UA graduate finds new direction following disappointment
Tuscaloosa News – Dec. 11
On Sunday afternoon, Tuscaloosa native and University of Alabama graduate April Hill plans to leave for Baltimore, where in the new year a new job awaits with online retailer Amazon. The 24-year-old senior airman in the Air Force Reserves is among 2,200 UA students being awarded degrees today. “I have a job with Amazon, a really good job,” the business management major said. “I am really excited about that.” This week, Hill, an American Christian Academy graduate, was helping collect donations for aid organizations. On Thursday, she was helping collect toys donated by UA students and organizations for Catholic Social Services. Working through UA Veterans Affairs with the aid organizations has been her sell-described “passion project” during the semester. “I love it. I didn’t do anything for recognition. I just love helping,” she said, surprised by the attention her work with the charities attracted. “I can’t really explain it. There is just something about it.”
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Dec. 10
University of Alabama Graduation (gallery)
Tuscaloosa News – Dec. 12
Ryan Glosson videos his graduation walk with his cellphone during the University of Alabama morning commencement ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015, at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Tuscaloosa News (list of graduates) – Dec. 12
WVUA – Dec. 12
NIH Funding Robots
Federaltelmedicine.com – Dec. 13
NIH www.nih.gov as part of the National Robotics Initiative (NRI) along with the National Science Foundation www.nsf.gov, NASA www.nasa.gov, USDA www.usda.gov, and the Department of Defense www.defense.gov are developing new co-robots. NIH is funding the development of three innovative co-robots projects for $2.2 million over the next five years. Two of the robots will improve the health and quality of life for individuals with disabilities and the third project will serve as a social robot companion for children. Funding for the first robot has been awarded to the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa www.ua.edu to develop a four legged robot with two modes. The first mode will help the elderly use a smart power assist walker where the user can choose the amount of powered assistance needed.
SACS reaffirms University of Alabama’s accreditation
Tuscaloosa News – Dec. 11
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools has reaffirmed the University of Alabama’s accreditation. “I’d like to thank the many faculty, staff and students who worked so hard the past two years to demonstrate the university’s commitment to excellence in every endeavor,” said UA President Stuart Bell in a statement released by UA. The accrediting agency announced the reaffirmation at its annual meeting earlier this week. UA will not be due for reaffirmation again until 2025.
The Ancient Material That’s Being Used To Develop Earthquake-Proof Skyscrapers? Wood.
Gizmodo – Dec. 11
Some of the fastest-growing cities in the world sit in high-risk earthquake zones. That’s why researchers are trying to figure out how to build tall buildings using a material that’s not only plentiful and renewable, but even more resistant to earthquakes than conventional building materials. The perfect example of timber’s ability to ride out big quakes dates back almost a thousand years to pre-modern Japan, where builders began stacking multiple wooden levels to create high-rise temples that reached hundreds of feet into the air … Take the research being done by engineers at University of Alabama, where a National Science Foundation-funded grant is helping a team led by Professor Thang N. Dao study the earthquake resistance of tall wooden buildings. They’re experimenting with combining conventional light wood frame buildings with a newer wood material–the Cross Laminated Timber, or CLT, as Global Construction Review reports. By combining these two types of wood architecture, they think they can build tall buildings that respond to shaking better than conventional steel ones.
Grant to help push ‘little known’ West ‘Bama tourism sites
WTVA (Tupelo, Miss.) – Dec. 11
Potential tourism attractions dot the landscape in West Alabama. Now, an almost $48,000 grant hopes to take the next step to link them together and actually attract tourists. Town and Country in Vernon is one potential target. Vernon resident Dan Benn has been listed as one of the 100 greatest songwriters of all-time. Town and Country owner Ed McNees has more than 700 different recordings of more than 300 Penn songs. He’s also got all kinds of memorabilia, ranging from Penn’s Hall of Fame induction trophies, to a part from one of his antique cars. It would be a perfect day trip from Tuscaloosa if more people knew about it. “Every little town has something that people would be interested in. I’ve had people from as far away as San Francisco to drop by just to come here going from Nashville to Memphis through Vernoand that’s not a direct route,” McNees said. Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley announced the grant to the University of Alabama for Bibb, Fayette, Hale, Lamar, Pickens and Tuscaloosa counties. A previous grant helped form the network for tourism promotion.
Meditation center battles religious questions, and national mood
Al.com – Dec. 13
Lanny Whitley and Jonathan Nispel were eating at Bangkok Thai restaurant in Mobile one evening late last year when they spotted a flier espousing virtues of clearing one’s mind and achieving better health through meditation. The two Chickasaw men decided to walk into the nearby Meditation Center of Alabama to find out more … More than 100 neighbors recently petitioned the city against the meditation center’s opening … Religious studies and history professors in Alabama believe the meditation center’s struggles could spark an interesting debate of what constitutes religious or non-religious activity. “What counts as a religion and gets to a religious status is interesting to me in that lots of churches take in money,” said Steve Ramey, a professor of religious studies at the University of Alabama. “I don’t think you’d ever hear that argument of a Christian group. But you do get centers teaching yoga … is it religious or commercial? Sometimes they organize as commercial, sometimes they don’t.”
Mobile Islamic Center president rejects Daily Caller’s radical tag: ‘An ignorance of facts’
Al.com – Dec. 9
Shafik Hammami isn’t sure why the Islamic Center of Mobile would be singled out by a conservative media outlet as the only “radical” mosque in Alabama, and he’s befuddled over why its affiliation with a national umbrella organization makes it a public concern. An article by the “Daily Caller” singling out 80 mosques in the U.S. as “radical” is generating online buzz at a time of heightened attention toward U.S.-Muslim relations following the Dec. 2 terrorist attack in San Bernardino, Calif., and GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s calls to ban Muslims from entering the U.S … Eleanor Finnegan, assistant professor or religious studies at the University of Alabama, said the NAIT serves two functions — to purchase mosques and Islamic schools so they are not abandoned or sold off and to provide financial services that are compliant with Islamic law. “I don’t get the sense that the North American Islamic Trust has much influence on the day-to-day operations of mosques that they are involved with,” Finnegan said. “There are many ways these organizations get associated.”
Historic probe of Chicago police expected to be long and costly
Styrk.com – Dec. 12
he just-begun federal probe of the Chicago Police Department promises to be long and costly, and if a pattern of legal violations emerges, the city could be forced to pay even more to carry out reforms in areas such as police staffing, training, policies and oversight, experts say. They added that it will likely be a year before the U.S. Justice Department completes the historic, exhaustive civil rights investigation focusing largely on use of force and the disciplinary process for wayward officers. Then, assuming a pattern of violations is found, city officials and the Justice Department will hammer out a lengthy legal agreement over how to reform the department. Finally, the most difficult task falls on the Police Department: implementing those changes … Stephen Rushin, a law professor at the University of Alabama, said the salient question for cities that have undergone reform is whether the improvements are sustainable. “The No. 1 good thing about these federal interventions is they force local municipalities to face the issue of police misconduct head-on,” said Rushin, author of a forthcoming book evaluating two decades of federal intervention into law enforcement. “I think there’s a bunch of structural and organizational reasons, without federal interventions, that make it easy for cities to push those difficult decisions off their plate.”
Officer.com – Dec. 12
Chicago Tribune – Dec. 12
The void in the economy when UA students leave campus
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Dec. 12
West Alabamians are also spending more money in the local economy, but what happens when the students leave for the academic break? Jim Page, President of the West Alabama Chamber of Commerce, says, “There’s no question that when a large percentage of the students that go to The University of Alabama, go to Shelton, go to Stillman, when they’re not in town that certainly affects our local economy.”
The majestic heavens: Observatory director humbled by the night sky
Daily Journal – Dec. 13
Here’s some mind-blowing nostalgia: The sky isn’t what it used to be. “Most people don’t realize this,” said Edwin Faughn, director of the Rainwater Observatory, “but the beauty of the night sky is slowly disappearing.” Faughn, 51, is a social being, who enjoys time with family and friends, but he moved to French Camp exactly because it’s an isolated place. In the world of astronomy, a remote location has a good chance of being dark. “I had been coming down here for 20 years. When I was in Memphis, I’d come down here to the observatory because it was dark,” he said. “It’s one of the five places in the Southeast that’s still dark.” … William Keel, an astronomer who researches galaxies, used the Hubble Telescope to discover ethereal green objects known as quasar ghosts orbiting around galaxies. He was the talk of the astronomical world for a while, and a variety of news organizations were vying for his time. “He was supposed to come to our conference,” Faughn said. “I thought he’d cancel, but he came. He loves it here.”
WSFA TV sets up scholarship fund for The University of Alabama
WSFA-NBC (Montgomery) – Dec. 11
Earlier this week we have told you that a scholarship has been established in memory of our former colleague and friend Todd Webb. Todd passed away in August at the age of 26. He was an editor here at the station. Today, Todd’s parents told us what the scholarship means to them. “This is going to go to The University of Alabama. Todd loved The University of Alabama just like he loved his WSFA family, so it’s just recognizing what our son enjoyed in life.”
Alabama Choir School to present winter concerts
Tuscaloosa News – Dec. 10
The Alabama Choir School will present its annual winter concerts at 7 p.m. today ►Friday◄and Saturday in the Moody Concert Hall on the University of Alabama campus. The concerts will feature a variety of seasonal pieces including traditional holiday carols, spirituals and songs from around the world, contemporary and popular. Tickets are $12 and available at the Alabama Choir School office or at the Moody box office one hour before the concert begins. For information, call 758-0927.