Far out: Univ. of Alabama astronomer helps discover a new type of black hole
Yellowhammer News – June 19
Astronomy news is always old news because of, you know, light years and such. About 750 million years ago, in a galaxy far, far away (queue the Star Wars intro), a black hole consumed a nearby star in an event that has revealed to astronomers the existence of something new: a mid-sized black hole. Dr. Jimmy Irwin, an associate professor of astronomy at the University of Alabama who is part of the team that discovered this new type of black hole, explained the revelation in an interview with Yellowhammer News.
Crimson White – June 19
Scottoline, Tobisman and Turow discuss their 2018 Harper Lee Prize-nominated novels (podcast)
ABA Journal – June 20
Lisa Scottoline, C.E. Tobisman and Scott Turow have at least three things in common: They’re all novelists, attorneys and nominees for this year’s Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction. In this special episode of the Modern Law Library, the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles speaks with all three authors about their nominated books, their creative processes, and the role they believe lawyers play in society … The Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction is awarded annually by the ABA Journal and the University of Alabama School of Law to a novel-length work of fiction that best illuminates the role of lawyers in society and their power to effect change.
UA engineering professor comments on the need for a Space Force
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – June 19
Dr. Kenneth ricks is an adviser for the University of Alabama’s space robotics team, which has won several championships. He says there is a need to have a team to be on top of space exploration on Mars and the moon. He believes the development of a space force may take time, but is on its way.
Study finds older use of tobacco than previously thought
The End of The Internet – June 19
A study into the use of tobacco has yielded some interesting findings including dating the practice to around 4,000 years ago – about 1,500 years older than previously thought. The study, “Evidence of Tobacco from a Late Archaic Smoking Tube Recovered from the Flint River site in southeastern North America”, has been undertaken by various researchers and was led by Dr. Stephen B. Carmody , Troy University (Ala.) assistant professor of anthropology … Additional support was provided by a Rhodes College Faculty Development Grant. We would also like to thank members of the University of Alabama’s Office of Archaeological Research for supporting our research by providing time, labor, and access to collections.