From the January 2015 Desktop News | A former music critic, Dr. Eric Weisbard has always been interested in connecting the dots of popular culture. When critics began talking about “rockism,” the idea of rock as a biased way of valuing some music and not others, and “poptimism,” the idea that commercial music of all kinds should be celebrated for its diversity, he thought both ideas were too simplistic, so he wrote a book about it, using a historical approach […]
Category: News
Articles about news in the College, from student and faculty accomplishments to research advances, new academic programs, and the impact of giving.
Governor Bentley to Speak to Pre-health Students
From the January 2015 Desktop News | Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, a graduate of The University of Alabama School of Medicine, will present the opening lecture at the 13th annual Susan and Gaylon McCollough Medical Scholars Forum Friday, Feb. 6 at 4 p.m. in the Shelby Hall rotunda on The University of Alabama campus. The McCollough Medical Scholars Forum was established by UA alumni Dr. Gaylon McCollough and Mrs. Susan McCollough to prepare students pursuing medical and health science professions […]
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Psychologists to Bolster Health Services
From the January 2015 Desktop News | A team of psychology researchers has been awarded a two-year, $250,000 contract from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to help integrate behavioral health and chronic pain treatment plans into Alabama’s 15 federally-qualified health centers. The award, given to Dr. Beverly Thorn, professor in the Department of Psychology, runs concurrently with the team’s $1.3 million study comparing literacy-adapted, group cognitive-behavioral therapy for pain education to typical medical treatment. Thorn received a Eugene Washington PCORI […]
Physicist Awarded NSF CAREER Award
From the January 2015 Desktop News | Dr. Claudia Mewes, assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and UA’s Center for Materials for Information Technology, has received a $500,000 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation. The CAREER Award is NSF’s most prestigious recognition of top-performing young scientists beginning their careers. Mewes’s research focuses on theoretical condensed matter physics, more specifically spintronics, which aims to use the electron spin in addition to its electric charge to develop highly […]
Physics Student to Intern at U.S. DOE
From the December 2014 edition of Desktop News | Marissa Leshnov, a third-year physics student in the College, has been selected for the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. Leshnov will be one of 100 undergraduate students interning at one of 13 DOE laboratories during spring 2015. Her work for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, will focus on developing biofuels – alternative transportation fluids derived from organic matter. The 16-week program […]
“Cold War Dixie” Wins Best Book Award
From the December 2014 edition of Desktop News | A book examining the impact of the Cold War on the U.S. South, written by a College of Arts and Sciences historian, was recently recognized by the Southern Historical Association as the best book in southern economic or business history published in the last two years. The Bennett H. Wall Award recognized Dr. Kari Frederickson, professor and chair of the Department of History, for Cold War Dixie: Militarization and Modernization in […]
Waste Management Partners with UA
From the December 2014 edition of Desktop News | Chemical Waste Management-Emelle has donated lab equipment valued at approximately $40,000 to The University of Alabama’s Department of Geological Sciences. The instrument, an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer, will be used in research projects to analyze the major, minor and trace element composition of liquids. “The instrument will be used to produce analytical data needed for faculty and student research projects for many years to come,” said Dr. Rona J. […]
Sculptures Raise $46,000 for Hospital
From the December 2014 edition of Desktop News | Three students and a professor in the Department of Art and Art History recently designed and created sculptures that were auctioned off by Nucor Steel to raise money for Children’s of Alabama, a pediatric hospital located in Birmingham. Together, the sculptures raised $46,000 for the hospital. This was the eighth year that Nucor Steel has hosted the Children’s Charity Classic, an annual golf tournament and auction raising money for the hospital, […]
Former Roommates Establish Scholarship
From the December 2014 edition of Desktop News | Four College of Arts and Sciences alumni have established a foundation to provide scholarships for graduate students committed to public service. The 308 Grace Street Foundation is named in honor of three founders’ college apartment. From 1993 to 1996, Jason Wible, Brian Carver and David Harris were roommates living in Apt. 349 at 308 Grace Street. Now, their shared space has become the namesake of a nonprofit scholarship program funded by […]
Campfires Help Lower Blood Pressure
From the December 2014 edition of Desktop News | A University of Alabama anthropologist has found that, consistent with anecdotal reports, hearths and campfires can lower blood pressure and likely played important roles in the evolution of the human social brain. Christopher Lynn, an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology, conducted a three-year lab-based study on the subject. In an article published in Evolutionary Psychology, Lynn discussed preliminary results from the study, in which he isolated the sensory aspects […]