Astronomer explores universe through remote-controlled telescope
Phys.org – May 24
Access by the astronomers at The University of Alabama to the Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope in the Canary Islands will benefit both research and students at UA. Dr. William Keel, UA professor of astronomy and astrophysics, represents UA on the managing board of a 12-institution consortium called the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy. He recently obtained some of the first data with the recently reopened Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope through SARA, which operates the telescope.
UA Astrobotics Team wins NASA competition again
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – May 24
One small dig for a robot, and The University of Alabama’s Astobotics team leaps into history. They are the first in the United States to bring home back-to-back wins from the NASA robotic mining competition. The week long competition at the Kennedy Space Center puts robots to the test, digging and moving simulated martian soil. The team will now compete in the first leg of the NASA Sample Return challenge next month.
Montgomery unemployment rate now below state average
NBC 5 (Montgomery) – May 24
According to new data from the Alabama Department of Labor and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Montgomery area’s unemployment rate dropped to 5.2 percent in April. That’s a 1 percent decline from the previous month and 1 percent below the state average. The data complements a report released last week by the University of Alabama Center for Business and Economic Research, whose Alabama Business Confidence Index again ranked Montgomery business executives more confident than their peers in other cities.
An Archive of Fugitive Slave Ads Sheds New Light on Lost Histories
Smithsonian – May 24
For hundreds of years, some of the best sources of information about life under slavery in the United States came from autobiographies published by former slaves. From Frederick Douglass to Solomon Northup, these narratives shed light on the horrors and atrocities suffered by millions of people with mundane regularity … They wanted to provide as much detail about their appearance, their life story, how they carried themselves, what they were wearing,” Joshua Rothman, a historian at the University of Alabama, tells Smithsonian.com. “Each one of these things is sort of a little biography.”
A right-wing revolt against Trump? Dream on. Conservatives never truly spoke for the Republican Party rank-and-file
New York Daily News – May 24
Despite firing every weapon in their arsenal, the conservative pundit class failed to thwart Donald Trump’s conquest of the Republican Party. They, and especially those who carried the banner of #NeverTrump during the final months of the GOP primaries, face a dilemma: Get behind Trump, hoping to defeat Hillary Clinton and at least wield some influence in Washington, sit out the election (or even support Clinton) — or break with the GOP and back a third-party candidate. (George Hawley, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Alabama, is author of “Right-Wing Critics of American Conservatism.”)
Secondary Forests Key To Mitigating Climate Change
Environmental Monitor – May 24
“Most people seem aware of how important it is to protect old-growth forests,” says Saara DeWalt, associate professor of biological sciences at Clemson University. “But not everyone realizes that after old-growth forests are cut down, the secondary forests that replace them also have significant value.” … The investigation, led by Robin Chazdon of the University of Connecticut, considered Neotropical Latin American forests in Panama, Brazil, Costa Rica and Mexico. Other colleagues who were important contributors to the work include Eben Broadbent of the University of Alabama, Danae Rozendaal of U. of Connecticut and Lourens Poorter of Wageningen University. The study has involved about 60 researchers over 20 to 30 years working at 43 sites. It utilized measurements from 1,468 individual plots and more than 168,000 tree stems.
Recent UA graduate wins big on ‘Ellen’ Show
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – May 24
A recent Alabama grad was on ‘Ellen’ Monday taking part in a game called “Hello, Dubai”. Meredith Kogan won a seven day vacation to Dubai, and South Africa, plus $2000. And she won the trip, not only for herself, but for the entire ‘Ellen’ audience.