US engineers to develop tall wooden towers that can survive earthquakes
Global Construction Review – Dec. 9
University of Alabama (UA) researchers are probing how to build taller wood-framed buildings in earthquake-prone areas to facilitate denser urban layouts while keeping people safe. Test structures will be shaken in a giant quake lab to see how they perform. They’ll combine two existing methods of timber construction in search of a new system that could lead to seismically safe timber towers reaching 12 storeys, an improvement on current methods that top out at seven storeys. “As the result of rapid population growth and urban densification, there is a need for taller buildings that are also sustainable and can perform better than simply ‘adequate’ in moderate to large earthquakes by sustaining only minimal damage,” said Dr. Thang Dao, UA assistant professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering. He added that timber quake-resilient buildings would help communities return to normal life more quickly.
Computer coding lesson teaches importance of high-tech jobs
Tuscaloosa News – Dec. 9
On Tuesday, Jeff Gray, a professor in the University of Alabama’s College of Engineering, handed a student at the Tuscaloosa Magnet Middle School a smooth white ball about the size of a tennis ball. After linking the ball, called a Sphero, wirelessly to his laptop computer through Bluetooth, Gray asked the student holding Sphero to wave her hands and say a magic word. “Presto blah, blah, blah,” she uttered, wiggling her arms and fingers. The ball changed from white to glowing red. Students responded with “Oooo, ahhh.” Another student took the ball and after Gray typed another code into his laptop and Sphero turned green. It then played ping-pong with the boy, rolling itself back and forth between his outstretched hands. Gray said that everything Sphero is capable of can be achieved through coding and computer science. Modern vehicles, computers, pacemakers, cellphone apps, modern TVs, video games, movies, electronic razors and more all have software created by coding.
State’s future relies on auto boom
Montgomery Advertiser – Dec. 9
What happens when the auto sales boom runs out of gas? The answer could be coming sooner than you think, and it probably won’t be good news for Alabama. The state builds cars for Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota, and it has spent decades creating a network of suppliers and feeder programs for manufacturing jobs. When car sales rose and gas prices dropped, Alabama automotive companies took off. The state’s durable goods manufacturers – including automotive companies – added nearly 6,000 jobs from September 2013 to September 2014, according to the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama. That growth helped prop up the state’s slow recovery from the recession, offsetting losses in other sectors.
UA Supe Store celebrates 110th Anniversary
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Dec. 9
A big milestone for The Supe Store on the University of Alabama campus. They celebrated their 110th anniversary today. The original store opened on campus in 1905. And, the Ferguson Center location opened in 1971. Their main goal is to serve students, faculty and staff at the University.
Expert: Justice Department Reforms Could Be Expensive For CPD, But Worth The Cost
CBS Chicago – Dec. 8
An expert on federal investigations of police department misconduct said the Justice Department’s probe of Chicago police use of force likely will be a worthwhile process, but also a costly one. University of Alabama School of Law assistant professor Stephen Rushin said when the Justice Department investigated the Los Angeles Police Department starting in the late 1990s, reforms were instituted resulting in a dramatic reduction in police misconduct. The professor is completing a book called “The Answer To Police Misconduct,” evaluating the use of federal reforms on police departments engaged in a pattern or practice of misconduct. Rushin said the current situation in Chicago closely resembles the one in Los Angeles when the Justice Department launched the same type of “pattern and practice” investigation of police use of force.
WBBM-AM Radio – Dec. 8
WBEZ-FM, National Public Radio, Chicago, IL (Live Interview) – Dec. 8
5 startups gearing up for Alabama Launchpad competition in Huntsville
Al.com – Dec. 8
Five teams will compete for their chance of up to $250,000 in funding this week during Alabama Launchpad’s Startup Competition Finale in Huntsville. The Economic Development Partnership of Alabama program will begin at 4:05 p.m. Thursday with a pitch event at Design Lab at Lincoln Mill on 1300 Meridian St. Attendees will enjoy free food and drinks during a networking session after the final startup finishes. Teams from Huntsville, Florence and Tuscaloosa will participate in the finale: LiTeWater, of Tuscaloosa, filters and eliminates harmful bacteria and viruses from tap water through a breakthrough ultraviolet water treatment technology; MechOptix, of Huntsville, has developed Stoptix, an automatic brake lamp that protects your vehicle from rear-end collisions.
Here’s why the right needs to reject the Gospel according to AR-15: Cynthia Tucker
Penn Live – Dec. 8
“Violence is as American as cherry pie.” — Black Panther H. Rap Brown. Did Syed Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, suspects in the San Bernardino massacre, just hand the GOP nomination to Donald Trump? Will his poll numbers soar into the stratosphere now that Muslims with foreign-sounding names have been identified as the shooters who killed 14 people and wounded countless others? Even before Trump came along with propane tanks of bigoted rhetoric, Islamophobia had been burning through the cultural landscape. He and rival Ben Carson poured on fuel, with Carson declaring that no Muslim should be eligible for the presidency and … Trump swearing — wrongly — that throngs of American Muslims rejoiced in the aftermath of the 9/11 atrocities … According to University of Alabama criminal justice professor Adam Lankford, we account for less than 5 percent of the world’s population but 31 percent of its mass shootings. From his study of other countries, he has concluded that easy access to guns is a prominent factor.
Mass Shootings
WOSU Radio (Columbus, Ohio) – Dec. 8
The United States accounts for less than five percent of the world’s population, but 31% of mass shootings between 1966 and 2012 have taken place in America. Although President Obama called for more gun restrictions after the recent shooting in San Bernardino, it can be difficult to keep the real threat of such attacks in perspective. Nowhere else in the world, except in war zones, is there a pattern of mass shootings that we see in the U.S. Guests: Randolph Roth, Professor of History and Sociology and Co-Director of the Historical Violence Database, Ohio State University; Adam Lankford, Criminal Justice Professor, The University of Alabama.
Doing it with Passion! Writers in Ireland Series: Sean Ryan
Film Ireland – Dec. 8
Sean Ryan, from Waterford, has written numerous short and feature-length scripts. He has also worked as a writer-for-hire on adaptations and as a script doctor on feature screenplays. His films Revenge (Action/Western) and The Lunch Break (Black comedy) screened at the opening day in Cannes Le Marché du Film festival 2013, and along with Choices (Drama/Thriller) have won awards at The Cinerockom International Film Festival, 2013 … Tears In The Rain (War/Drama) was also a finalist in the BSSC contest in 2013. In the same year, he worked closely with the Department of Theatre, University of Alabama and their advanced film making students who produced his script, G.P.S. (Thriller) as their final year project. The University plan to use more of Sean’s screenplays for future projects.
Bionic senior
Imperial Valley News – Dec. 8
The National Institutes of Health is funding the development of robots that would make it easier for impaired seniors to get around, according to the Association of Mature American Citizens. “To stay in their homes, elderly with mobility issues often require costly home modifications such as replacing steps with ramps or installing wheelchair lifts. The goal of this project is to develop a four-legged robot that enhances mobility, so that the elderly can remain physically active and enjoy a healthier life with reduced reliance on the assistance of caregivers or expensive home renovations,” according to robotics expert Dr. Xiangrong Shen. Shen, an associate professor in the department of mechanical engineering at the University of Alabama, is part of the National Robotics Initiative that is funded by the NIH to develop “quality of life” devices for the elderly. His four-legged “smart walker” has a sort of Star Wars look to it. It allows users to “drive” it around or to easily move heavy loads at a comfortable pace.