Tag: Desktop News April 2014


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 […]

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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 […]

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Building New Homes for Tornado Survivors

From the April 2014 Desktop News | More than a dozen students traveled to Moore, Okla., during spring break to participate in tornado recovery. The students worked with Cleveland County Habitat for Humanity to build homes for survivors of an EF5 tornado that struck the areas surrounding Moore in May 2013. It was the deadliest on record in the United States since the Joplin, Mo., tornado in 2011. The Alternative Spring Break trip was organized by UA’s Community Service Center. […]

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UA in Prestigious Shakespeare Festivals

From the April 2014 Desktop News | Nicholas Burroughs is an actor with a plan. Burroughs, a senior majoring in musical theatre, has been invited to perform at the Tony Award-winning Utah Shakespeare Festival after he graduates in May. “I feel extremely honored to be working with such a famous theatre,” said Burroughs, a native of Birmingham. Burroughs was cast in the festival’s 2014 season running from May through August as a pre-show performer, which involves 30 minutes of singing […]

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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 […]

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Quartet Places First in Competition

From the April 2014 Desktop News | Four School of Music students recently won the quartet competition at the Southeast Horn Workshop, a workshop held annually with about 350-400 attendees from all major institutions throughout the Southeast. The students, all undergraduates, competed against undergraduate and graduate students from Louisiana, Kentucky, Virginia, Florida and all states in between. They represent the third group from UA to win the competition during the last four years. Members of the winning quartet are Joshua […]

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