News – Page 82 – College of Arts & Sciences

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 […]

Professor Emeritus Receives Legendary Geoscientist Medal

August 11, 2016

From the August 2016 Desktop News | Dr. Ernest A. Mancini, a professor emeritus of geological sciences, received the 2016 Marcus Milling Legendary Geoscientist Medal from the American Geosciences Institute. The medal recognizes a senior scientist who has a record of achievements and service in earth sciences and who has been acknowledged for accomplishments in fields of expertise by professional societies, universities, or other organizations. Mancini’s career in the geosciences includes having served as a distinguished research professor at UA as well […]

American Studies Professor Wins Award for Best Book on Popular Music

August 9, 2016

From the August 2016 Desktop News | Dr. Eric Weisbard, an associate professor in the Department of American Studies, has been awarded the 2015 Woody Guthrie Award for the most outstanding book on popular music for his book Top 40 Democracy: The Rival Mainstreams of American Music. The prize is given annually to the best English language monograph on popular music, said Dr. Elizabeth Lindau, chair of the 2015 Woody Guthrie Award committee for the U.S. branch of the International Association for […]

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 […]

Summer Reading List 2016

June 27, 2016

While you prepare for the fall semester, pick up these books written by A&S faculty on various topics: Enter Your Initials for Record Keeping, by Brian Oliu This nostalgic essay collection introduces a particular vision of basketball, courtesy of the classic arcade game NBA Jam. By using the personal experiences the authors had with both the video game and the sport, Enter Your Initials illuminates how the intensity of pushing big plastic buttons or shooting a ball can come to […]

Ellen Spears Wins Buford Peace Award

June 15, 2016

From the June 2016 Desktop News | Dr. Ellen Griffith Spears, an associate professor in New College and the Department of American Studies, is the 2016 winner of the Buford Peace Award. Tony D. Walker, a UA School of Social Work alumnus, established the award in 2002 to honor Lahoma Adams Buford, and each year it is given to a faculty member who has been highly involved in mediating human disputes, helping overcome prejudice, promoting justice, and establishing peace. “The Buford […]

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 […]

English Professor Wins 2016 Mark Twain Award for Midwestern Literature

June 15, 2016

From the June 2016 Desktop News | Michael Martone, a professor of English and creative writing, was selected as the winner of the 2016 Mark Twain Award for Distinguished Contributions to Midwestern Literature. Martone, author of more than 25 books and anthologies, joins such past Mark Twain Award recipients as Gwendolyn Brooks, Ted Kooser, and Philip Levine. “I feel really good about the award,” he said. “It came out of the blue. I had no idea people were thinking about […]