ALABAMA WRITERS HALL OF FAME HONORS FIRST CLASS – The Alabama Writers Hall of Fame honors Pulitzer Prize-winners Harper Lee and Rick Bragg as part of its first class at 7 p.m. Monday, June 8, in the Bryant Conference Center. Lee, author of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” has a new novel publishing July 14 titled “Go Set a Watchman.” Bragg is the author of several biographical works, including “All Over But the Shoutin’” and “Ava’s Man.” Other honorees include: poets Sonia Sanchez and Andrew Glaze, Johnson Jones Hooper, Augusta Jane Evans Wilson, Helen Keller, Zora Neale Hurston, William March, Albert Murray, Helen Norris Bell and Sena Jeter Naslund. A media availability has been set up with several of the honorees from 5:30 p.m. until 6:15 p.m. Upon check-in at the media table, media members will be directed to a green room for interviews with available authors. Dinner is provided for reporters and photographers. For more information, contact Bobby Mathews, UA media relations, 205/348-4956 or bwmathews1@ur.ua.edu.
GIRLS STATE – The American Legion Auxiliary Girls State is on the UA campus through Friday, June 12. Guest speakers, starting at 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 10, in Morgan Hall, include Young Boozer, Alabama state treasurer; U.S. Rep. Martha Roby, R-Montgomery; and Lt. Col. Shannon Juby of the U.S. Air Force. “American Legion Auxiliary Girls State is a nonpartisan program that teaches young women responsible citizenship and love for God and Country,” according to the group’s website. Since the program’s start in 1937, nearly 1 million young people have had the opportunity to learn first-hand how their state and local government works. During the week, more than 350 participants will conduct mock elections and learn about civic processes. On Friday, June 12, the Girls State seniors will visit Montgomery. Details: Richard LeComte, media relations, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-3782.
PHYSICISTS SEEK BIG ANSWERS FROM TINY PARTICLES – A team of international scientists, including a pair from UA, recently resumed efforts near Geneva, Switzerland, to use tiny particles in attempts to answer big questions – really big – like how the universe works. Drs. Conor Henderson and Paolo Rumerio, UA physicists, are working much of the summer at the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest particle accelerator. Located at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, the LHC recently resumed operation following a nearly two-year shutdown for upgrades, testing and maintenance. The research team plans to use the LHC to further explore the standard model of physics and look for evidence of physics phenomena that lie outside it. Henderson and Rumerio may be interviewed via Skype or e-mail. To reach them, e-mail conor.henderson@ua.edu or pgrumerio@bama.ua.edu. For assistance, contact Chris Bryant in media relations, 205/348-8323 or cbryant@ur.ua.edu.
PROFESSOR LEADS ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING WITH HELP FROM GOOGLE, NSF – Dr. Jeff Gray, UA professor of computer science, will lead a free, online course, sponsored by Google, this summer to train high-school teachers in a new computer-science course and future College Board Advanced Placement exam. An estimated 1,500 teachers are expected to sign up for the online course from across the United States. Tuscaloosa will host the training for 50 Alabama teachers June 22-26. For more information, contact Adam Jones in media relations, 205/348-6444 or acjones12@eng.ua.edu.
CREATIVE WRITING CAMP – UA invites local high school students – incoming freshmen through graduating seniors – to sign up for the Summer 2015 Creative Writing Camp. The Creative Writing Camp will meet from 1 to 4 p.m. each weekday from Monday, June 8, to Friday, June 19, in 301 Morgan Hall. No previous creative writing experience is required.
The instructors are writers who are graduate students in UA’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program. They will lead a two week-long exploration of creative writing. To register for the Summer 2015 Creative Writing Camp, send an email with the student’s name, mailing address, email address, parent-guardian contact number, school and grade level to Christopher O. McCarter, coordinating director, at uacreativewritingclub@gmail.com. Contact: Richard LeComte, UA Media Relations, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-3782.
CURRENT COMMENT
NEFARIOUS ACTIVITY LIKELY TO CONTINUE ON ‘DEEP WEB’ – Federal investigators scored a major win after Ross Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison related to the creation of the online anonymous marketplace Silk Road, where large scale drugs transactions occurred. There’s already been a Silk Road 2, a copycat site of a smaller scale, where, among other things, personal financial data is sold. “Feds in the US send strong message in Ulbricht sentence, but will it deter copycats? Probably not,” said Dr. Diana Dolliver, UA assistant professor of criminal justice. “I think a big aspect of the case, aside from the sentence, is how aware the Feds are about the goings on, on (the anonymous network) Tor. Lots of info came out during the trial that gave us a peak behind their curtain.“ For more information, contact Dolliver at 205/348-2062 or dldolliver@as.ua.edu. For assistance, contact David Miller in media relations, 205/348-0825 or dcmiller2@ur.ua.edu.
UA EXPERT TIPS
UA MATTERS: AVOIDING BRAIN DRAIN DURING SUMMER – Summer is a time for students, parents and teachers to get a break from the rigors of academic life and prepare themselves for the upcoming school year. Unfortunately, most students will inevitably fall victim to brain drain during this time. UA’s Dr. Andre Denham offers some tips for parents looking for good educational games to combat summer brain drain in this week’s UA Matters. Contact: Kim Eaton, UA Media Relations, 205/348-8325 or kkeaton@ur.ua.edu.
UA MATTERS: AVOIDING HOT CAR DEATHS – Each year there is news of parents who are faced with the tragic, accidental deaths of children who have been left alone in hot cars. UA’s Tammy Morrow provides some precautions caregivers can take to avoid hot-car deaths. Contact: Kim Eaton, UA Media Relations, 205/348-8325 or kkeaton@ur.ua.edu.
LOOKING AHEAD
MEDIA INVITED TO EXPERIENCE UA MUSEUM EXPEDITION – Media will have an opportunity to search for pieces of the past June 18 as invited guests to the UA Museum of Natural History’s 37th annual Museum Expedition. Interview high school students and museum staff, check out the dig site and possibly capture a piece of the past right before your eyes. Contact: Kim Eaton, UA Media Relations, 205/348-8325 or kkeaton@ur.ua.edu.
VENUS, JUPITER SHARE A STAGE – Only the moon outshines Venus and Jupiter in our night skies, and these two planets will appear paired later this month, says a UA astronomer. “This will be the closest conjunction of Jupiter and Venus we’ve been able to see since 1999,” said Dr. William Keel, UA professor of physics and astronomy. Visitors are invited atop Gallalee Hall from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. June 30 to use UA’s 16-inch, research grade telescope to view the pair. Though the planets will appear to be in close proximity as seen from Earth, they are actually 516 million miles apart, Keel says. The event is free, and it is dependent upon the weather. Watch for a news release with more details, or contact Chris Bryant in media relations at 205/348-8323 or cbryant@ur.ua.edu. Contact Keel directly at 205/348-1641 or wkeel@ua.edu.