Research – Page 23 – College of Arts & Sciences

Traveling to the Ocean Floor: Professor Studies Deep-Sea Mollusks

September 12, 2016

Aplacophora are worm-like mollusks characterized by their lack of shells and tiny units called calcareous spicules.

From the September 2016 Desktop News | While the unique environment of the deep ocean would likely prove nightmarish and panic-inducing for many people, it’s just another day of fieldwork for Department of Biological Sciences’ assistant professor Dr. Kevin Kocot. This July, Kocot submerged to oceanic depths for the ninth time, joining 21 other marine scientists from universities across the nation who were selected to participate in this year’s Chief Scientist Training Cruise put on by the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System. In […]

Resisting Tuberculosis Testing

August 11, 2016

From the August 2016 Desktop News | When the rate of tuberculosis in Marion, Alabama, spiked in 2014 and 2015, killing four people and infecting more than 150 others, public health officials offered free testing and treatment to stop the outbreak—but few were willing to participate until monetary compensation was offered as an incentive. The resistance perplexed Dr. Bronwen Lichtenstein, a professor in the Department of Criminal Justice, and when she learned that junior psychology major Towanda Pettway, a first-generation college student […]

Student Receives Google Policy Fellowship

August 11, 2016

From the August 2016 Desktop News | With the help of a prestigious $7,500 Google Policy Fellowship, given to university students who have an interest and aptitude for internet and technology policy, UA doctoral student Jessica Mendoza spent her summer interning with the Internet Keep Safe Coalition, called iKeep Safe, in order to help youth, their parents, and educators better understand how to use digital media safely and responsibly. “Everything is impacted by the way we use technology,” Mendoza said. “And one […]

High School Teachers, Students Learn Changing Tech & Solar Science

July 31, 2016

As energy generation alternatives gain traction, Alabama educators are working to keep up with this changing technology in their science curricula. Dr. Shanlin Pan’s six-week training course this summer, for Alabama teachers and students, aims at making the sometimes complex scientific concepts underpinning solar power more accessible to the state’s students. During the program, the teachers received research experience while working with University of Alabama chemistry researchers, developed their own modules to explain aspects of solar energy generation to students, and worked to […]

UA Psychology Professor Receives NIH Research Award

July 11, 2016

From the July 2016 Desktop News | Dr. Ian McDonough, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, has been named a winner of the Matilda White Riley Early Stage Investigator Honors, a paper competition of the National Institutes of Health, or NIH. McDonough, an associate of the Alabama Research Institute on Aging, investigates the mechanisms underlying age-related decline and develops interventions based on these newly discovered mechanisms to help maintain cognition and prevent the development of dementia. The winners will present […]

UA Researchers Expand Opportunities with Upgraded Atom Probe Technology

July 11, 2016

From the July 2016 Desktop News | A new, powerful microscope recently installed at The University of Alabama will expand exploration into nanotechnology and geological sciences, helping research and spurring economic development. Earlier this year, UA acquired the newest generation Local Electron Atom Probe, or LEAP. This microscope shows researchers the location and distribution of atoms in materials. Unlike the previous LEAP at UA, the new instrument, the CAMECA LEAP 5000, provides tremendous versatility that reveals a more detailed atomic map of […]

UA Researcher Studies Cuba’s Coastal Forests in Anticipation of Tourism Increase

July 11, 2016

From the July 2016 Desktop News | With the 1960 trade embargo on Cuba expected to be weakened if not lifted—President Barack Obama called for the embargo’s end at his final State of the Union address—the large Caribbean island is preparing for an influx of American tourists. There’s little doubt that a surge of U.S. tourists would benefit the island economically, but there is some concern about the potential impact that an inpouring of people would have on the island’s ecosystems. In […]

UA Researchers Receive NSF Grant to Study Everglades’ Greenhouse Gases

June 15, 2016

From the June 2016 Desktop News | Drs. Gregory Starr and Christina Staudhammer, professors in the Department of Biological Sciences, along with collaborators from Florida International University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Forest Service recently received $834,000 from the National Science Foundation to continue their study of greenhouse gases in the Everglades. They will specifically look at how changes in fresh- and sea-water levels are affecting the balance of carbon-dioxide and methane emissions in the Everglades. “Historically, the Everglades were a […]

Students Receive Truman, Hollings, and Fulbright Awards

June 15, 2016

From the June 2016 Desktop News | Each year students from the College of Arts and Sciences prove themselves nationally, and with two Truman scholars, two Hollings Scholarships, and four Fulbright Awards, this year is no exception. Fulbright Awards The highly competitive Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides grants for individually-designed research projects or for English-teaching assistantships. More than 11,000 applicants compete for approximately 1,500 awards each year. The program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, is the largest U.S. […]

Professor Brings Cuban Art to Alabama

May 6, 2016

Aliosky García Sosa's woodcut print "Tu Propio Cielo" (Your Own Sky).

From the May 2016 Desktop News |When art and art history assistant professor and printmaker Sarah Marshall went to Cuba for the first time, she was there to make books. But when she saw the talent of the traditional printmakers there, she wanted to bring that influence back to the states—helping the Cuban printmakers build a name for themselves internationally while exposing the UA community to new artists and styles. The result of her efforts was the first-ever exhibit of […]