 best MBA programs in the U.S. and 27 international schools, along with rankings for Student Survey Rank, Employer Survey Rank, Intellectual Capital Rank and Ranking Index Score. Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business topped the list for the first time.
Arkansas Professor to Head Newly Created Alabama Insurance Center
Claims Journal – Nov. 11
The first director for the new Alabama Center for Insurance Information and Research, a finance professor at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock, has been named. The University of Alabama announced the selection of Dr. Lars Powell to direct the center. He was an insurance agent and medical malpractice claims adjuster before going into education. He has also been a consultant on insurance operations and regulations. Gov. Robert Bentley announced the creation of the center last year to provide information on insurance issues. Its initial focus will be the looking at ways to improve the availability and affordability of homeowners insurance in counties along the Alabama coast. The center is located at Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce.
Supreme Court takes on Alabama redistricting, Aging conference in Mobile
Alabama Public Radio – Nov. 11
Once-powerful Democrats are challenging legislative districts drawn by Alabama Republicans. APR’s Stan Ingold reports, the redistricting has helped shrink Democratic representation to just eight seats in the state Senate. … University of Alabama officials say a senior chemical engineering and chemistry student has been chosen to participate in a conference on climate change being hosted by the United Nations. University officials said in a statement that Catherine King of Huntsville is one of eight students the American Chemical Society selected to attend the UN’s conference in Lima, Peru. The event is expected to include representatives from more than 190 countries. University officials say while in Peru, King will interview world leaders and blog about the discussions she attends during the early December conference.
Alabama Graphite and The University of Alabama Formally Engage in Research Collaboration
WLNS (Lansing, Mich.) – Nov. 11
Alabama Graphite Corp. is pleased to announce that it has been collaborating under a Sponsored Research Agreement with The University of Alabama. The Company has teamed up with the lab of Dr. Nitin Chopra, Associate Professor in the Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department at The University of Alabama. The Research Agreement commenced in July of 2014 and has been focused on characterization of graphitic material from the Company’s Coosa Project, located in Coosa County, Alabama, USA. The collaborative work is focused on understanding the structure, properties and purification parameters of natural flake graphite from Alabama. This work is a necessary precursor for developing potential commercial applications for the Company’s defined graphite resource. Dr. Chopra is a leading expert in carbon materials research and is well known for his work in carbon chemistry, synthesis and applications. He has dedicated his lab extensively to this research collaboration over the past months.
Medal of Honor exhibit on display at University of Alabama
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Nov. 11
The Saluting America Foundation recently selected the University of Alabama as the nation’s first university to host a Medal of Honor exhibit called “Portraits of Valor.” It’s a special place that gives us a look into the lives of those veterans who gave so much. Jack Lucas is one of more than 150 Medal of Honor recipients featured in the Medal of Honor exhibit on display in the Grand Hall of the Ferguson Center. And as many read Lucas’ remarkable story, they are in awe of his tremendous courage under fire. The day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, at only 13-year-old, Lucas told military recruiters he was 17. So he was enlisted in the Marines. Three years later, Lucas was shipped overseas to fight for our country. “Lucas hit the beach on Iwo Jima with 40,000 other Marines,” Jake Green, a UA student, said as he read from Lucas’ exhibit portrait. During combat, Lucas threw himself over his fellow Marines to shield them from two live grenades. He also pulled one of those grenades under him to absorb the blast. Nearly left for dead, Lucas survived 22 surgeries to go on to become the youngest person to receive the Medal of Honor.
Crimson White – Nov. 11
UA Honors Veterans
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Nov. 11
Tonight, 208 lights made up a display of the American flag on the steps of Bryant-Denny Stadium in honor of Veterans Day. It was all part of a special presentation put on by the University of Alabama’s Department of Veteran and Military Affairs. WVUA’s Chelsea Barton has the story … One by one, their names were called … the Alabama men and women who paid the ultimate price fighting for our country. “Today is Veterans Day. We remember those who have served, planning on serving and currently serving. But it is also a day to remember those who are affected and who have served in the state of Alabama and have passed. Assistant director for Veteran and Military Affairs at the University of Alabama, Alex Karagas, says another purpose of tonight’s event was to recognize veterans with UA ties.
SGA funds flights for veterans
Crimson White – Nov. 12
This week, the Student Government Association and the Caring for Camo organization teamed up for Veteran’s Day to promote an initiative going through senate this Thursday, the SGA Honor Flight Funding Initiative. Honor Flight is an organization that raises money for veterans in the local area from World War II as well as the Korean and Vietnam Wars to fly to Washington D.C., where they are welcomed by members of the national and state legislatures and taken to visit their respective memorials. When they arrive home, the veterans are thanked for their service at a rally. The SGA senate initiative was started by Jordan Forrest, a sophomore member of the Engineering Senate and is co-sponsored by SGA Speaker of Senate, Branden Greenberg. Forrest said she conceived this idea back in June of this year, and it has had tremendous success thus far. “We had an organization similar to this back in my hometown, Columbia, Missouri, and it was something I was passionate about in high school,” Forrest said.
Remembering forgotten veterans of World War I
CNN – Nov. 11
In 1917, at age 24, Leo Foster went from being a musician to an instrument of war. The La Crosse, Wisconsin, native isn’t in any textbook. His name didn’t go down in history like MacArthur or Patton. But on Veterans Day, and every day, retired U.S. Navy Capt. Gary Foster remembers his grandfather. There are no more surviving World War I veterans. They were largely remembered in the 1920s and 1930s, but after World War II, the forgetting began, said Jennifer Keene, author and Chapman University professor. As time passes, their stories become lost, except for the families that preserve their words, photographs and memories. Some relatives reach out to the American Legion, which was created by World War I veterans, to share stories in its publication, Legiontown. … “The war in some ways was really a war for family,” said Andrew Huebner, a University of Alabama associate professor and author. “The public culture around the war was draped in familial metaphors, a war to defend women and children from deprivation.”
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UA to host drug prevention program
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Nov. 11
The University of Alabama along with the Tuscaloosa County District Attorney’s Office and the Parent Resource Institute for Drug Education, or PRIDE, will host an educational program aimed at drug prevention. The program will include testimonials from families affected by drug abuse, along with medical information. The event is at Bryant Conference Center tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Nov. 11
Photo contest lets students share experiences
Crimson White – Nov. 12
While studying abroad, students can capture moments of another culture via their camera lens. … Some students are sharing their experiences studying abroad with photographs this week in the Capstone International Study Abroad Photo Contest. Voting for the contest is this week. Sponsored by Capstone International Academic Programs, the contest displays pictures current UA students took from around the world on their study abroad adventures. “It’s a great way for our students to display their photography skills and hopefully increase recognition of study abroad and the opportunities that students have there,” said Chad Berry, the assistant director of Capstone International Academic Programs and Education Abroad. Around 250 to 300 pictures were submitted to the contest, which is broken up into four categories: landscape, local color, UA spirit and crimson captured. Of those pictures, the international programs department and staff narrowed down to 10 photos for each category. Those photos are currently displayed on the second floor of the Ferguson Student Center.
Former New Jersey teen queen going to Disney World for national pageant
NewJersey.com – Nov. 11
Danielle Leigh Bjorlo, 19, daughter of Bonnie Sue Bjorlo of Flemington, has been selected to represent New Jersey at the 2014 Miss American Teen Pageant. As the Miss New Jersey Teen, Danielle will be participating at the National Pageant for her age group in Florida at Walt Disney World during the week of Thanksgiving 2014. She will compete for the National Pageant title of Miss American Teen for thousands of dollars in cash awards, prizes and scholarships. Danielle, is a sophomore at the University of Alabama holding a 3.8 GPA and pursuing a dual major in Psychology and Journalism. Nationwide, all State Winners will compete in the 31st annual national scholarship competition organized by American Coed Pageants, Inc.
Taylor to speak on ‘Alaskan Experience’
Gadsden Times – Nov. 11
A three-week trip to Alaska in August is the topic of a presentation at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Joe M. Ford Center on the campus of Gadsden State Community Center. The presentation is hosted by the Coosa Valley Sierra Club. Dr. James Taylor, associate professor emeritus of marketing from the University of Alabama, will show and discuss the movie “The Alaskan Experience,” which is about a four-person excursion to Alaska this year. It focuses on wild animals, exciting activities and the spectacular scenery of Alaska. Viewers see bears wrestling, hear whales singing, watch salmon swimming and much more. At the university, Taylor specialized in problems of sales, sales management and natural resource conservation. He retired in 2001.
Bryan Poole Earns PhD
The Chattanoogan (Tenn.) – Nov. 11
Dr. Bryan Poole, lecturer in psychology at Lee University, has successfully defended his dissertation in experimental psychology at the University of Alabama. Dr. Poole joined the faculty at Lee in August 2013 and teaches courses such as writing for psychology, learning and cognition, introductory and advanced research methods and statistics, and advanced independent research. … Dr. Poole’s dissertation titled “Exploring the Neural Substrates of Approach Motivation and Time Perception” sought to investigate how having a perception of “time flying” during approach-motivated positive states reflected changes in the human brain.
He lost an arm and a leg in Iraq. And he’s the Ultimate Men’s Health Guy.
Washington Post – Nov. 11
“Are you focused more on what you’ve lost, or what you’ve got?” Men’s Health magazine asks in the cover story for its November issue. “Noah Galloway knows which is more important.” And boy, does he. Galloway’s been a health and exercise fanatic since the age of 13. When he dropped out of the University of Alabama and joined the Army after 9/11, he was one of the fittest soldiers in the 101st Airborne. Four months into his second tour in Iraq, a tripwire blew up his Humvee and he woke up at Walter Reed on Christmas Day 2005 with one arm and one leg missing.
Mankato Free Press (Minn.) – Nov. 11
More drowned towns: What was saved, what was lost when creating Alabama’s man-made lakes
Al.com – Nov. 12
If a house could be considered a fighter, Snow Hill plantation was. The home built in 1850 by Maj. George Jefferson Williamson in Cherokee County survived many of man’s attempts to demolish it. It was still standing after the Civil War, despite Union plans to burn it. It even survived the floodwaters that came when the Alabama River was dammed to create Weiss Lake, thanks to stubborn owners and a media campaign waged to save it. But a decade or so after the lake was created, in the 1970s according to one source, the stately old home burned to the ground, thought to be the target of arson or an accidental fire set by a hunter … “There are existing structures from the Williamson plantation that were removed from the island,” Lewis said. “Two are in Noccalula Falls Park in Gadsden, and the third is located at Jacksonville State University’s Little River Canyon Center. The two buildings in Gadsden have had dendrochronology tests performed by the University of Alabama because it was suspected that they might have been a block house and a commissary. Preliminary tests have dated them to 1813.”
Juried Art show displays art from 11 counties
Crimson White – Nov. 12
Thirty years years marks how long Tuscaloosa’s Arts Council has sponsored the West Alabama Juried Arts Show. The show is open to residents of West Alabama, a total of 11 counties, including Tuscaloosa. Artwork will be chosen for the show, and the overall winning piece will be purchased to be added to the gallery’s permanent collection. Awards include the $750 purchase award, a $300 cash award and three $100 Awards of Excellence. … Rachel Dobson, the visual resources curator for the UA art department, has been involved with the local arts community since she was in her teens. She said she watched the Juried Arts Show’s importance to local art grow in the community. “Tuscaloosa is incredibly fortunate to have this Arts Council and the West Alabama Juried Exhibition,” she said. “We have lots of wonderful artists in West Alabama, and because of [opportunities like this] new artists apply to the show every year.”