MONDAY, OCT. 17 – SUNDAY, OCT. 23, 2016
BEST BETS
FRUIT FLIES AND EXERCISE — Gentle exercise on a wheel can have beneficial effects – on fruit flies. That finding may be good news for humans, too. A new study led by Dr. Laura Reed, UA assistant professor of biological sciences, suggests that a device called the TreadWheel can be used to study the benefits of exercise on Drosophila — fruit flies. The device was invented by a recent UA graduate while he was still a student. “With this study, we have established the TreadWheel as a useful tool to study the effect of exercise in flies, shown significant genotype-specific and sex-specific impacts of exercise, and have laid the groundwork for more extensive studies of how genetics, sex, environment and aging interact with exercise to influence metabolic fitness in Drosophila,” Reed said. As with mice and other widely accepted animal models used in studying human conditions, many of the biological systems within fruit flies share enough similarities with humans to potentially draw effective insight into human conditions. For more details, contact Richard LeComte, media relations, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-3782, or contact Reed directly at 205/348-1345 or lreed1@ua.edu.
STUDENT DEVELOPS APP FOR BASEBALL, FORMS COMPANY – Matt Bowen, a senior in computer science from Huntsville, developed a software program and phone app that can track and analyze baseball pitches along with calling balls or strikes. He and friends from UA formed a company to market and sell the product. They are available for interviews this week, although Tuesday Oct. 18 is the most available day. For more information, contact Adam Jones, engineering media relations, 205/348-6444 or acjones12@eng.ua.edu.
UA, TDK EXPAND RESEARCH AGREEMENT TO SUPPORT GRADUATE STUDENTS – Two UA graduate students will receive annual financial support from the expansion of a research agreement between UA and the Japanese electronics company TDK Corp. The new program, called the TDK Scholar program, is part of an expanded research agreement recently signed in Tokyo. TDK committed $50,000 annually to the program in support of two students. The students will participate in a joint research effort between the two organizations, which first began in 2010 and was expanded in 2015. Watch for a news release with more details, or contact Chris Bryant in media relations, 205/348-8323 or cbryant@ur.ua.edu.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE TO HOST ‘MASS INCARCERATION’ COMMUNITY PANEL – UA students and community members will have the chance to learn how incarceration in the U.S. is changing and what law enforcement agencies are doing to modernize, adapt, and respond to the issues facing offenders in jails and prisons during a community panel Oct. 19 at UA. The panel will be held from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in room 1000 of North Lawn Hall. The panelists include Ron Abernathy, Tuscaloosa County Sheriff, and Jeremy Sherer, Assistant U.S. Attorney, among others. For more information, contact David Miller, UA media relations, 205/348-0825 or dcmiller2@ur.ua.edu.
EVENTS
TITANIC DISCOVERER TO VISIT CAMPUS – On Wednesday, Oct. 19, Dr. Robert Ballard, a renowned oceanographer and explorer, speaks at UA about his deep-sea discoveries. His lecture, “Eternal Darkness,” begins at 7 p.m. in Sellers Auditorium at the Bryant Conference Center on campus. The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required for admission. Tickets for the lecture can be reserved at ua.tix.com. Ballard is best known for his 1985 discovery of the Titanic. For more details, contact Courtney Corbridge, courtney.a.corbridge@ua.edu, 205/348-8539 or UA media relations, 205/348-5320.
LOOKING AHEAD
MORE THAN 20 CUBAN SCHOLARS, ARTISTS WELCOMED FOR CUBA WEEK — UA’s Cuba Week kicks off Monday, Oct. 24 at 8:30 a.m. at Bryant-Jordan Hall on the UA campus. Members of the UA staff will join with more than 20 Cuban artists, musicians, writers, doctors and scholars for a series of panel presentations, readings, lectures, exhibitions and discussions sharing their collaborative and individual work. The conference presentations, held Oct. 24–28, are free and open to the public, and topics range from engineering, science and health science to history, film, theatre, literature and art. The Center for Cuba Collaboration and Scholarship at UA is a research center which builds on the activities of the Alabama-Cuba Initiative, a 13-year effort to establish educational opportunities in Cuba for UA students and faculty. For further details on Cuba Week events, visit www.cubaweek.ua.edu. For more information, contact Courtney Corbridge, courtney.a.corbridge@ua.edu, 205/348-8539 or UA media relations, 205/348-5320.
TOURISM CONFERENCE – UA’s Center for Economic Development is co-sponsoring the 16th annual Mississippi-Tennessee-Alabama Rural Tourism Conference. The conference runs from Monday, Oct. 24, to Wednesday, Oct. 26, at Courtyard by Marriott in Columbus, Mississippi. Attendees will hear from a number of presenters with a vast knowledge of tourism. Speakers include Stacy Clark, editor in chief of Catfish Alley, a Southern culture and lifestyle magazine; Aundrea Self, an anchor with WCBI; Terence Norwood and Patrick Miller with the Mississippi State University Extension’s Center for Government and Community Development; and Tami Reist, president and CEO of the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association. For more information and a conference schedule, go to: http://www.almstnruraltourism.com/. For more details, contact Candace J. Skelton, tourism/community development project manager, UA Center for Economic Development, 205/348-8338, Candace.Skelton@ua.edu or Richard LeComte in UA media relations, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu, 205-348-3782.
BEAT AUBURN, BEAT HUNGER CONTINUES – UA’s annual food drive, which seeks to gather more pounds of nonperishable food than Auburn, continues through Nov. 16. On Monday, Oct. 24, the Zaxby’s at 4383 Courtney Drive (off of Skyland Boulevard and next to an IHOP) will offer a Percentage Night from 5 to 8 p.m. Students continue to gather food and raise money from the UA and Tuscaloosa communities. For more details, contact Richard LeComte, media relations, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu, 205-348-3782.