UA In the News — May 30

University of Alabama professors’ book documents evolution education
Tuscaloosa News – May 30
A new book has been published about the challenges of teaching evolution in Alabama. The work by three University of Alabama professors and an associate is called “Evolution Education in the American South: Culture, Politics, and Resources in Alabama.” Many fundamentalist Christians oppose evolution education, and conservative, evangelical churches are a strong force in Alabama.
WTOK-ABC (Meridian, Mississippi) – May 29
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – May 29
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – May 29

UNIVERSITY STUDENTS INNOVATE AT NASA’S ROBOTIC MINING COMPETITION
Focus On – May 30
Students from dozens of universities across the United States gathered at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex for NASA’s 2017 Robotic Mining Competition (NRMC). Students showcased and competed with their robotic concepts, which could potentially be used by NASA on actual future off-Earth mining … Johanboeke said that the criterion of complete autonomy was added around four years ago. An example from this year’s competition was the University of Alabama. They concluded their scheduled 10-minute segment completely autonomously. Not one member on the team touched the controls after they pressed the start button for the entire 10 minutes the team had to complete their assigned time. At the end of the first run, the University of Alabama team had collected 358.5 pounds (162.6 kilograms) of regolith.
 
Dangers of the sun
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – May 29
As we officially kick off the start to summer, it’s important to remember the dangers of the sun’s rays. According to Dr. Ed Geno, a physician in The University of Alabama’s College of Community Health Sciences, heat illness is one of the leading causes of death in young athletes each year. Children and the elderly are also at risk according to Geno. Some of the most dangerous types of heat illness are heat cramps and heat exhaustion, but heat stroke is the most severe.

Alabama will have growth in high-paying jobs
Tuscaloosa News – May 30
A new study projects that through 2024, Alabama will have more jobs in the medical and technical fields while continuing to experience a decline in clerical and textile jobs. “It’s not surprising to see that the medical field and the technical field dominate the list of high-demand and fast-growing occupations in Alabama,” said Fitzgerald Washington, Alabama Department of Labor secretary, in a news release … In West Alabama, expansion at the Mercedes-Benz U.S. International plant in Tuscaloosa and continued growth at the University of Alabama are expected to drive job growth in the near future.