Alabama researchers working on ice radar system
Associated Press – May 27
Engineering researchers at the University of Alabama are developing a system to help measure the world’s ice sheets and glaciers. The team is working on a type of radar that can be used to scan the interior of ice. Researchers say that’s important because scientists aren’t sure how much melting ice will influence rising seas as the climate changes.
Tuscaloosa News – May 26
NewsOK – May 27
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – May 28
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – May 27
WTOK-ABC (Meridian) – video not available
Ticks abundant this year
Times Daily (Florence) – May 29
If that creeping sensation on your leg causes you concern, there’s good reason why it should. The warmer-than-normal winter has given the South a bumper crop of ticks. The deer tick can be especially dangerous to humans because it can transfer Lyme disease or the potentially deadly Powassan virus. John Abbott, director of museum research and collections at the University of Alabama, said the four most common ticks in Alabama are the lone star tick, the deer or black-legged tick, the Gulf Coast tick, and the American dog tick. In a paper published by the university, he said the deer tick is most likely to carry Lyme disease and Powassan virus. “I’ve already had four ticks on our dog and me this year,” said Taylor Reeder of the Lauderdale County Extension Service. “That’s four more than I want to see.” Reeder said the most effective way to remove a tick is with tweezers. It’s important to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and be sure to remove the head of the tick.
Precautions can help guard against summer pests
Tuscaloosa News – May 29 (Print only)
Ticks are part of summer life outdoors in the South. Though the region could see a potential boost in the population of the small arachnids following a mild winter, there’s no reason to panic, according to entomologist and doctors, who point to a series of precautions to safeguard against the pests, which carry a number of diseases. “One thing I would definitely try to convey for people, there is no reason to panic. We live in the South where we are going to be exposed to ticks,” said John Abbott, director of museum research and collections at the University of Alabama’s Musem of Natural History.
UA robotics team wins 3rd consecutive competition
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – May 27
For the third year in a row, the University of Alabama Astrobotics team won the NASA Robotic Mining Competition at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The team beat out 45 other collegiate teams from across the nation. They received the Joe Kosmo Award for scoring the most points in the competitive events. The team also awarded the Efficient Use of Communications Power Award and the Capterpillard Autonomy award.
William Gorgas exhibit explores campus connections to WWI
Crimson White – May 28
When Liam Adkison stood in the Gorgas House and saw people walking through the first exhibit he’d helped work on, it felt like watching a child take their first steps. “People are coming up to me to ask about boards and looking at uniforms we’ve put in there,” said Adkison, who graduated in May with a degree in history and will start graduate school in the fall. “People’s faces were lighting up when they came in. It was really awesome. I don’t know if I can fully describe the feeling.” The “William C. Gorgas and the Great War Exhibit,” currently on display, celebrates the 100th anniversary of America’s entrance into World War I by highlighting Gorgas’ role as Surgeon General and the University’s contributions to the war effort.
UA researchers say statistics show important role of seat belts
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – May 26
Ahead of the busy Memorial Day weekend travel period, University of Alabama researchers are sharing statistics that show the role seat belts play in saving lives in traffic crashes. According to the Center for Advanced Public Safety (CAPS), current numbers show more than 90 percent of people in Alabama are wearing seat belts. However, in more than 60 percent of traffic deaths in Alabama, victims are not wearing seat belts. “That shows just how critical it is to wear your seat belt,” CAPS Associate Director Rhonda Stricklin said. “Because most people are, over 90 percent are, but yet, 60 percent of fatalities are not belted. So it just shows that that’s what makes the difference.”
WSFA-NBC (Montgomery) – May 26
WAFF-NBC (Huntsville) — May 26
Alabama Boys State comes to UA
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – May 27
Governor Kay Ivey spoke at the Alabama Boys State opening ceremony. Boys State is a week-long convocation of more than 600 rising high school seniors from schools across Alabama. This is the 80th year of Alabama Boys State, which is sponsored by the American Legion. Ivey spoke this afternoon at The University of Alabama’s Ferguson Center ballroom.
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – May 27
Bryant Museum to Have Free Admission Memorial Day
Crimson White – May 29
In honor of Memorial Day, the Paul W. Bryant Museum will offer free admission to attendees on Monday, May 29. The museum, home to the history of legendary Alabama coach Paul W. “Bear” Bryant, is a popular on-campus attraction to students, fans and visitors.
College News
Tuscaloosa News – May 27
Erin Behland, a junior at the University of Alabama, has been awarded a U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship to study Chinese in Dalian, China, during the summer of 2017. Behland, a member of UA’s Honors College, is from Chicago. . . . The University of Alabama’s University Fellows are working and learning during May in Marion as part of the annual Black Belt Experience. The program, in its ninth year, is part of the UA Honors College’s 57 Miles Partnership with Perry County. The projects run through Friday, May 26. . . . ‒ USAID’s Center for International Disaster Information is pleased to announce the winners of the 12th annual Public Service Announcements for International Disasters contest.Twelve students at the University of Alabama won 2nd place and 3rd place in multiple categories for the 12th annual PSAid contest through USAID’s Center for International Disaster Information. The contest called for civic-minded students across the country to empower international disaster relief efforts. . . . ‒The University of Alabama department of art and art history has announced the student exhibitors who were selected for the 2017 Annual BFA Juried Exhibition in April at the Harrison Galleries in Tuscaloosa. . . . The West/Central Alabama Chapter of the Association of the United States Army announced that Dr. Mark Nelson, Dean, College of Communication and Information Sciences, was honored with a Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of extraordinary support of those who serve in our military. . . . Xuyang “Rhett” Zhou of Tuscaloosa, a Ph.D. student in materials science from Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China, was selected to receive a Microscopy & Microanalysis Student Scholar Award given by the Microscopy Society of America and the Microanalysis Society.
Campus news
Marietta Journal – May 29
Katherine “Kayte” McClintock of Kennesaw was one of only 21 students with a 4.0-plus GPA to graduate summa cum laude from the Honors College at the University of Alabama’s College of Arts and Sciences on May 6.
College News
Burlington (New Jersey) County Times – May 26
Caroline Largey, of Moorestown, a student at the University of Alabama, won second place in the 12th annual PSAid contest through USAID’s Center for International Disaster Information. Entrants were asked to develop public service announcements that demonstrate why monetary donations are the most effective way to support international disaster relief. Nearly 140 students from colleges throughout the country submitted their print, video and infographic entries.
Fossil Find Suggests Dinosaurs Crossed North America Before Extinction
Kataeb.org – May 27
Prior to 68–66 million years ago, hefty horned dinosaurs migrated from western North America to the east. One such animal died sometime after the lengthy journey, perhaps falling victim to a bloodthirsty tyrannosaur. The unfortunate dinosaur’s body then fell into bay water, where it turned into a bloated, floating carcass. Scavengers of all shapes and sizes feasted on the remains, leaving behind only inedible items, like the dinosaur’s teeth. . . . Sure enough, in about 10 minutes he was in contact with his soon-to-be co-author Andrew Farke, a paleontologist at the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology at The Webb Schools. Farke confirmed the suspicions of their mutual friend, Lynn Harrell of the University of Alabama, that the tooth was from a horned dinosaur. The dino looked a lot like Triceratops, they agreed, and might have even been this iconic species.
Pet-in-Hot-Car Bill
Alabama Public Radio – May 27
Twenty-four states have laws regarding animals left unattended in hot cars, including two southern states (Tennessee and Florida). That leaves eight states in the south and southeast without legal protection for pets trapped in hot cars, including Alabama. Last month, with the help of Rep. Chris England a dozen students from Holt High School, with their ten college student mentors from the University of Alabama, traveled to Montgomery to address members of the Alabama House Judiciary Committee. They were there to urge passage of a bill which they helped to draft – the protection for pets in hot cars bill.
Alabama Student Selected to Prestigious Student Congress
Crimson White – May 28
This year, The University of Alabama’s own Kaitlyn Krejci will be representing the state of Alabama at the National Student Congress. The Student Congress will give student representatives a chance to garner practical experience before transitioning into the real world, as some representatives will go on to intern on Capitol Hill, work for law firms or participate in political campaigns. Krejci, a St. Louis native and junior majoring in political science, will help formulate public policy and work with other members of the mock legislative body.
Bama Theatre to show Tuscaloosa native’s film
Tuscaloosa News – May 27
Los Angeles becomes home base for filmmakers, out of necessity. But not everybody in the movies grows up an Angeleno. For his master of fine arts thesis film at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Tuscaloosa native Brandon Sparks came back to shoot in the Druid City, bringing fellow University of Alabama graduates with him. As another homecoming touch, “Camp Nichols,” shot last summer at Camp Horne in the eastern part of the county, will screen Saturday at the Bama Theatre, where Sparks’ journey began. “It’s crazy to me we’re showing at the Bama,” said writer-director Sparks, who graduated from Paul W. Bryant High, then UA in 2013. “I saw my first play there, ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ Tuscaloosa Children’s Theatre, when I was like 3 or 4. My mom was like, ’OK, you’re going to see this movie today, or see ‘The Wizard of Oz’ again.′ So I went to it twice.”
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – May 27
Bright side
Times Daily (Florence) – May 27
The Miss Alabama Pageant will take place June 7-10 at Samford University in Birmingham. . . . Chandler Shields is Miss Tennessee Valley. She is a senior majoring in public relations and political science at the University of Alabama. She will perform a jazz dance in the talent competition, and her personal platform is The National Down Syndrome Society. Her parents are Keith and DeAnne Shields, of Huntsville.