News – Page 85 – College of Arts & Sciences

Professor Brings Bluegrass, Folk to Pakistan as State Department Cultural Ambassador

April 7, 2016

From the April 2016 Desktop News | When Dr. Nikos Pappas and his four-man band went to Pakistan this summer to play the traditional music of the Deep South, they knew they’d be the only Americans in most of the places that they’d visit—but that didn’t keep them from going. “Just because something looks dangerous or threatening on the outside, doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth it,” said Pappas, an assistant professor of musicology at UA. “It means there is […]

NSF Dissertation Grant Being Used to Conduct Research at Moundville

April 7, 2016

Erik Porth will be analyzing these ancient sherds from Moundville in order to learn more about the civilization's social structures and decline.

From the April 2016 Desktop News | Despite the extensive excavations that have been done at the Moundville Archaeological Park since 1939, Moundville’s decline—and its social organization—are largely shrouded in mystery. But with the help of a $9,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, University of Alabama doctoral student Erik Porth and his dissertation adviser, Dr. John Blitz, are hoping to uncover some of the secrets. “Social organization doesn’t fossilize,” said Blitz, a UA professor in the Department of Anthropology. […]

Anthropologist to Present Humanities Lecture on the Muslim Headscarf at UA

April 5, 2016

Dr. Mayanthi Fernando, an anthropologist and ethnographer from the University of California at Santa Cruz, will present “Storytelling Against the Grain: Muslim Lives, French Myths, and the Power of Ethnography” Thursday, April 21 at 7 p.m. in room 205 of Gorgas Library on The University of Alabama campus. The lecture is part of UA’s Hidden Humanities lecture series. The event is free and open to the public. The Hidden Humanities lecture series was founded in 2014 to bring nationally prominent […]

Rising Tide Scholarship Campaign Kicks off with Sweet 16

March 23, 2016

Rising Tide campaign button representing the Sweet 16 button that students services is selling to raise money for scholarships.

A student-led scholarship campaign aimed at endowing an Arts & Sciences scholarship for students in need will kick off its fall “Sweet 16” efforts on September 6. Led by UA’s College of Arts and Sciences Student Services and Ambassadors, this multi-year campaign asks A&S students to donate $1 to the Rising Tide Scholarship to help their fellow classmates. The Rising Tide Scholarship is a scholarship for students by students, and is designed to provide a helping hand to students […]

UA Names Director of the Center for Sedimentary Basin Studies

March 9, 2016

From the March 2016 Desktop News | Alabama’s State Geologist and Oil and Gas Supervisor, Dr. Berry H. “Nick” Tew Jr., has been named director of The University of Alabama’s Center for Sedimentary Basin Studies and a research professor in the UA’s Department of Geological Sciences. His work with the University will be in addition to his duties directing the Geological Survey of Alabama and the staff of the State Oil and Gas Board. Geological sciences chair, Dr. Fred Andrus, is […]

March 21–25: Aristotle Week

March 8, 2016

UA, Aristotle University Collaborate to Celebrate Aristotle’s 2,400th Birthday Everything has a foundation. And much of the foundation that modern science and the philosophy of logic is built upon is the work of Greek philosopher Aristotle, who turns 2,400 years old this month. To pay tribute to his contributions, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, has declared 2016 as Aristotle Anniversary Year. The University of Alabama, in collaboration with Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, Greece, is participating in […]

A Guide to Studying Abroad

February 12, 2016

Whether or not you want to study abroad someday might be a simple yes or no question, but deciding where to go and how to make it happen can be a little overwhelming. Maybe you dream of traveling around the world to study a foreign language, but aren’t sure where to begin. Maybe you’re having trouble making a decision after visiting a study abroad fair on campus and discovering so many programs that interest you. Sound familiar? You aren’t alone, […]

Where Science Meets Fiction

February 8, 2016

The x-ray image superimposed over the optical image creates the purplish smile of The Cheshire Cat Galaxy Group.

From the February 2016 Desktop News | When Dr. Jimmy Irwin, a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, began his research on the Cheshire Cat group of galaxies, he was interested in more than just the teasing smile of a disappearing cat. “The two bright eye galaxies,” Irwin said, “are actually moving very fast relative to one another, so I thought this may be a collision between two groups.” And if there was a collision, the new galaxy would […]

From Bama to Broadway

February 8, 2016

From the February 2016 Desktop News | Before going to Broadway, the seductive history of New Orleans’ red light district, The Countess of Storyville, will come to life on stage at The University of Alabama. Margot Astrachan, the 2014 Tony Award-winning producer for A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, is producing the show, which will run Feb. 16–20 at the Marian Gallaway Theatre. The musical, though still in development, tells the story of Countess Willie Dupree, an orphan raised […]

Research Featured in World’s Top Science Journal

February 8, 2016

Dr. Eben Broadbent (front) and Dr. Angelica Almeyda Zambrano (third from front), with field assistants from the Instituto Boliviano de Investigacion Forestal, carry a ‘pequi-pequi’ boat motor to the river in preparation for travel to one of their forest study sites.

From the February 2016 Desktop News | Last week’s online edition of Nature, the world’s most highly cited interdisciplinary scientific journal, published research co-authored by Department of Geography professors Drs. Eben Broadbent and Angelica Almeyda Zambrano. On average, Nature publishes only 8 percent of the 200 or more research papers submitted for publication each week due to rigorous selection criteria, according to the journal. In 2013, only 856 of the 10,952 papers submitted to Nature were published. Most submissions are declined […]