MONDAY, JUNE 3 – SUNDAY, JUNE 9
BEST BETS
‘MEET’ CHAMPION ROBOT WEDNESDAY — For the fifth consecutive year, UA’s student robotics team won NASA’s grand prize in its Robotics Mining Competition. Media wishing to interview a team member and the group’s faculty adviser and to see the robot may meet at the front of Hardaway Hall at 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 5. Contact Shane Dorrill (shane.dorrill@ua.edu) Chris Bryant (chris.bryant@ua.edu) or Alana Norris (anorris@eng.ua.edu) if you plan to attend. In a separate, earlier competition on campus, UA’s team also bested 27 others to finish at the top of that event. To see footage of the UA robot in competition, go to the 3:49:39 mark at this site. Media may park in the large surface lot near the corner of Campus Drive and Seventh Avenue (across from the Ferguson Student Center) and walk the equivalent of one block south on Seventh Avenue to Hardaway.
NSF GRANT SUPPORTS COMPUTER SCIENCE CAMP – With the support of a National Science Foundation grant, UA’s department of computer science will host a special Computer Science Camp June 3-7 to train African American girls for the AP Computer Science Principles course. Forty girls from around the state will be on campus for the Legacy Program that is designed to prepare young women of color for the AP course. The camp is open to the media. To arrange a precise date and location for interviews, contact Bryant Welbourne, UA Strategic Communications, at bryant.welbourne@ua.edu.
NATIVE AMERICAN WHISTLE MAKING FEATURED SATURDAY – UA’s Moundville Archaeological Park will host Saturday in the Park from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. This weekend’s event will include whistle making. Each weekend offers a new activity for attending families, including sessions on tools and weapons, flintknapping and pottery firing, among others. Saturday in the Park activities are free with paid park admission. Saturday in the Park is open to the media. To arrange a precise date and location for interviews, contact Bryant Welbourne, UA Strategic Communications, at bryant.welbourne@ua.edu.
THE LONG WEEKEND MULTIMEDIA JOURNALISM CAMP – UA’s Alabama Scholastic Press Association will host middle and high school students at The Long Weekend summer journalism camp, June 7-9.The Long Weekend will feature day and evening classes to help participants gain the tools to produce prize-winning results next school year. The camp is designed to teach creative and efficient ways to communicate through scholastic newspapers, newsmagazines, yearbooks, literary magazines, broadcast programs and digital media. The Long Weekend is open to the media. To arrange a precise date and location for interviews, contact Bryant Welbourne, UA Strategic Communications, at bryant.welbourne@ua.edu.
EVENTS
WORKSHOP FOR STUDY ABROAD ADVISERS – About 50 study abroad advisers are expected to attend a daylong workshop Friday, June 7, at the Hotel Capstone on UA’s campus. Attendees will learn best practices in supporting students’ participation in two U.S. Department of State efforts, the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship program and the Critical Language Scholarship Program. UA and Birmingham-Southern College are co-hosting the workshop that begins at 8:30 a.m. For more information, contact UA’s Education Abroad office at 205-348-5256, visit the website at www.international.ua.edu/educationabroad or contact UA communications at 205-348-5320.
CURRENT COMMENT
THE SNAKES OF ALABAMA’S SUMMER DAYS – The heat is on, and Alabama’s 40-50 snake species are on the loose seeking out food and mates during their most active period of the year – spring to early summer. Fortunately for Alabamians, there aren’t many venomous serpents in the Yellowhammer State, but several of them are common, and close encounters with them should be avoided when possible. Dr. Stephen Secor, UA professor of biological sciences, can discuss how to identify venomous serpents, how to avoid getting bitten and what to expect if bitten. He’s available throughout much of Tuesday and Thursday for interviews. He may be reached at 205-348-1809 or at ssecor@ua.edu. For more information, contact Jamon Smith, UA Strategic Communications, at 205-348-4956 or jamon.smith@ua.edu.
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