Desktop News – Page 56 – College of Arts & Sciences

Sobecky Honored for Contributions to Environmental Microbiology

November 9, 2012

Biology professor Dr. Patty Sobecki was recognized recently for her contributions to microbiology.Dr. Patty Sobecky, professor and chair of the Department of Biological Sciences, was recently awarded the James C. Freeley Award from the Southeastern Branch of the American Society for Microbiology in recognition of her contributions to environmental microbiology. Environmental biology is the study of the composition and physiology of microbial communities in a specific environment, and is just one of the specialized areas of biology that is represented […]

Art Program Brings College Students and Elementary Students Together with Creativity

November 9, 2012

A new program known as Arts Renaissance in Tuscaloosa Schools (ARTS), is being spearheaded by faculty and students in the College and aims to share the creative resources generated at The University of Alabama with Tuscaloosa elementary schools. ARTS, which involves a multitude of arts-related workshops, is led by Dr. Marysia Galbraith, an associate professor in New College and the Department of Anthropology. Currently, the program is offered at Woodland Forest Elementary School and Matthews Elementary School. Volunteers from the […]

College Physicist Collaborates with UA Scientists to Seek New Source of Magnetism as World Supply Ebbs

November 3, 2012

Dr. Patrick LeClair, an associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and fellow researchers in UA’s Center for Materials for Information Technology (MINT), have been researching alternative materials to produce magnets. Their research is a response to the growing concern in the scientific community that the supply of naturally magnetic materials will not keep up with demand. Magnets are used in nearly all electronic devices such as computers, cellphones, and medical appliances. And although these appliances are in […]

Chip Cooper to Participate in Miami Book Fair with Prominent Photographer

November 1, 2012

Chip Cooper, a well-known photographer and faculty member in the College, will participate in the Miami Book Fair this month alongside Brian Smith, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer noted for photographing celebrities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Sara Jessica Parker, George Clooney, and many more. Cooper will be promoting his book La Habana Vieja/Old Havana, which chronicles his collaboration with Cuban photographer Néstor Martí as part of the Alabama Cuba Initiative. The book, which was produced by the […]

Philosophy Today Lecturer Revisits “The Problem of Consciousness”

October 1, 2012

“The Problem of Consciousness Revisited,” will be discussed by Dr. Frank Jackson, the second speaker in the 2012-2013 Philosophy Today Lecture Series, which brings well known philosophers to campus to lecture on various topics. He will review some of his research on consciousness that has been very influential in the philosophy community. Jackson, a leading philosopher of the mind, wrote the article “Epiphenomenal Qualia,” in a 1982 edition of Philosophical Quarterly that was remarkably influential. It stated that the mind could […]

Psychologists Study “Time Flies When You’re Having Fun” Phenomenon

October 1, 2012

Do you ever wonder why time seems to pass faster when you are doing something enjoyable? A new study, published by two researchers in the College’s Department of Psychology, suggests that the feeling that time is somehow shorter seems to be the specific result of a desire to approach or pursue something, not a more general effect of heightened attention or physiological arousal. The results of the study are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological […]

Classics Professor to Translate Rare Religious Texts from Latin to English

October 1, 2012

A volume of commentaries on the Bible written in Latin by Protestant reformers in the 16th Century will soon be translated for the first time into English by Dr. Kirk Summers, professor of Classics in the Department of Modern Languages and Classics. Summers has been asked to serve as Latin translator for a soon to be published volume of the texts that were written by historic authors who are not well-known to modern readers. “These volumes will make available texts […]

Biology Students Win Top Honors at Water Conservation Conference

October 1, 2012

Two doctoral students in the College’s Department of Biological Sciences recently presented at the 26th Annual Alabama Water Resources Conference and brought home top honors for their oral presentations. Suja Rajan and Nikaela Flournoy won first and second place, respectively, at the conference held in Orange Beach. The annual event is a forum about understanding and improving complex issues related to water resources. Both Rajan and Flourney have been researching the short- and long-term effects to coastal Alabama due to […]

Paul Jones Lecture Series Opens with James Sherman Brantley Visit

October 1, 2012

Internationally recognized artist James Sherman Brantley, a native of Philadelphia and part of the American art scene for over 40 years, will visit the UA campus October 24 as part of the Paul R. Jones Lecture Series. He will give a lecture entitled “James Brantley: View from an Artist” at 7 p.m. in room 205 of Gorgas Library. The event is free and open to the public. The lecture series was established to honor the late Paul R. Jones, who […]

Collaborative Work Yields Progress on Pardons for Scottsboro Boys

September 1, 2012

Sheila Washington, founder of the Scottsboro Boys Museum and Cultural Center, has asked Gov. Robert Bentley to clear the names of eight of the nine defendants known as the Scottsboro boys, who were wrongly convicted of raping two white women in 1931. Washington’s plea has garnered significant support from professors, lawyers, and legislators and is the bi-product of work from of a two-year community-based research project with students and faculty in the College. The project involved doing historical research for […]