MONDAY, APRIL 4 – SUNDAY, APRIL 10, 2016
BEST BETS
TAPPING ON THE MOUND: UA will recognize the achievements of outstanding students and faculty during Honors Week, April 4-8, culminating in the Tapping on the Mound ceremony on Honors Day. The Tapping on the Mound ceremony, a tradition since the early 1900s, will be at 1:30 p.m. Friday, April 8, on the Mound at the west side of the UA Quad. The rain location will be the Moody Music Building Concert Hall. University honoraries Omicron Delta Kappa, Mortar Board, Blue Key National Honor Society and Anderson Society will induct members. For more details, contact Richard LeComte, media relations, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-3782.
ROBOTICS CONTEST – Students from across Alabama, from third graders to seniors in high school, will be at UA April 9 programming robots and hoping their instructions are good enough to win the Alabama Robotics Competition. The contest is from noon to 3 p.m. in the Bryant Conference Center on the UA campus. For more information, contact Adam Jones, UA media relations, at 205/348-6444 or acjones12@eng.ua.edu.
ENGINEERING STUDENTS LEAD ROCKET CONTEST FOR MIDDLE SCHOOLERS – Students from three Tuscaloosa-area middle schools, Hillcrest, Duncanville and Echols, will be at Hillcrest’s football field Friday April 8, at 1 p.m. for the Tuscaloosa Rocketry Challenge. UA engineering students spent time this spring teaching sixth-grade students about rockets and space exploration, culminating in a contest where student teams will launch water rockets across the football field. For more information, contact Adam Jones, UA media relations, at 205/348-6444 or acjones12@eng.ua.edu.
STUDY REVEALS DECREASE IN BRAZILIANS’ DESIRE FOR MARRIAGE, CHILDREN – Fewer men and women in Brazil value marriage and having offspring when selecting a mate, according to Dr. Andre Souza, a UA psychologist. Instead, financial prospects, appearance and social status rank higher. Souza’s study, “Mate preference in Brazil: Evolved desires and cultural evolution over three decades,” was recently published in Personality and Individual Differences. For more information, contact David Miller, UA media relations, at 205/348-0825 or dcmiller2@ur.ua.edu.
MUSEUM EXPEDITION TO INVESTIGATE GULF STATE PARK — UA’s annual Museum Expedition is ready to hit the beach this summer. Led by the Alabama Museum of Natural History, the 38th annual expedition will hold its first trip to a state park in an effort to assist UA’s Office of Archaeological Research with its investigation into the prehistoric occupation of the Gulf State Park area. For more information, contact Kim Eaton, UA media relations, 205/348-8325 or kkeaton@ur.ua.edu.
UA EXPERT TIPS
UA MATTERS: STAGES OF PARENT-INFANT ATTACHMENT BONDS — The development of parent-infant attachment bonds occurs through repeated interactions over time, and it takes place in context of caregiving (changing diapers, bathing, dressing, feeding, soothing, and comforting) and playing with the baby. UA’s Dr. Mary Elizabeth Curtner-Smith explains the different stages of that in this week’s UA Matters. Contact: Kim Eaton, UA media relations, at 205/348-8325 or kkeaton@ur.ua.edu.
UA MATTERS: HEART ATTACKS – DIFFERENT SIGNS FOR MEN, WOMEN – We’ve all seen the movie scenes where a man gasps, clutches his chest and falls to the ground. In reality, a heart attack victim could easily be a woman, and the scene not so dramatic. While men and women share some of the same heart attack symptoms, UA’s Dr. Joseph Fritz explains that they can also have different symptoms. Contact: Kim Eaton, UA media relations, at 205/348-8325 or kkeaton@ur.ua.edu.
EVENTS
UA ALUMNA, GOOGLE ENGINEERING DIRECTOR TO SPEAK – Dr. Nan Boden, director of engineering at Google, is speaking Friday, April 8, on the UA campus as part of the department of computer science’s colloquium series. She will speak from 2:30-3:30 p.m. in 1013 South Engineering Research Center on “A sampling of deep learning at Google.” For more information, contact Adam Jones, UA media relations, at 205/348-6444 or acjones12@eng.ua.edu.
SOUTH AFRICAN RESEARCHERS TO SPEAK ON INDIGENOUS EDUCATION – National and international education researchers will discuss the importance and impact of indigenous education at the “Symposium on Indigenous Education: Philosophies and Practices” Wednesday, April 6, at UA. The event, hosted by UA’s College of Education, will be held at Shelby Hall, room 1092. The symposium begins at 5 p.m. and is open and free to the public. Drs. Chris Reddy and Lesley Le Grange, professors at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, will be among the presenters. Le Grange’s discussion will address the integration of “Ubuntu,” an indigenous philosophy of kindness in South Africa, into education practices, like curriculum and instruction, to make public education more relevant to the population. For more information, contact David Miller, UA media relations, at 205/348-0825 or dcmiller2@ur.ua.edu.
LOOKING AHEAD
NURSING LECTURE: UA’s Capstone College of Nursing will host the Joe Burrage Memorial Lectureship featuring New York nursing leader Timothy Shi at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 19, in the Capstone College of Nursing auditorium. The lecture is free and open to the public. Contact: Kim Eaton, UA media relations, at 205/348-8325 or kkeaton@ur.ua.edu.