From the May 2014 Desktop News | What impact did the salt trade have on northwestern Louisiana during the 18th century? Paul Eubanks, a doctoral student in the Department of Anthropology, is on a mission to find out. Eubanks recently received an $18,000 Dissertation Improvement Grant from the National Science Foundation to explore the topic. His project, “Caddo Salt Production in Northwestern Louisiana,” focuses on the role of Caddo Indian salt makers in the development of Louisiana’s history in the […]
Category: Research
News about Research
Anniston PCB Pollution Focus of New Book
From the April 2014 Desktop News | With Anniston as the backdrop, Dr. Ellen Spears, assistant professor in New College and the Department of American Studies, explores environmental justice in her new book, Baptized in PCBs, which was released April 7. Though focused on the 1990s legal battle between Anniston residents and the agrochemical company Monsanto, which dumped cancer-causing chemicals into the city’s working-class west side, Spears also addresses broader topics, such as significant themes in the social history of […]
Traveling by Innate GPS-like Signals
From the April 2014 Desktop News | One of the most captivating mysteries in biology is the long-distance migrations of animals, particularly young animals that travel more than thousands of kilometers to specific, uncharted locations without older, more experienced migrants to guide them along the way. A College of Arts and Sciences alumnus is changing the way scientists understand one such phenomenon – the migration of Pacific salmon. Dr. Nathan Putman, a 2006 graduate of the Department of Biological Sciences […]
UA Cyber Initiatives Aid Law Enforcement
From the April 2014 Desktop News | Two College of Arts and Sciences professors have been invited to provide law enforcement officials worldwide with a “behind the curtain” look at how academics can help investigate cyber-related crimes. Dr. Diana Dolliver and Dr. Kathryn Seigfried-Spellar, both faculty members in the Department of Criminal Justice, will present to an audience of about 500-600 law enforcement professionals at an international training event in Atlanta in May. Their goal is to make conference attendees […]
Oil and Gas Conference Announced
The Center for Sedimentary Basin Studies at The University of Alabama and the Geological Survey of Alabama announce a joint research conference, to be held on the UA campus April 29, 2014. The conference, titled “Critical Factors for Future Oil and Gas Development in Alabama: Resources Availability and Accessibility, Application of Existing and New Technologies, Environmentally Responsive Methodologies, and Economic Feasibility,” will be held in room 1000 of the Bevill Building. Scheduled speakers include Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, UA Provost […]
Chemist Accepts Award in Mumbai, India
From the March 2014 Desktop News | Dr. Arunava Gupta, professor in the Department of Chemistry and UA’s College of Engineering, returned to his home country of India in February to accept the CRSI Medal from the Chemical Research Society of India. The award is given annually to outstanding chemists of Indian origin who are working outside of India. Gupta shares the honor this year with Dr. Varinder Aggarwal, professor at the University of Bristol in England. Gupta was selected […]
Professors Publish Paper in ‘Cell’
From the February 2014 Desktop News | Work done in a University of Alabama laboratory shows that genetically engineered variants of proteins may be “highly promising” for eventually halting the progression of neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s and Lou Gehrig’s disease, according to a paper co-authored by UA researchers and published in the Jan. 16 edition of the journal Cell. Dr. Guy Caldwell and Dr. Kim Caldwell, both professors in the Department of Biological Sciences, published the paper together with […]
Professor Takes on Lead Role with MLA
From the February 2014 Desktop News | Dr. Jolene Hubbs, assistant professor in the Department of American Studies, was elected to the Modern Language Association’s executive committee of the Discussion Group on Southern Literature. As an executive committee member, Hubbs will help ensure the association stays abreast of current trends in research done by Southern literary scholars. The Modern Language Association is the chief professional organization for scholars of language and literature with nearly 30,000 members in more than 100 countries. […]
White House Honors UA Geology Professor
From the February 2014 Desktop News | President Barack Obama recently announced that he will award Dr. Samantha Hansen, assistant professor in the Department of Geological Sciences, a Presidential Early Career Award. The Presidential Early Career Award is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers. Hansen is being recognized by the President for a $715,000 CAREER grant she received in 2012 from the National […]
Research on Sin Earns NEH Grant
From the January 2014 Desktop News | Dr. Margaret Abruzzo, associate professor in the Department of History, was recently awarded a $50,400 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Abruzzo will use the grant to spend the next year researching and writing her next book, tentatively titled, Good People and Bad Behavior: Changing Views of Sin, Evil, and Moral Responsibility in the 18th and 19th Centuries. The book will trace changes in how both Catholic and Protestant Americans thought […]