Research – Page 22 – College of Arts & Sciences

UA Students Win First Environmental Research Competition

January 12, 2017

From the January 2017 Desktop News | Two students in the Department of Geological Sciences recently received $5,000 by winning the first University of Alabama Outstanding Research Competition. The competition funds theses and dissertations that perform cutting-edge research related to the assessment and treatment of chemical contaminants in soil and groundwater. The competition was created by Geosyntec Consultants, an engineering firm that works with clients to address new ventures and complex problems involving the environment, natural resources, and civil infrastructure. “Geosyntec is […]

Drought Continues in Alabama

January 11, 2017

Dr. Sagy Cohen predicts drought using hydrology map

From the January 2017 Desktop News | According to Dr. Sagy Cohen, an assistant professor in the Department of Geography, drought doesn’t end at the first sign of rain or even heavy downpour. “When we got that downpour the first week of December, people thought the drought was over,” Cohen said. “But that’s not true.” In fact, though the National Weather Service predicted a wetter-than-average December in the Southeast, there has not been enough rain to make up for the deficit […]

New Thought on Black Holes

January 11, 2017

From the January 2017 Desktop News | Dr. Matthias Kaminski, an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy recently teamed up with Nobel laureate Gerard’t Hooft and a group of other international theoretical physicists at the biennial Schwarzschild conference in Frankfurt, Germany, to discuss the mysteries of black holes. “Although astrophysicists have found convincing evidence of the existence of black holes, some other bizarre properties remain behind our experimental grasp,” said professor Bill Keel, a UA professor in the Department […]

UA Professor Receives Highest Award in Geosciences

December 14, 2016

From the November 2016 Desktop News | The American Geosciences Institute recently announced that Dr. Berry H. “Nick” Tew Jr., the state geologist of Alabama and the director of The University of Alabama’s Center for Sedimentary Basin Studies, has received the AGI Medal in Memory of Ian Campbell for Superlative Service to the Geosciences, the institute’s highest award. Tew is recognized for his role in bringing academia, government, industry and the public together to address major societal challenges in the geosciences. Tew […]

Digitizing Social Justice

November 14, 2016

“‘To See Justice Done’: Letters from the Scottsboro Trials,” is a new online database, showcasing primary resources from the Scottsboro Trials.

From the November 2016 Desktop News | Margaret Sasser, a 2014 alumna, spent one summer during her Master’s program digging through archives at the Alabama Department of Archives and History in Montgomery, Alabama. She had been hired by Dr. Ellen Spears, an associate professor in New College and the Department of American Studies, to sort through roughly 17 boxes of letters, postcards, telegrams, petitions, and resolutions sent to Alabama Governor Benjamin Meeks Miller regarding the 1930s Scottsboro Trials—and last month her work […]

Volcanic Ashfall

October 26, 2016

When volcanoes erupt, molten rock called magma is ejected into the air where it cools and becomes volcanic ash—bits of jagged rock and glass sometimes no bigger than a few micrometers in diameter. But this ash isn’t like the ash leftover in a charcoal grill or a campfire; it’s hard, and depending on where and how it falls, it can be deadly. According to Dr. Kim Genareau, a professor in the Department of Geological Sciences, airplane pilots can’t see fine […]

Researchers Explore Biomass Potential to Replace Petrochemicals

October 11, 2016

Arduengo and German exchange student Philip Maximilian Knaff work in a UA lab.

From the October 2016 Desktop News | For years, manufacturers of some pharmaceuticals and everyday items made of plastic have relied on non-renewable petrochemicals that gush from the bowels of the Earth—black gold, Texas tea—as a key ingredient. Now Dr. Anthony J. Arduengo III, a University of Alabama chemistry professor, and an international group of scientists are working to replace petrochemicals with a much more chemically complex component that grows, rather than springs, from the ground. The component? Wood. “Wood, a renewable […]

Fruit-Fly Diet Impacts Descendants, UA Researcher Finds

October 11, 2016

From the October 2016 Desktop News | For a fruit fly, what its grandparents ate may affect how much it weighs. And, according to Dr. Laura Reed, an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, similar relationships between generational diet and obesity may hold true for humans as well. To study obesity, Reed and her team experiment with the diets of fruit flies. They feed some of the larvae a high-fat diet while they give the control group a regular diet. Then, […]

UA Researcher Helps Unlock Biodiversity Mystery

September 12, 2016

A sample of green algae collected from the Gulf of Mexico.

From the September 2016 Desktop News | The discovery of a deep-water seaweed that evolved into a multicellular plant more than 540 million years ago has added a new branch to the tree of life, according to a biologist at The University of Alabama. Dr. Juan Lopez-Bautista, professor of biological sciences at UA, co-wrote a study of algae collected from the Gulf of Mexico that revealed a significantly different cellular structure than first believed. The finding, published in Scientific Reports, details the […]

Researchers Bring HIV Education to Parolees and Probationers

September 12, 2016

From the September 2016 Desktop News | Due to overcrowding in Alabama prisons, the state recently began diverting felons with lesser charges into parole and probation programs. One unexpected outcome, however, was that these convicted offenders, who fall in a higher risk bracket for HIV, no longer had access to the HIV education classes routinely offered in prison. Wanting to close this educational gap and bring free HIV testing to those willing to participate, Dr. Bronwen Lichtenstein, UA professor of criminal justice, […]