From the June 2014 Desktop News | How can doctors make patients more comfortable during dental and other medical procedures? A University of Alabama alumnus recently received an award for exploring just such a topic. Dan McNeil, a New College alumnus who earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees from UA, and a current faculty member at West Virginia University, was named a Claude Worthington Benedum Distinguished Scholar, an award that recognizes excellence in research at WVU. McNeil examines the pain that […]
Category: Alumni
Alumni News
Gulf Shores Is “All Shook Up”
From the June 2014 Desktop News | In its 11th season, SummerTide Theatre will be shaking things up this summer in Gulf Shores, where The University of Alabama’s professional summer theatre company will present All Shook Up by Joe DiPietro. Performances will run June 6-July 4 Tuesdays through Sundays beginning at 8 p.m. at the George C. Meyer Performing Arts Center. Inspired by and featuring well-loved tunes from Elvis Presley, the production centers around a mysterious stranger who rides into a small […]
Biology and Classics Graduate Finds Home in Oil Industry
From the 2014 Celebrating Excellence | What do Colombia, Gabon and Brazil all have in common? For one thing, Lauren Wilder, a UA graduate with a bachelor’s degree in biology and classics, helped negotiate exploration rights for oil and gas in all three places. Wilder’s first trip abroad as a land negotiator with Hess Corporation was to Lima, Peru. She traveled with two other Hess employees, “experienced professionals” she calls them, who had been to Peru dozens of times. “I […]
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E. O. Wilson Donates Awards to UA
From the May 2014 Desktop News | Two Pulitzer Prizes and a host of other international awards bestowed on Dr. Edward O. Wilson, the world’s most decorated scientist and a College of Arts and Sciences alumnus, were recently given to the College as an inspiration for generations of scientists to come. Wilson also gave $100,000 to the College to establish the Edward O. Wilson Biodiversity Fellows Endowment, a scholarship that will support students to conduct field and museum research in […]
Traveling by Innate GPS-like Signals
From the April 2014 Desktop News | One of the most captivating mysteries in biology is the long-distance migrations of animals, particularly young animals that travel more than thousands of kilometers to specific, uncharted locations without older, more experienced migrants to guide them along the way. A College of Arts and Sciences alumnus is changing the way scientists understand one such phenomenon – the migration of Pacific salmon. Dr. Nathan Putman, a 2006 graduate of the Department of Biological Sciences […]
Watkins Appointed UA Arboretum Director
From the March 2014 Desktop News | Monica Watkins, a 2002 College of Arts and Sciences graduate and the University’s first-ever Udall Scholar, has returned to her alma mater as the director of the UA Arboretum. Watkins, who began her new position in January, has focused on assessing the Arboretum’s facilities and planning for upgrades. She is also responsible for all aspects of operation including curating and caring for the living plant collection, facilitating research at the site, presenting public […]
‘The Help’ Author Returns to UA
University of Alabama alumna and New York Times best-selling novelist Kathryn Stockett will let readers behind the curtain Friday, Feb. 28, when she shares the story behind her novel, “The Help.” Stockett, whose 2009 novel became the basis for a hit movie starring Emma Stone, based the book—at least in part—on some of her own experiences growing up in neighboring Mississippi. The novel tells the story of increasing racial interactions and tensions in the 1960s between high society Caucasians in […]
UA’s Art Galleries Open Exhibits
From the January 2014 Desktop News | The University of Alabama’s two art galleries in downtown Tuscaloosa will kick off the new year with exhibitions of historic photographs and modern art. The Paul R. Jones Gallery will hold its first exhibit Jan.10-Feb. 21, featuring photographs on loan from the Morgan County Archives that document the 1933 retrial of one of Alabama’s “Scottsboro Boys.” Last year, faculty and students in the College worked together to help facilitate historic legislation that would […]
College to Host Edward O. Wilson Symposium
From the January 2014 Desktop News | International biodiversity experts will join University of Alabama and College of Arts and Sciences alumnus Dr. Edward O. Wilson for the Edward O. Wilson Biodiversity Symposium, three days of research presentations and forums on the state and future of biodiversity on our planet. The symposium will be held April 22–24, 2014 on the UA campus. Wilson is a 1949 and 1950 UA graduate and is one of the most highly decorated scientists in […]
Medical Examiner Headlines McCollough Forum
From the January 2014 Desktop News | Larry D. Dixon, executive director of the Alabama State Board of Medical Examiners (ASBME), will be the featured speaker for the 12th annual Susan and Gaylon McCollough Medical Scholars Forum Feb. 7-8 in the Shelby Hall rotunda on The University of Alabama campus. The forum was established by UA alumni Dr. Gaylon McCollough and Mrs. Susan McCollough. It begins Friday, Feb. 7 at 3:30 p.m. with registration and continues Saturday, Feb. 8 at 9 a.m. with group […]