University of Alabama professor is a co-author of paper on black hole
Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 23
Last November, astronomers and researchers scrambled to get telescopes pointed toward a patch of sky where a distant object brightened when a black hole pulled apart a passing star snared in its orbit as part of a process called tidal disruption. It is the closest tidal disruption to be observed in decades, and researchers, now equipped with better tools, want to gather as much data as possible before it fades. “This one is important in that it has been 10 years since there was one this close,” said Jimmy Irwin, an associate professor in the University of Alabama’s department of physics and astronomy. “A lot of theory has been proposed to explain (tidal disruptions). The problem is getting enough information to test the theories.”
UA professor studies fossilized fragments of dinosaur eggshells
Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 24
Researchers, including an associate professor at the University of Alabama, are studying the body temperatures of dinosaurs by analyzing fossilized fragments of eggshells. “The temperatures we measured suggest that at least some dinosaurs were not fully (warm-blooded) like modern birds,” said Robert Eagle, the lead author of a recent paper on the work and a researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles’ department of earth, planetary and space sciences. “They may have been intermediate — somewhere between modern alligators and crocodiles and modern birds; certainly that’s the implication for the oviraptorid theropods.” The paper on the researchers’ work appeared in the journal Nature Communications on Oct. 13. The oviraptorids were one of two Cretaceous Period dinosaurs the team studied. Eagle and the other researchers also studied long-necked titanosaur sauropods based on eggshells found in Argentina. The researchers analyzed oviraptorid shell fragments from Mongolia.
For Baldwin schools, it’s ‘Back to the Future’ with sales taxes
Al.com – Oct. 25
Kevin Corcoran doesn’t own a time-traveling DeLorean and he probably didn’t realize that the past Wednesday was celebrated as “Back to the Future Day” in pop culture circles. He certainly has very little interest in turning back the clock in Baldwin County schools. Corcoran is chairman of a 26-member community task force that’s recommending a new way forward for a school system struggling with surging enrollment, voter mistrust and a troubled budget. At a meeting to unveil task force recommendations, he received rousing applause when he urged the media to focus on the system’s future, not its past … Ahmad Ijaz, associate director at the Culverhouse College of Commerce at the University of Alabama, labeled the sales tax as “very regressive.” But, for Baldwin, the most “convenient and easily doable option” is to raise it, he suggested. “Most counties almost always rely on temporary increases in the sales tax to fund school-related construction,” Ijaz said. “Once the construction project is finished, the sales tax can be reverted back to its original level, which is not easy to do with the property tax. Any increase in the property tax is almost always a permanent increase.”
The American Disease of Mass Killing
Tikkun Daily – Oct. 23
You might not think that mass shootings and the climate crisis are related problems. In truth, they appear to be symptomatic of the same underlying disease that has rotted American culture from the inside out, and now threatens the future of all life on the planet. By now, everyone is quite familiar with the nauseating cycle we repeat every time there is a new mass shooting. Shock and horror, sensationalized news coverage focused on “how could this happen here?” and “what could motivate such a despicable action?” … Now let’s look at this issue more objectively. America seems to stand alone among the developed countries of the world when it comes to mass shootings and senseless gun violence. For example, from 2009-2013, there were 38 fatal shooting rampages in the U.S. The next closest country was Germany, with 3 over that same period. Adam Lankford, an associate professor at the University of Alabama Department of Criminal Justice, studied mass shootings (minimum 4 fatalities) around the world from 1966 to 2012, and found we accounted for 31% of all mass shooters (with only 5% of the global population).
Realizing the Dream Committee continues lecture series with Bryan Stevenson
Crimson White – Oct. 23
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Realizing the Dream Committee will host Bryan Stevenson to lecture on Oct.27, as part of their distinguished lecture series. Stevenson will give his lecture, “American Injustice: Mercy, Humanity and Making a Difference,” which focuses on fighting poverty and racial discrimination in the justice system. Stevenson has reversed, relieved or released for over 100 falsely condemned inmates on death row and has argued before the Supreme Court multiple times, said Dr. Joseph Scrivner, a member of the committee. “He is simply one of the most important advocates for social justice in our time,” Scrivner said. The event starts as a student discussion in the 3700 Forum Room in the Ferguson Center from 3-4:30 p.m. followed by the lecture at the Embassy Suites in downtown Tuscaloosa at 7 p.m.
Wood instead of petroleum: New approach to producing chemical substances solely from renewable resources
Alpha Galileo – Oct. 26
Scientists create a new international research consortium to develop a sustainable chemical infrastructure Petroleum might well be replaced by wood soon when it comes to manufacturing chemical substances. Research has now made significant progress towards using sustainable biomass, like wood, as an alternative raw material for chemical production. Scientists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany and at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa in the USA recently managed to synthesize two complex chemical substances from wood-based starting materials. The process can be as cost-effective as the conventional petroleum product-based process and is less damaging to the environment. “Our aim is to manufacture everyday products from renewable resources without an impact on the environment while at the same time ensuring that the process is economically competitive,” explained Professor Till Opatz of Mainz University. The results of their research have been published in the prominent journal Angewandte Chemie.
El Nino might be the cause of Hurricane Patricia
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Oct. 25
Meanwhile, one University of Alabama researcher says El Nino might be the cause of Patricia. Dr. Jason Senkbeil, an assistant professor of Geography says the weather phenomena known as El Nino can produce more storms.
Big Al visits Arcadia Elementary School
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Oct. 25
Students at Arcadia Elementary School got a special treat today. A visit from Big Al and volunteers with the Read Bama Read program. This non-profit organization was founded back in 2011 with the goal of making a long lasting impact on students. After meeting their initial goal this organization has partnered with UA to form Read Bama Read express. Read Bama Read presented the school with a $5,000 check.
Halloween in Oz
Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 25
Children flock to an elephant bounce house at “Halloween in Oz,” a costume event sponsored by the University of Alabama College of Arts & Sciences and the Community Music School held at the Moody Music building Sunday, Oct. 25. Proceeds from the event benefit both UA and the Community Music School Scholarship Fund.