New Material That Slows Light Might Be in Your Next Optical Wire
Softpedia – Oct. 7
The research was done by two professors and three grad students in the UA College of Engineering who managed to create the prototype for the next-generation optical networks and sensors that obviously transmit data via variances in the speed of light. Thus, by developing “slow light,” researchers could develop optical buffers and delay lines that offer greater flexibility to only ultrafast optical communication networks that we have today. Although this sort of research helps network engineers regulate the speed of photons inside the optical wires, it may also directly limit the speed of data flowing through those wires, which may have some political and social ramifications.
Opli – Oct. 6
Exploring the past
Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 6
This week’s Moundville Native American Festival will bring the opportunity for people to learn about the unique qualities of the Southeastern tribes. Betsy Irwin, festival director and interim director at Moundville Archaeological Park, said when many people think about Native Americans, they think they dress a certain way or take part in certain practices when, in fact, the multitude of different tribes speak different languages, practice different traditions and eat different foods. “It has always been our purpose to dispel the stereotypes of Native American people,” Irwin said. “We really want to help people recognize that we’re all human beings. If we didn’t have diverse cultures … life would be boring. Diversity is the spice of life.” The Moundville Native American Festival has been held annually since 1989 at the park.
APR – Oct. 6
UA PhD student looking for veterans for combat study
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Oct. 6
A University of Alabama Doctoral Candidate and military veteran is hoping to find a link between positive psychology and combat and the effect that it could have after. Michael LaRooca is looking for around 100 military veterans who have served in combat to tae part in a survey based study. He says one goal is to find out whether experiences with different leaders in combat may be a predictor for symptoms of depression or PTSD.
ABC 31 (Huntsville) – Oct. 6
We Know How to Prevent Mass Shootings. Why Aren’t We Doing It?
Style Magazine – Oct. 6
The U.S. has a major problem with mass shootings: we have just 5% of the world’s population but account for 31% of the world’s mass shootings over the past 50 years. It’s temping to ask ourselves why this is, but to a great extent that question has already been answered. University of Alabama’s Dr. Adam Lankford produced a breaking study that looks into just why our country sees so many tragedies. Expectedly, the answer is more than one factor; it’s complicated. Lankford identified three major unique aspects of American culture combined with poor mental health management (which unfortunately is pervasive worldwide, not just at home) form a toxic combination. These three aspects are: The failure to obtain the “American Dream,” i.e. the disappointing reality in the face of high expectations. Americans are more likely to strive for unrealistic success and become upset when the reality of their situation does not meet the expectation they had.
Gazette editorial: Another tragic lost soul
Charleston Gazette Mail (W.V.) – Oct. 6
A tragic, baffling report was in Monday’s newspaper: The bright son of a Jordan parliament member was a third-year medical student, facing a promising future as a doctor. He married a Ukrainian wife. When terrorists of the Islamic State burned a Jordanian fighter pilot alive in a cage, the son joined protests against this barbaric cruelty. Yet, within a few months, he became a fanatic, grew a bushy beard, denounced his father as an “infidel,” joined Islamic State and killed himself as a “martyr” volunteer, driving a car bomb into an Iraqi army barracks. “My son had everything, a family, money and studying medicine, but he was controlled by terrible thoughts,” his grieving father said. “He was deceived and tricked by Islamic State. Islamic State is in every home through TVs and the Internet.” … University of Alabama professor Adam Lankford wrote a book titled “The Myth of Martyrdom.” He contends that — contrary to general belief — suicide volunteers are not normal believers who think they have noble motives. Instead, he says, they’re mostly depressed young men driven by “fear, failure, guilt, shame and rage.” Many of them tried suicide before volunteering to be martyrs, he says.
UA to take part in Student Launch Challenge
WHNT-CBS (Huntsville) – Oct. 6
The rocket city is certainly living up to its nickname. Today NASA announced 54 student teams selected for the 2016 Student Launch Challenge. Three of those teams are from our area, Alabama A&M, UAH and Russellville High School. And there’s more teams from the state of Alabama than any other state in the competition. That includes teams from Auburn and The University of Alabama. Student Launch teams must design, construct, launch and successfully recover a reusable rocket and its payload. This year’s competition will be at Marshall Space Flight Center in April.
Alabama troopers to have diminished presence at large events
Fox 30 (Jacksonville, Fla.) – Oct. 6
Alabama state troopers, already a rare sight on many highways, are about to become a rare sight at the major events including Mardi Gras, Talladega and FootWash where they’ve helped provide security for years. “We will continue to help,” Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Secretary Spencer Collier said late last week, “but not at the level they are accustomed to.” It’s all part of a financial squeeze caused by a cut in the budget of ALEA, a superagency formed this year to take over 12 state law enforcement agencies. ALEA made news recently by announcing plans to close satellite driver’s license offices in 31 counties, but Spencer said that’s a relatively small – but necessary – savings in a big and leaky financial bucket … A study released in August said Alabama only has 42 percent of the troopers it needs. According to the University of Alabama’s Center for Advanced Public Safety, Alabama should have 1,016 troopers based on its size. By comparison, Georgia has 629 troopers, Tennessee has 610 and Louisiana has 543. Mississippi has 375, but they only patrol state and federal highways. In Alabama, UA researchers found one county – Perry – with no assigned trooper. These counties had only one: Greene, Sumter, Choctow, Wilcox, Lowndes and Bullock. Counties with only two include Fayette, Cleburne, Clay, Randolph, Macon, Hale, Clarke, Washington, Monroe and Conecuh.
Finalists for University of Alabama homecoming queen announced
Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 6
The finalists for the University of Alabama homecoming queen were announced on Tuesday. The 2015 homecoming court is Katie Baggett, Lauren Beers, Jasmine Davis, Katelyn Katsafanas and Halle Lindsay. The finalists were selected from a field of eight, according to results released by the Elections Board on Tuesday. The queen will be announced during the pep rally on Friday night. The queen and the homecoming court will be honored in an official ceremony at halftime on Saturday during the football game. During Tuesday’s election, 13,329 votes were cast in online voting.
Sprucing up UA’s campus
Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 6
Manny Carson, with the horticultural and groundskeeping department at the University of Alabama, plants pansies around Denny Chimes on the Quad Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2015. Carson said a crew of about 10 workers were out Tuesday working on winter preparation around campus. The team was doing fall planting which they also try to do around UA’s Homecoming so the plants look fresh and new Carson explained. The pansies are planted on top of tulip bulbs which will bloom sometime in spring.