UA In the News — April 4

UA students win top prize at business competition
Tuscaloosa News – April 3
Three University of Alabama students who won the top prize at business plan competition say their creation could change how life-saving medicines are stored and transported. Business majors Andrew Johnson and Grant Becker and chemical engineering major Kyle Pecot are the founders of KuLVAX, a start-up company that has created a more efficient cooling process for the transportation of life-saving vaccines, particularly in developing countries that have unreliable access to ice and electricity. KuLVAX won the $50,000 grand prize at the Edward K. Aldag, Jr. Business Plan Competition held March 30 at UA. Business leaders from throughout Alabama judged the 40 teams that entered the competition.

The Cosmic Explosion That Astronomers Can’t Figure Out
Observer – April 4
In a small galaxy 10.7 billion light years away, a mysterious flash of x-rays discovered by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory are hypothesized to have been caused by some sort of destructive event, but astronomers have never seen or studied anything like it so they are unable to name the cause … This inexplicable x-ray event exhibited different properties from another mysterious phenomena, reported by Jimmy Irwin of the University of Alabama in October 2016, of cosmic objects emitting flares of x-rays. In that case, giant flares of x-rays that lasted a minute before returning to their normal x-ray levels were detected from sources at 12 million light years away and 47 million light years away.
 
LOVE IS THE MESSAGE, THE MESSAGE IS DEATH
Crave – April 3
This past week was an extraordinary week in Los Angeles for black art, artists, political activism, and the points at where they all meet … BroadwayBlack.com; and University of Alabama professor Kristen Warner, who studies race, representation, and the media. A recording of that panel can be seen here.
 
UA group fights human trafficking
Tuscaloosa News – April 2
Alabama Interstate 20/59 has been called a superhighway of human trafficking, a criminal industry involving forced labor or sexual exploitation, according to Wellhouse of Birmingham. The University of Alabama’s Criminal Justice Student Association dedicated its efforts in April, which is also Sexual Assault Awareness Month, to fighting the problem of human trafficking.  “Our No. 1 goal is to spread awareness to everyone on campus and the people in the community because sex trafficking has become a huge problem in our backyard,” said Jazmin Dilligard, Criminal Justice Student Association president.
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – April 3

Alabama Panhellenic Association’s annual Easter egg hunt to be held at UA
Tuscaloosa News – April 3
The public is invited to the Alabama Panhellenic Association’s annual Easter egg hunt at 2 p.m. Sunday in Tuscaloosa. The egg hunt will be held on the front lawn of the President’s Mansion on the University of Alabama campus. The free event is for children 12 years old and younger. The hunt will last until 4 p.m. or until the last egg is found.

Meet the two college students behind the ‘Hamilton’ memes
USA Today College – April 3
College students Brooke Beckoff and Sara Shmueli love the Broadway musical Hamilton. Like so many others, they listen repeatedly to the soundtracks and know all the song lyrics. But they take their obsession further than most: They run a Hamilton-themed Instagram account with 55,000 followers and growing, and have opened a merchandise store. (Matthew Wilson is a University of Alabama student and a USA TODAY College correspondent.)
True Viral News – April 3

SAS hails excellence in higher education analytics and teaching
News on 6 (Oklahoma) – April 3
Graduation rates jumped 69 percent at Hillsborough Community College with help from an analytics dashboard … The SAS Student Ambassador Program recognizes and supports students using SAS in innovative ways that benefit their respective fields of study. The 2017 ambassadors are: Caroline Bell, University of Alabama.

Martz presents project at University of Alabama research conference
Redmond Reporter (Kirkland, Washington) – April 3
Hayden Martz of Redmond presented a research project titled “Modeling and Characterization of the Spin Hall Effect” at the University of Alabama’s Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Conference held on March 30. In addition to bringing attention to the outstanding work being done by UA’s undergraduates, the conference allowed students to gain experience presenting, become eligible for cash prizes and form relationships with faculty mentors and fellow conference presenters.

University of Alabama hoping to stop pedestrian deaths by raising awareness of dangers
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – April 3
April is National Distracted Driving Awareness month, and the University of Alabama is stepping in to do their part to cut the risk. Tuscaloosa Police told CBS42 News that nine people have died after being hit by a car since 2014. Organizations throughout the city are working together to ensure that the rate gets lower every year. Officials at C.A.P.S., or The Center for Advanced Public Safety, at the University of Alabama are hoping awareness will help reduce the number of pedestrian involved fatalities.
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – April 3
NBC 12 (Montgomery) – April 3
ABC 9 (Columbus, Georgia) – April 3
 
Lawmakers consider Good Samaritan Law
NBC 12 (Montgomery) – April 3
Lawmakers are considering a Good Samaritan Law to help animals in hot cars. It allows women to break a car window if necessary if they see a dog or a cat in a hot car with the windows rolled up and they would not be arrested for it. The idea came from a civic participation class at The University of Alabama and its adopted class at Holt High School.

PREVIEW: University Faculty Celebration
Crimson White – April 4
Professors are best known to students as educators, but a significant portion of their job takes place outside of the classroom. Faculty from all different departments contribute every year to the research that makes the University a leading academic institution in the nation. As the semester is drawing to a close, the University is celebrating its researchers with Faculty Research Day. Intended to acknowledge and promote the scholastic endeavors of University professors, Faculty Research Day will be a chance for researchers from different departments to showcase their work to their peers. Additionally, the President’s Faculty Research Award will be granted to outstanding faculty researchers in various colleges.

UA Opera singers celebrate year with Broadway, pop and jazz performance
Crimson White – April 4
Tonight, UA opera singers will provide a rare evening filled with bursts of trumpet, dramatic arias and propelling recitatives.  For one night, student and faculty artists will gather in one place to perform and celebrate the best of Broadway, pop and jazz. Within an intimately casual cabaret-styled set at Bryant-Jordan Hall, UA singers of the opera theatre will perform this evening at 7:30 p.m. alongside the UAOT jazz ensemble. The event will feature many of the University’s opera singers performing a series of Broadway and jazz solos and duets.