MONDAY, FEB. 19 – SUNDAY, FEB. 25
RESEARCH
UA GRANTED PATENT FOR SIDELINE PRIVACY TENT – UA was recently awarded a patent for a medical privacy tent developed by engineering students and Crimson Tide Athletics, firmly protecting the tent’s unique capability to easily expand or collapse on the sideline of a football field. For assistance, contact Adam Jones, UA Strategic Communications, at 205-348-4328 or adam.jones@ua.edu.
PROFESSOR CREATES NEW CLASS OF MATERIALS FOR GAS SEPARATIONS – In response to future energy challenges, chemical engineers at UA are creating new materials to more efficiently separate gases related to energy processes. For assistance, contact Adam Jones, UA Strategic Communications, at 205-348-4328 or adam.jones@ua.edu.
BEST BETS
WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL TEAMS TO HOLD FINAL HOME GAMES OF 2018 – UA’s men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams will face the likes of Auburn, Illinois and UT-Arlington at the New College Life Track Collegiate Classic, UA’s last home matches of the season, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 23-24 at Stran-Hardin Arena on the UA campus. Admission is free. More information about the Collegiate Classic can be found here or by contacting David Miller, UA Strategic Communications, at 205-348-0825 or david.c.miller@ua.edu.
UA WINS MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS, MARKETING AWARDS – UA won 11 awards, including two Grand Awards, as part of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education’s District III competition. UA earned one Grand Award in the category of Branding/Identity Program or Campaign for the Where Legends Are Made campaign and a second in the Fundraising Publication category for the Performing Arts Academic Center Case Statement. For more information, contact Bryant Welbourne, UA Strategic Communications, at 205-348-8325 or bryant.welbourne@ua.edu.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH – UA’s celebration of African-American heritage includes campus tours, lectures and a film series. For more information on events throughout the month, click here. For assistance, contact Richard LeComte, communications, richard.lecome@ua.edu, 205-348-3782.
MAKING NEWS
IS PRESIDENT’S $4.4 TRILLION BUDGET PROPOSAL FISCALLY CONSERVATIVE? – President Donald Trump has proposed a $4.4 trillion federal budget that will double the nation’s debt in 2019 from the previous year and bring U.S. debt to $7.1 trillion in the red over the next decade, according to some estimates. With the traditional hallmarks of Republican financial platforms being fiscal conservatism and balanced budgets, how does the direction that Trump’s budget would take the country impact the Grand Old Party’s identity? Dr. George Hawley, a UA assistant professor of political science and expert on electoral behavior, elections, migration and politics, is available to offer his expertise on the subject. For more information, contact Jamon Smith, UA Strategic Communications, at jamon.smith@ua.edu or 205-348-4956. Or, contact Hawley directly at ghawley@ua.edu or 205-348-5528.
BLACK PANTHER MOVIE’S CULTURAL IMPACT – With Marvel Comics “Black Panther” movie releasing last week, excitement for the film featuring Marvel’s first black superhero has skyrocketed. Presales for the movie have outdone every other Disney-Marvel movie in history, news outlets report. And, in black American communities nation-wide, people are turning the movie’s attendance into an event with many dressing in African attire in celebration. Dr. Stacy Morgan, a UA associate professor of American Studies and an expert on African American art history, literature, folklore, film and popular culture, is available to offer his expertise on the subject. For more information, contact Jamon Smith, UA Strategic Communications, at jamon.smith@ua.edu or 205-348-4956. Or, contact Morgan directly at smorgan@ua.edu or 205-348-5940.
WATCHING THE OLYMPICS FOR TRENDS – UA’s Dr. Andrew Billings and colleagues are monitoring coverage of the 2018 Winter Olympics for several trends, including the use of mobile devices to watch the games and the gender gap in primetime coverage. Billings is part of a grant from the International Olympic Committee to study mobile and second-screen media use for the Games and co-authored a book that found women athletes received a greater percentage of primetime broadcast television coverage during the 2014 Sochi Games than in any previous Winter Olympic broadcast. Contact Billings at 205-345-8658 or acbillings@ua.edu or Adam Jones, UA Strategic Communications, at 205-348-4328 or adam.jones@ua.edu.
TRUMP’S PROPOSAL SWAPS FOOD STAMPS FOR FOOD BOXES – President Donald Trump is proposing that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, that provides food stamps for low-income American families be replaced with a commodities program, “America’s Harvest Box,” that would provide boxes of government-selected food to the poor. Dr. Richard Fording, a UA political science professor specializing in public policy, state politics and race/ethnicity politics, is available to the media to offer his expertise on the subject. For more information, contact Jamon Smith, UA Strategic Communications, at jamon.smith@ua.edu or 205-348-4956. Or, contact Fording directly at rcfording@as.ua.edu or 205-348-5528.
NEED A SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT ON ANOTHER TOPIC? – See recently revised expert directory here.
LOOKING AHEAD
NOBEL PRIZE WINNING ECONOMIST VERNON SMITH TO PRESENT – Acclaimed economist Dr. Vernon L. Smith, who won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2002 for his groundbreaking work in experimental economics, will present a talk, courtesy UA’s Culverhouse College of Commerce, about how commonly held – and false – beliefs about economic behavior and the market have changed over time. The discussion will be in the Bryant Conference Center from 10-11 a.m. Friday, March 2. For more information, contact Zach Thomas, director of marketing and communications in Culverhouse, at zthomas@cba.ua.edu or 205-348-8318.
VISITING LECTURER TO DISCUSS EARLY EARTH CONDITIONS – A UCLA professor will discuss March 9 his investigation of the near-surface conditions on early Earth. He will also explain why scientists created their own version of a “hellish” early Earth without much evidence from the geologic record. The presenter, Dr. Mark Harrison, is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a geochemistry professor at the University of California at Los Angeles. The lecture, hosted by UA’s department of geological sciences, begins at 3:30 p.m. in the AIME building, room 110. The event is free and open to the public, but space is limited. For more information, contact Courtney Corbridge, communications specialist, College of Arts and Sciences, 205/348-8539 or UA communications, 205-348-5320.
MOUNDVILLE KNAP-IN — UA’s Moundville Archeological Park welcomes the West Alabama community to learn the Native American skill of flintknapping at the 18th annual Moundville Knap-In, March 9-10. The event will feature some of the best flintknappers from around the country demonstrating the ancient art of making tools out of stone, bone or antler using only rocks. The Knap-In will also showcase Native American culture through food and activities for all ages. For more information, contact Bryant Welbourne, UA Strategic Communications, at 205-348-8325 or bryant.welbourne@ua.edu.